Who should be the first to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine in Canada? New official advice has been released

The Canadians were given theirs First look Who can be preferred once the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available in this country?

A national consulting firm released its first guidelines on immunization advice released on Tuesday. They suggest that the elderly and high-risk as well as health care and workers in need should be the first to get vaccinated.

The National Advisory Committee does not adhere to the guidelines of immunization, but is designed to advise public health organizations to “reduce serious illness and overall mortality while minimizing social disruption as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.”

Once the vaccine becomes available, there is no turning back – at least not at first. Therefore, the guidelines are designed to create an “effective, efficient and equitable allocation”.

According to the guidelines, the main groups are:

* People with high morbidity and mortality are: Including advanced age or other high-risk conditions;

* COVID-19 may be transmitted to high-risk individuals: Including home contacts of health care workers and caregivers, as well as those at high risk;

* Required service workers: Should be identified in conversations with provinces and territories, including police and grocery store personnel; And

* Their living and working conditions increase the risk of infection: Including indigenous communities.

Amy Greer, an infectious epidemiologist and associate professor at Guelph University, said: “I do not think there are any surprises here.

Priority groups are similar to those described in the National Influenza Epidemic Plan, she noted. The guidelines are generally in line with those recommended by the World Health Organization.

What is different at this time is that these are the newest vaccines that are being mass-produced for the first time.

“When the vaccine became available, ‘How many doses per week could these producers get out of the production line?’ We know that there will be a limiting factor.

“In the same context, the priority exercise is, ‘How can we get more bang for our buck?’

Officials emphasized that these first guidelines were not set in stone, as there were still a lot of unanswered questions about how the vaccine would work. Priority may vary in the light of data showing that the vaccine is more effective in a particular group, a shortage of preparation or the need for higher supply or additional booster doses.

As a result, these recommendations may change as we go, officials say, and will be updated after major milestones; For example, when potential vaccines begin to gain regulatory approval.

Canada is currently one Advance agreements This qualifies us for a specific dose of vaccine candidates, but the most advanced ones are still in the final stages of human testing, after which they face scrutiny by Health Canada.

Most experts can not say that we will end in the end Multiple vaccines, But it remains to be seen how effective each one will be and when we will be able to deliver the doses.

There are other factors that can help determine which group has the highest priority, or how people rank in an important group, including the characteristics of the vaccine at the end, the epidemic status when each vaccine supply and dosage are available.

First of all, vaccines should be considered safe for a specific population.

For example, most vaccine tests are tested for safety reasons due to health reasons and have not yet been extended to seniors or higher risk groups. If there is no data to show that the initial vaccine works in the elderly, that dose will be given to other important groups instead.

Also, just because someone is on the priority list doesn’t mean they really want or can get vaccinated, Greer said.

She said the government needs to start communicating about the vaccine to combat misinformation. It should also be planned for people on this list who do not live in the city or can easily come to the vaccination clinic.

“We need to think now about how we are going to implement the distribution of vaccines,” she said.

The recommendations recognized the need for access and called on public health agencies to increase access to immunization programs and to engage grassroots and ethnic populations in planning.

As with flu shots, actual vaccinations are administered by regional or territorial authorities who are required to initiate their program planning, including recommendations for safety monitoring and immunization of populations in remote communities.

Alex Boyd is a Calgary reporter for the star. Follow her on Twitter: @alex.n.boyd