All Manitobans aged 40 or over are now eligible to receive the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine, which is available via pharmacies and doctors’ offices, the provincial government announced April 19.
“Tens of thousands of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine remain in clinics and pharmacies across the province, which is why we're expanding the eligibility criteria for the vaccine,” said Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson in a news release Monday morning. “I want to thank physician and pharmacy partners for their work to provide vaccine and look forward to the numbers of doses administered increasing quickly over the coming days.”
Previously, administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been suspended for anyone except those aged 55 to 64 because it has caused a rare type of blood clot in some recipients, particularly among women in Europe.
“Based on all of the evidence available internationally to date, we continue to believe benefits of the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine to protect against COVID-19 outweigh any potential risks,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of the province’s Vaccine Implementation Task Force. “Expanding the criteria will help us reach more Manitobans, particularly those who may face challenges or face barriers in going to a super site or pop-up clinic.”
Previously, Reimer has said that the number of cases in which people develoepd these rare blood clots after receiving the vaccine were lower than the incidence of blood clots occuring among the general population.
AstraZeneca is available in Thompson at the Walmart, Safeway and Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies. Peopel who wish to receive vaccinations must call to make appointments and bring their health cards with them to their appointment.
