Alberta to stop giving first doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot: media report

The Globe and Mail is reporting that Alberta has stopped administering first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in favour of other types of immunization.

The newspaper quotes Kristin Klein, the co-lead of the province’s vaccine task force, as saying the province has decided to shift to mRNA vaccines for first doses.

The report says the move is partly due to the greater supply of mRNA shots, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna ones, and partly due to concerns over a rare blood clot condition linked to AstraZeneca.

Klein says AstraZeneca shots will still be made available to those who don't want an mRNA vaccine or can't receive one for health reasons.

She also says in the report that a decision has not yet been made on what shot will be administered as a second dose to those who were already given a shot of AstraZeneca.

Use of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been under added scrutiny in recent weeks, particularly after Canada's panel of vaccine experts recommended that people who aren't at a high risk of COVID-19 may want to wait to get a dose of BioNTech or Moderna.

Ontario, meanwhile, became the latest province to indicate Monday it will likely allow people to mix COVID-19 vaccine brands on the second dose as more Pfizer and Moderna shipments arrive.