Amid BC’s Plan for COVID Boosters, New Research Suggests Those Doses May Not Be Needed Yet | The Canadian News

Anyone in British Columbia who has received two doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine can now receive a booster six months after their second injection, BC’s chief physician said Monday.

People on two doses of AstraZeneca have shown decreasing levels of protection against infection, although two doses of AstraZeneca still offer strong protection against serious illness, Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday.

“This may be earlier than other healthy adults in the community where we know that there is very good and strong protection that lasts well,” Henry said.

Several new studies indicate that a booster may not yet be necessary for those who received two doses of mRNA or a mixture of AstraZeneca and mRNA vaccines, if those doses were given eight to 12 weeks apart.

Brian Grunau, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia, said that early results from a study of paramedics in Canada show that longer vaccine dosing intervals lead to a better immune response.

“The interaction between vaccine dosing intervals may influence the timing and need for a third vaccine,” he said.

“Our data suggest that the immune response is prolonged in those who have longer vaccine dosing intervals, so this may cause people who have longer dosing intervals to require less of an earlier booster shot.”

Other researchers, including Dr. Danuta Skowronski of the BC Center for Disease Control, say that the immune response from two injections given at appropriate intervals is so strong that most healthy adults still don’t need a booster.

Dr. Gaston De Serres, an epidemiologist at the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec who has been examining Canada’s COVID-19 data, told Global News last month that he is not convinced that the average Canadian needs a vaccine from COVID-19 booster at any time. early.

“I think a booster dose is needed when you see a decrease in protection,” he said. “This happens with some vaccines and then it is necessary to receive a booster dose. But in our data right now, we see virtually no decrease in protection. “

De Serres highlighted the need to focus resources on bringing vaccines to the developing world.

“I think access to vaccines in developing countries is essential,” he said.

“The risk of mutations and the appearance of new dangerous variants will depend on the number of people infected and if there is no vaccine, obviously it is a great opportunity for the virus to infect people and eventually acquire mutations that could be quite unpleasant.” he said.

“From the beginning, we had focused on the importance of preventing hospitalizations and deaths. Well, changing that approach could clearly be something that needs to be evaluated very carefully because of this question about allowing developing countries access to vaccines. “

Henry said the province needs to focus on the drivers while considering the bigger picture.

“We need to be able to be part of our global community and make sure people around the world are vaccinated, and we need to protect the people who need it right now,” he said.

– with files from Leslie Young and Carolyn Jarvis

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