Increased supply of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine expected to fuel booster demand in York Region

Newmarkettoday.ca
Jan. 28, 2022

York Region Public Health is expecting a surge in demand for COVID-19 boosters as the Pfizer vaccine becomes more widely available.

Medical officer of health Dr. Barry Pakes told council Jan. 27 that the Pfizer vaccine would be available at clinics for booster doses on Friday. He said demand has waned for vaccines in the past couple of weeks as many residents are waiting to get that brand for their booster doses.

He said that demand “is non-evidence-based” and that there is evidence the more available Moderna vaccine is more effective against Omicron. But he said regardless, the supply should improve vaccination numbers in the short term.

“We’ve only been able to deliver Moderna, and there are quite a few ― a large proportion of the population -- that appears to really want the Pfizer vaccine,” he said, adding some may be hesitant to mix vaccine types and want a booster dose to match their first and second.

“We are expecting many more people to come to our clinics who have been waiting.”

The region has reached 87.4 per cent of its five and older population with at least one dose of vaccine, as of Jan. 25. Across the whole population, 41.8 per cent also now have booster doses.

Pakes said the Omicron variant is trending in a positive direction, and cases are stabilizing. But he added hospitals are still under pressure, and the region has had 70 COVID-19 deaths since Jan. 1.

“(Hospitalizations are) hovering around 200 admissions consistently,” he said. “That number is high. Our hospitals close by are optimistic, and our staffing in hospitals are improving, with fewer staff off from COVID, but it is still tenuous.”

When asked about booster doses for younger children, Pakes said the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has yet to recommend that for the 12 to 17 age group, which was later to get their first doses. He said he does not see that changing in the short term but that he personally hopes that becomes an option.

“The evidence simply isn’t there for boosting that group, but it is something I am quite passionate about for a variety of personal reasons,” Pakes said, noting he has two children in that age group. “I’m looking forward to a change. I’m not sure that it’s going to be coming in the short-term, but there certainly is a push for it.”

The region now has five mass vaccination clinics, including one at the Newmarket Community Centre and Lions Hall. Pakes said they expect to run them until at least May, though they would work with municipalities on that.

Georgina Regional Councillor Robert Grossi said some people are becoming less patient with restrictions, particularly when they see packed stadiums on television in other jurisdictions.

“The acceptance just isn’t there anymore. People want to be able to live their lives,” Grossi said. “Are we getting to the point where we can manage the disease, and we can get back to some sense of normalcy?”

Pakes said Canada does not necessarily want to emulate the United States, where stadiums are permitted to be full, which has about three times the death rate.

But he added the public health sector is factoring in things such as mental health in its decision making. He said that is part of why it has made calls such as a five-day versus a 10-day isolation period despite evidence transmissibility extends past five days, opening schools, and lifting restrictions starting Jan. 31.

“Everyone in public health and government recognizes we need to move to a different way of managing COVID,” Pakes said.