Most residents of Brampton and Mississauga likely won’t need third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

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Published November 5, 2021 at 12:31 pm

While the Province is preparing to administer third doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to select individuals, it appears third doses will not be necessary for the general public.

Speaking during Mayor Patrick Brown’s weekly press conference on Wednesday (November 3), Dr. Lawrence Loh, Medical Officer of Health for the Region of Peel, said, based on the effectiveness of the immunity produced by vaccines thus far, most people won’t need a third dose.

“I think the evidence from Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia has been very clear that Canada’s decision to lengthen the interval between the first and second dose, which was based entirely on vaccinology principles, has actually produced a more robust immunity in our population,” Dr. Loh said.

According to Dr. Loh, the immunity produced as a result of the vaccine schedule means the majority of residents in Peel Region likely won’t need a third vaccine at this time.

Those who were included in the Province’s recommendation for third doses were individuals over the age of 70, health-care workers and essential caregivers who work in congregate settings (and received their vaccines on a compressed schedule), those who received two doses of a viral vector vaccine—either AstraZeneca or Johnson and Johnson—and First Nation, Inuit, and Metis adults and those who live with them.

Additionally, while the Pfizer vaccine has not yet been approved for children between the ages of five and 11, Dr. Loh emphasized the Region is ready to begin administering the pediatric vaccine when it has been approved.

“We are ready for whatever expanded eligibility comes. Peel Public Health is bringing online additional clinics throughout our community—both fixed mass as well as mobile clinics—to address increased demand,” he said.

“Both for boosters as well as insuring people get their primary series, such as pediatrics when it becomes available.”

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