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Dr Jia Hu said having more targeted vaccines should lead to a better immune response and more protection against Omicron infection.
FILE PHOTO: Nurse Rachelle Lively was giving out COVID vaccines as part of the City of Calgary extension of her mobile vaccination program, a short-term COVID-19 vaccination station launched at Southcentre Mall on Monday January 3, 2022. Darren Makowichuk / Postmedia
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Alberta is finalizing plans to launch new bivalent COVID-19 vaccines targeting multiple strains of the coronavirus.
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The province says it is reviewing Health Canada’s early September approval of Moderna’s updated vaccine.
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But a vaccine advocacy group in Alberta is questioning why the province has yet to announce details of its plans for the new vaccine, when provinces such as Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have started their stockpiles.
“The question is, what is the advantage of waiting?” said Sarah Mackey with Vaccine Hunters Alberta.
“What do they expect to review that they don’t expect the Health Canada review process and the (National Immunization Advisory Committee) review process to have caught on?”
In a statement to Postmedia, Alberta Health said the availability of the bivalent vaccine will be subject to the province’s federal government supply allocation. Public Health Canada data on vaccine distribution says Alberta had received 32,300 doses of the bivalent shots as of Sept. 8.
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The Moderna bivalent booster vaccine is the first to be approved in Canada. It targets the previously prevalent strain of the virus and the Omicron BA.1 variant, which strained Alberta’s health care system during a wave of infections last winter.
A bivalent vaccine from Pfizer targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which are dominant in Alberta, is available in the United States, with an application also submitted to Health Canada.
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Having more targeted vaccines should lead to a better immune response and more protection against Omicron infection, said Calgary public health physician Dr. Jia Hu.
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He said there is no real-world data from clinical trials for the vaccines, but immune data shows that the new vaccines generate higher antibody responses than previous offerings.
“We don’t think these are magic bullets in terms of how the original COVID vaccine worked, but it certainly seems to increase the performance of your immune response,” Hu said.
Hu said it’s unreasonable for Albertans currently eligible for a booster shot to wait until the bivalent shot is available.
“I think this is one of the few times when it might make sense to wait,” he said. He added that having booster protection will be important for all Albertans to protect themselves and those around them as fall approaches.
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“It’s been a pleasant summer, people have been able to live more normally, and that’s good. But I think we want to take every precaution we can to protect everyone.”
Dr. Jia Hu poses for a photo at Prince Island Park. Saturday, June 26, 2021. Brendan Miller/Postmedia
Mackey said he counts this latest bivalent vaccine as Alberta’s 10th COVID-19 vaccine release, when other brands and doses are included. He argued that the process should be routine by now.
He said he has spoken with many Albertans who are waiting for the new vaccine to become available to get a boost, forgoing protection while they wait for the province to implement the vaccine.
“They’ve been late to the party every time. There’s a complete lack of communication every time,” he said. “It’s inexcusable that time and time and time again we’re behind the 8 ball.”
As of September 5, the latest date for which data is available, 82.6% of eligible Albertans had received at least two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine and 41.8% had at least one booster vaccine
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring
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