Albertans can now book appointments for the updated Novavax vaccine
CBC
A limited supply of the updated Novavax vaccine is rolling out in Alberta this week with appointment booking starting Wednesday and shots going into arms as of Friday.
Alberta Health said it has approximately 5,000 doses of the Novavax XBB.1.5 vaccine in stock.
The latest version of the protein-based vaccine was approved by Health Canada in early December.
According to the province, Albertans 12 and up are eligible and it is available to people who cannot take an mRNA vaccine for medical reasons and to those who refuse mRNA formulations.
People who have already received an updated (XBB) mRNA vaccine are not eligible, and the immunizations will not be available at community pharmacies or medical clinics.
"Because of the limited demand and supply of the product, Novavax vaccines will only be available at limited locations across the province," a spokesperson for Alberta Health said in an emailed statement.
"Albertans will be required to call Health Link at 811 to book an appointment at select AHS public health centres across Alberta. Appointments are being booked to limit vaccine waste."
Bookings begin Wednesday with appointments starting on Friday.
"This is an important tool for people who may either be hesitant about the mRNA vaccines or we have to recognize that there are people out there who for whatever reason — perhaps an allergy — can't receive the other formulation," said Craig Jenne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary.
"This creates an avenue where these people now have access to an updated vaccine for the coronavirus."
Given the low uptake of the earlier version of Novavax, Jenne doesn't expect a rush on appointments.
"Very, very few Albertans opted to take them. So I don't think this is going to solve a vaccine hesitancy or a vaccine fatigue problem but will likely be a critical tool for those small number of Albertans that may have a medical reason why they can't receive the mRNA vaccine."
The Alberta Health website says mRNA vaccines are still the recommended option for most people.
"The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) currently recommends the mRNA vaccines as the preferred COVID-19 vaccine products," it states, adding the Novavax XBB.1.5 vaccine is the only non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine available to Canadians 12 and up.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.