With many of residents of B.C who are aged at least 40 getting immunized with the vaccines AstraZeneca and no extra shipment of the vaccine inbound, a lot of people are fearful they may not get a second jab in within the prescribed four months.
Most of B. C’s supply of AstraZeneca comes from India’s Serum Institute. Currently, infections are on the rise in India. The Indian government under immense pressure to develop more of vaccines for local use, this is according to Mahesh Nagarajan, the professor of logistics and operations at the UBC Business School.
He added that whether B.C gets a second shipment of the vaccines enough for second doses is a question that even he can’t answer.
B.C is looking forward to million more doses of the vaccine Pfizer in the coming few days. Dr. Kelly McNagny, Vancouver’s immunologist, said that research by the U.K indicates that the second dose could be of a different vaccine.
He added that this would help lower the pressure that B.C health authorities are experiencing. In his view, having two different vaccines can be quite beneficial. He noted that the second dose of a different vaccine can actually boost the body’s immunity in a much broader manner. However, the government says it needs to see the data first before it can administer a different second dose.
Irrespective of whether the government approves the mixing of vaccines, the advice that he has always given on this matter has always been the same. It is best that the government has any vaccine at this point, just ensure that the people are protected.
