All-party COVID committee awaits AstraZeneca advice from N.B. Public Health

Premier Blaine Higgs says he'd gladly take a second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, even as his government inches closer to a decision on whether to continue using the product.

Higgs told reporters that there may be a recommendation coming from Public Health to a meeting of the all-party COVID-19 committee scheduled for Wednesday night. 

"Given with what we've seen with other provinces, we are expecting to see either a validation of our position or a recommendation to change it," he said.

This week Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Alberta suspended the use of AstraZeneca for first doses, citing new data showing a still-small but higher risk of blood clots than before. 

With large amounts of Pfizer and Moderna doses being shipped each week, those provinces have calculated that they'll have enough vaccine to continue their rollout without needing to rely on AstraZeneca for first doses. 

The risk of blood clots associated with the vaccine is now estimated at one in 55,000 in Canada.

Higgs got his first shot of AstraZeneca on March 31 and he says he wouldn't hesitate to get the required second shot as a booster. 

"I will take it when it's available," he said. "I understand the science of it all, but I believe it's important for us all to be vaccinated at the level we're seeking, the 75 per cent-plus.

"At this stage, unless we have a surplus of [other] vaccines so everyone can get vaccinated to meet those thresholds, then we should take whatever vaccine is available, and that would be my position."  

Higgs said he's had no indication that Public Health will change its current position that AstraZeneca can be used on people 55 or over, but predicted it will be "a major topic" at Wednesday night's COVID committee meeting. 

He said the committee could get either a recommendation for a change "or a validation of where we are."

Both Ontario and Alberta say they'll continue to use AstraZeneca to give second doses to people who had a first dose of it, though research is underway to see whether people get the same protection if their second dose is a different brand.

Other provinces are also reconsidering first-dose use of the vaccine.

Last week Canada's deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, said provinces should give people second doses that match their first dose.

"Attempts should be made to complete the vaccine series with the same vaccine product," he said.

New Brunswick has about 4,000 doses of AstraZeneca that must be used before they expire on May 31, and is due to receive another 13,500 doses through the Covax distribution system next week.

Higgs said the risk of wasting them will not factor into the decision on what to do. 

"We won't be governed by supply," he said. "If the science says that we should change our direction, it won't be because we have inventory that's on the shelf. It'll be based on whether it's safe to use or not safe to use." 

Health Canada approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for all Canadians over 18 in February, but provinces and territories have largely restricted its use in those over 40 because of the increased risk of VITT in younger age groups compared with the risk of death from COVID-19.

In New Brunswick, where cases of the infection have been lower than other provinces, AstraZeneca has been used for people 55 years old or older. 

Though extremely rare, VITT is much more severe than a typical blood clot because it can cause cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, or CVST, where veins that drain blood from the brain are obstructed and can potentially cause fatal bleeding.