No images? Click here MEMO: UPDATE - COVID-19 Vaccines: Phase 2TO: Health Care Professionals in the Niagara region FROM: Pandemic Response Division, Niagara Region Public Health REFERENCE: UPDATE - COVID-19 Vaccines: Phase 2 DATE: April 22, 2021 This memo is in follow-up to the communications issued on April 14: COVID-19 Vaccines – Phase 2. Please see changes to the chart below: Patients with Medical Exceptions to Extended Dose Interval – Highest Risk From “Highest Risk” populations, the following patients are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the shortened dose interval of 26 days (for both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines) or 12 weeks for AstraZeneca. Essential caregivers will not be eligible for the shortened second dose interval. The duration between doses will remain at 16 weeks (4 months).
In order to receive vaccine at the shortened dose interval at Niagara’s vaccination clinics, the patient will require a letter or a completed form (please see Niagara Health’s webpage on exceptions to extended dose intervals) from their clinician to confirm that they are eligible to get a second dose appointment at shortened dose interval, identifying the reason for the exception. Patients are to bring the letter to their first appointment which allows the booking in COVax to go to 26 days and then they bring it again to the second appointment as proof again that they are eligible for that second dose. Guidelines for Use of AstraZeneca If you are offering AstraZeneca vaccine to patients in your office, please prioritize vaccine to patients in the “high risk” followed by the “at risk” categories. There are currently three (3) bodies of guidance around use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Please use your clinical judgement based on patient diagnosis, risk factors and vaccine availability when determining appropriate use of AstraZeneca vaccine for your patient.
This is dynamic situation and guidance is constantly changing. As more information is made available we will provide an update. Please review the Ministry’s guidance for health care providers prior to administering the vaccine to patients. Age-Eligibility As a reminder, patients living in Niagara 60 years of age and older, as well as those from the identified COVID-19 “hot spot” 50 years of age and older with postal code L2G, are eligible to book vaccine appointments through the Provincial Booking Tool or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line number at 1-833-943-3900. More Information For links to further COVID-19 vaccine information in Niagara, please see Niagara Region Public Health’s COVID-19 Vaccinations website. For links to further COVID-19 vaccine-relevant information and planning resources, please see the Ministry of Health’s website. Thank you again for your commitment to Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign. |