Pharmacies to contact AstraZeneca recipients about 2nd dose options

Island residents in the 18-29 age bracket who received AstraZeneca-Oxford from a P.E.I. pharmacy and are due for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be getting a call to discuss options, says Erin MacKenzie, executive director of the P.E.I. Pharmacists Association.

Those options would be to get another shot of AstraZeneca, or the Modern mRNA vaccine. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is currently unavailable at pharmacies.

Those in the 55-plus age group who decide to have a second dose of AstraZeneca may be able to have their second dose earlier than first booked because the recommended time interval has been reduced to eight weeks.

"I think people are very anxious to get vaccinated and they're excited to find out about when their second dose will be coming. So certainly that has reflected in the number of calls coming into pharmacies," MacKenzie said.

New Brunswick pharmacies, for example, have been offering the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. MacKenzie said the Pfizer vaccine may be offered at P.E.I. pharmacies if the supply increases.

"It's not an easy rollout by any means. There are so many variables, moving targets. But certainly this is our first pandemic and we hope we don't have another one in the near future," she said.

"In the grand scheme of things, we look at our numbers and our successes, and I think all this work has been worth it."

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