Pfizer one-dosers can now line up for Moderna in Montreal

In news that we all saw coming, a delay in the delivery of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine doses and an influx of Moderna doses has moved Montreal public health to recommend mixing and matching brands.

As the province previously recommended to AstraZeneca recipients, Montrealers are being told — as all Canadians are, by health officials at all levels of government — that mixing and matching brands is okay, and that getting that second vaccine dose ASAP (after eight weeks have passed between doses) is more important than being brand-consistent.

The acceleration of the Quebec vaccine rollout via the rescheduling of second-dose appointments hit a snag late last week due to the temporary Pfizer BioNTech shortage. However, given that Moderna is also an mRNA vaccine (as opposed to AstraZeneca), the two brands are considered interchangeable. Santé Montréal is pointing people who’ve received one Pfizer dose to the many walk-in clinics offering Moderna.

VACCINATION | Il est maintenant possible pour tous les adultes ayant reçu une première dose du vaccin Pfizer depuis 8 semaines ou plus de se rendre à un site sans rdv pour recevoir une deuxième dose avec le vaccin Moderna.

Pour plus d'informations : https://t.co/MP7Dvo3Oe2 pic.twitter.com/CaXSKuvSYz

— Santé Montréal (@santemontreal) June 23, 2021

The perceived rush to get everyone double-dosed is due mostly to the fact that one vaccine dose does not adequately protect against the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is causing outbreaks across Canada and starting to take over the COVID scene in the U.S. (not to mention the havoc it is wreaking in India, England and beyond).

For a list of Montreal walk-in vaccination sites and hours, please visit the Santé Montréal website.

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