Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization is recommending provinces pause the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine on those under the age of 55, citing safety concerns as the reason why.  Many provinces, including Saskatchewan, are following that lead Monday.

Evolving concerns of the AstraZeneca vaccine have Health Canada investigating the benefit to risk factors.  Health Canada says it will be issuing additional terms and conditions around the authorization needed for AstraZeneca and Verity Pharmaceuticals-Serum Institute of India vaccines.  Conditions will include a requirement that the manufacturers conduct a detailed assessment of the benefits and risks of the vaccine by age and sex in the Canadian context. Health Canada hopes this will determine if there are specific groups of people who may be at higher risk.

These all stems from an ongoing assessment of very rare adverse events reported in Europe of blood clots with low blood platelets occurring after immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Health Canada says no cases of these events have been reported in Canada.