The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
When Gwenny Farrell booked her second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on the first day it became available, she said she believed she was doing the right thing.
The resident of White Rock, B.C., said she has tried to follow every health protocol and recommendation strictly, so her confidence has been shaken by a new recommendation from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization on mixing the vaccines.
On June 1, NACI had said AstraZeneca recipients "could" get Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for their second shot if they wanted, but on Thursday it went further to say an mRNA vaccine was the "preferred" choice.
"I'm frustrated because now, after being told for months that the best vaccine is the first one that's in your arm, I'm being told I may have made a mistake," Farrell, 55, said.
The new recommendation is drawing mixed reaction from those who've already received two jabs of AstraZeneca. Farrell is not alone in her disappointment, while others say they remain happy with their choice because they know it still means they are well protected against COVID-19.
The committee's guidance is based on the growing supply of mRNA vaccines, growing evidence that a second dose of an mRNA vaccine produces a stronger immune response, and because of the low but serious risk of vaccine-induced blood clots associated with AstraZeneca.
"People who received two doses of AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine can rest assured that the vaccine provides good protection against infection and very good protection against severe disease and hospitalization," NACI's advice says.
The committee also updated its previous recommendation that people at high risk of exposure to, or serious illness from, COVID-19, could opt to get AstraZeneca rather than waiting for Pfizer or Moderna. Now NACI says everyone should always get the mRNA vaccines first, unless they are allergic to them.
However, officials in Quebec and British Columbia didn't move to follow NACI's advice, instead saying residents can still make a personal choice for either a mixed schedule or two doses of AstraZeneca.
"The very real world evidence shows us we have good protection across the board with both vaccines in our community," B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
As of June 5, 2.1 million Canadians had received one dose of AstraZeneca, and 15,186 had received two doses.
There are no further shipments of AstraZeneca scheduled, but there are still about half a million doses of it in the provinces.
Toronto resident Sophie Nadeau said she remains grateful that she got her second AstraZeneca jab on Tuesday.
"I mean I'm fully vaccinated, that's amazing," she said.
Nadeau said she made the best decision she could with the information available at the time. As a single mother who hasn't been able to see her parents in a long time, it was important to get the first vaccine that was available.
As a public relations professional, Nadeau said she has a lot of empathy for those responsible for communicating what she understands to be naturally evolving recommendations as new evidence becomes available.
"There are no perfect choices when it comes to COVID-19," she said, adding the pandemic has made everyone develop risk assessment skills.
"I really do feel like for the last year and a half, every single thing has become an assessment of risk: from masks, to letting my kids out, to seeing my parents or choosing not to in this case. By this point, I've kind of become emotionally prepared for the story to change."
Mike Farnworth, British Columbia's minister of public safety, said he got his second AstraZeneca dose last week and would do the same if it was available this week.
He said his message to other British Columbians who have received two doses is the same: "Don't worry, you're fully vaccinated."
Others aren't so sure. Michael Slavitch, 54, made two separate appointments for his second dose because of mixed advice.
He now plans to cancel his AstraZeneca appointment Monday and keep his appointment for an mRNA shot.
Slavitch said he's particularly concerned about whether his AstraZeneca vaccine, or mixing and matching, will be accepted by other countries as international travel opens up.
"I'm confused about what to do," he said. "Our government is responsible for cleaning up this mess."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2021.
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
AI tools can offer recommendations, answer questions and 'talk' with users. But some users are using them to recreate the likeness of the dead.
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
A potential strike between WestJet and its mechanics union appears to have been avoided.
Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial are moving deeper into his orbit following an inside-the-room account about the former president's reaction to a politically damaging recording that surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.