The Chaotic Roll-out of Covid-19 Vaccines

  The Chaotic Roll-out of Covid-19 Vaccines
by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East
   Currently, Canada has four covid-19 vaccines approved, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson and Johnson, with very different efficacy rates.
Vaccine efficacy refers to the percentage reduction of disease in a vaccinated group of people compared to an unvaccinated group, under ideal conditions.
Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna both have been determined by Health Canada to have efficacy rates of around 95 per cent. AstraZeneca-Oxford has an efficacy rate of 62 per cent while Johnson & Johnson has an efficacy rate of 66.9 per cent.
The questions these varying efficacy rates raise for the public, are: how these vaccines will be administered and who determines who will receive the highest efficacy rate vaccines.
"Medical experts" in Canada say that the latest approval of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine with a perceived lower efficacy rate should not give Canadians the green light to hold off on getting inoculated in order to wait for other doses with higher efficacy rates. So is it the advice of experts that people should accept whatever they are given, without any choice?
That attitude, of wanting to have a choice, will end up lengthening the time it takes to get the pandemic under control, said Dr. Peter Juni, scientific director of Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.
Interestingly Juni compared the differences in efficacy to high octane versus low octane gas. Most engines, he said, just need gas. How nice!  I wonder how often he puts low octane fuel in his BMW.  Is he as good at medicine as he is at engineering?
"If people start to do that", he continued, "they actually prevent Canadians from moving slowly back to normal." Wow…..
Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, takes more of a common sense approach, saying that debates over efficacy are going to be part of the challenge of getting people vaccinated.
"I think there is obviously something we have to deal with here," he said.
This controversy over efficacy and choice has created confusion and was raised by none other than the "experts" in Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) over the messaging of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which NACI has recommended against for vaccinating people aged 65 and older "due to limited information" on its efficacy in that age group.
Despite different efficacies, trials have shown that those who did become infected after getting vaccinated experienced only mild illness, said Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease specialist in Mississauga, Ont.
Putting it bluntly, the expert advice offered to us is: given the opportunity to get vaccinated, "Just take it" whatever the efficacy is because if not……….
Some other "medical experts" suggest that the J&J vaccine is good for less accessible, marginalized communities. Hmm….
That means, in their expert thoughts vaccine preference should not be a consideration with the vaccine rollout being such a massive undertaking, including: vaccine availability, vaccine prioritization schemes and vaccine registries.
Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada's chief medical adviser, has stated that vaccination with a vaccine with 66 per cent efficacy does not mean a person will have a 34 per cent chance of contracting COVID-19. Is she an expert in statistics as well?
"While each of the vaccines Health Canada has authorized has different efficacy numbers, the reality is that you will have a greatly reduced chance of getting COVID-19 with any of the ... vaccines that have been authorized," Sharma said.
Her message to Canadians is that when it's their turn, "you roll up your sleeve" and "take the vaccine that's offered to you". Basically telling you, do not comment you have no choice…..
So here we are, and the question is: Where are our political leaders to lead us out of this mess?
Relying on "experts" who express contradictory opinions without taking any responsibility or suffering any consequences, they bend and wave as the Covid-19 wind blows, ruining the economy, frightening people, isolating them from loved ones and from the community, confining them as virtual prisoners.  These actions are definitely not the hallmark of effective leadership.
We expect leadership and responsibility from our political leaders. They cannot hide behind the experts anymore. They need to take bold action to return us to normal life as quickly as possible. We elected you to act on our behalf, not to hide.
So let us see what is going on with the distribution of vaccines available to Canadians and how the vaccination is proceeding. At present we are in a very sad state on the pace of vaccination. Many countries are far ahead of us.
Provinces have established their own priorities without consulting each other. That means, that with interprovincial travel not yet completely banned, the pandemic will continue to rage relentlessly. So let's take a look at the most populous Canadian province, Ontario.
Ontario has focused its initial vaccination efforts on those in long-term care, high-risk retirement home residents, some health-care workers and people who live in congregate care settings. At the time of writing this article, 1.88 per cent (276,193) of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provincial government has said it aims to begin vaccinating Ontarians aged 80 and older starting the week of March 15, the same day it plans to launch its vaccine booking system, which will include a service desk and online portal. Good luck!
It has said the rollout will look different in each of its 34 public health units.
Several regions in Ontario have moved ahead with their plans to vaccinate the general public using their own booking systems to allow residents aged 80 and older to schedule appointments.
The province has also said it will extend the interval between doses of COVID-19 vaccines for up to four months. On what sound medical basis are the manufacturer's recommendations being disregarded?
Toronto began vaccinating police force members who respond to emergency calls on March 1 and has also started offering vaccines to people experiencing homelessness.
The province has said the recently approved AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine will go to residents between the ages of 60 and 64. Isn't this cutting it too close? We're dealing with human physiology.  Age 65 is not a hard and fast boundary. Shouldn't AZ-O go to younger people with better immune systems?
Nevertheless, a pilot project is set to launch Friday at more than 300 pharmacies in Toronto, Kingston and Windsor to give the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot to those aged 60 to 64.  
The health minister has also said the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot could be used in correctional facilities, but further details haven't been released.
With this said,  the questions remains: How do we get out of this mess?

Ask your MP and your MPP.