My wife and I got the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today as our age group is now eligible to get the shot. All along we were presuming that we would get the Pfizer vaccine, but we ended up getting the Moderna. Both are mRNA-type vaccines. We are not scheduled to get our second dose 16 weeks later on 4th September, just before labor day. A long time away.
Here in Canada, the Astra-Zeneca (Oxford) vaccine has been paused in several provinces including in Ontario where I live, due to several cases of blood clots and some associated deaths. Canada is still trying to figure out what to do with the second shot for those who have got Astra-Zeneca as their first shot.
There is a vaccine shortage everywhere around the world in several countries. The US is the only one of the large countries that are not facing this problem. Canada is following the UK model by delaying the second dose to 16-weeks and focusing on getting one dose out soon to a large swath of the population. We seem to have lucked out with this approach as a recent UK study has shown that the efficacy is much better with a longer duration of 12 to 16 weeks than the product monograph prescribed approach of 3 or 4 weeks between shots (depending on the manufacturer)
Anyway, after 15 months of the pandemic, we got the first shot in a possible defense. However, globally it is going to be a prolonged recovery with the Virus mutations from India rampantly growing around the world being a cause of concern. Though the end seems insight in some countries like the US or UK and Isreal, countries like Australia get to vaccinate only much later in 2022 and several poor and underdeveloped countries this is going to stretch to 2023/24 as I talked about it before.
But it is good to get any glimmer of hope that is available. And I will gladly take it.
Resources:
AstraZeneca vaccine 1st dose recipients in limbo after some provinces press pause - https://globalnews.ca/news/7855955/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-first-dose-pause/
Delayed second Pfizer-BioNTech shot produces more antibodies, U.K. study says - https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-19-pfizer-second-dose-delay-more-antibodies-study-1.6026765