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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-second-dose-moderna-pfizer-1.5998847
Quebec is planning to use a different vaccine for the 2nd dose in some cases. Here's what the experts say
Combining Moderna and Pfizer shots may provide even better protection, says province's public health director
Isaac Olson ? CBC News ? Posted: Apr 23, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
Jonathan Marchand, a resident of a long-term care home north of Quebec City, got his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine back in December and he's getting a second dose on Friday.
But it won't be from the same company.
"I would have preferred to have received the Moderna vaccine, which was the first dose I received, but I'll take the Pfizer one. It's almost the same," said Marchand, a 44-year-old disability rights activist.
Marchand isn't the only one who will be getting a vaccine cocktail.
Quebec is planning to administer second doses to the province's most vulnerable residents ? even if the second dose doesn't match the first.
A single dose can provide ample protection to most but seniors are particularly susceptible to the disease. And just as it's time to boost their protection, Moderna deliveries have been significantly delayed by "quality assurance" backlogs.
So health officials are wading into relatively uncharted territory by using a different mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine while studies on the effectiveness and safety of combining the two are still underway.
On the surface, this may sound like a gamble, but some experts say it would be riskier to delay the second dose while more transmissible variants of the coronavirus are spreading through the province...
Quebec is planning to use a different vaccine for the 2nd dose in some cases. Here's what the experts say
Combining Moderna and Pfizer shots may provide even better protection, says province's public health director
Isaac Olson ? CBC News ? Posted: Apr 23, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
Jonathan Marchand, a resident of a long-term care home north of Quebec City, got his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine back in December and he's getting a second dose on Friday.
But it won't be from the same company.
"I would have preferred to have received the Moderna vaccine, which was the first dose I received, but I'll take the Pfizer one. It's almost the same," said Marchand, a 44-year-old disability rights activist.
Marchand isn't the only one who will be getting a vaccine cocktail.
Quebec is planning to administer second doses to the province's most vulnerable residents ? even if the second dose doesn't match the first.
A single dose can provide ample protection to most but seniors are particularly susceptible to the disease. And just as it's time to boost their protection, Moderna deliveries have been significantly delayed by "quality assurance" backlogs.
So health officials are wading into relatively uncharted territory by using a different mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine while studies on the effectiveness and safety of combining the two are still underway.
On the surface, this may sound like a gamble, but some experts say it would be riskier to delay the second dose while more transmissible variants of the coronavirus are spreading through the province...