Ontario has administered thousands of third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to some of the province’s most vulnerable residents and will continue to do so despite the World Health Organization calling for a moratorium on the practice.
The global public health agency says vaccine-rich countries should stop offering third vaccines for the rest of the year so that vaccines can be diverted to countries with insufficient vaccines.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province had administered more than 14,500 third doses as of Tuesday night, a figure she plans to begin reporting publicly.
Alexandra Hilkene says that the additional injections offer additional protection against COVID-19 to immunosuppressed patients, such as transplant recipients, people receiving treatment for blood cancers, and those who have received an anti-CD20 agent.
She says the COVID-19 vaccine is not as effective in those people, and a third dose helps level the playing field for them.
The National Vaccine Advisory Committee on Friday recommended that people with moderate or severe immunosuppression receive a cycle of three shots of the vaccine.
Reference-toronto.citynews.ca