Ontario Premier Doug Ford receives second shot of AstraZeneca vaccine
Ontario Premier Doug Ford received his second dose of AstraZeneca on Thursday afternoon at a pharmacy in Etobicoke.
The premier thanked front-line health-care workers as he received his second jab to applause from people out of view of the camera.
“I want to thank all the front-line health-care workers. I want to thank all the Ontarians that came out to get vaccinated,” he said after getting the shot. “If you haven’t received your first vaccination, please, please go out and get your vaccination and if you have yours, please go out and get your second dose as soon as possible.”
Ford received his first dose on April 9.
About a week ago, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended that anyone who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine receive a second dose of an mRNA vaccine, such as Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, due to rare instances of blood clots associated with the shot.
The recommendation sparked confusion and frustration among Ontario residents who received AstraZeneca, despite the fact that health experts and NACI have maintained that anyone who receives both doses will still receive “good protection against infection and very good protection against severe disease and hospitalization.”
Ontario stopped administering first doses of AstraZeneca in early May “out of an abundance of caution” due to an increase in reports of rare blood clots. At the time, officials said the risk of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) associated with the vaccine in Ontario is one in 60,000
The remaining supply of the vaccine was reserved for second doses. Officials have said there is much less risk of VITT following a second shot.
Health Minister Christine Elliott told CP24 on Thursday that while her first dose was AstraZeneca, she received Pfizer as her second shot a few days ago.
“I did have AstraZeneca first and then I spoke with my doctor about what was best for me and my medical condition, so then I made a decision on my second dose and I got Pfizer as my second dose,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.