VANCOUVER -- With COVID-19 vaccine doses being distributed across Canada, many British Columbians might be eager to get their own immunization.
While health officials have warned residents will need to be patient, some health-care workers have already received their first dose, with more shipments expected soon.
CTV Morning Live spoke with Vancouver family physician Dr. Rhonda Low this week to ask her some common questions about the new vaccine for the coronavirus.
The following is part of a four-minute interview, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Keri Adams: Let's talk about the double doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Are we expected to gain some immunity after only one shot?
Dr. Rhonda Low: So far the only information we do have is for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. According to their clinical trial data, the efficacy rate of the first dose is about 52 per cent, and that starts kicking in 10 days after getting the first shot. But the stress is you do need two shots.
Jason Pires: So how long will it take until you get the full immunity?
Low: You get 52 per cent after the first shot, you check in with the second dose and that gives your immune system a long-term boost. With the three front runner vaccines that we have right now, the efficacy rate is between 86 to 95 per cent, which is pretty darn good.
The idea is this will protect folks from getting sick from COVID and most importantly, it'll prevent folks from getting serious illnesses.
One of the questions I got from a patient was will getting a COVID vaccine cause you to test positive? And the answer is no.
Adams: What about people who have already had COVID-19? Should they still get a vaccine?
Low: Those who have had COVID, should still get the vaccine because we don't know how long the protection is going to last after you've become infected with COVID. We are also seeing folks that are getting reinfected, so you should get the vaccine.
Pires: How do we know which vaccine is best for us?
Low: Well right now we don't have much of a choice because only Pfizer's been granted authorization, and Moderna will likely follow. Their safety and efficacy rates are roughly comparable and in the future it might turn out that one vaccine might be better for some folks than the other. But all that data is still coming out.
We know right now that Pfizer is not recommended for folks who have serious anaphylactic reactions where they have to carry EpiPens. So other factors that might come into play in the future might be practical things like storage. It may be that a vaccine that doesn't require extreme cold storage would be better for more remote communities. And then also in the future a vaccine that only requires one dose might be better for logistical reasons.
Adams: Once you're vaccinated do you still need to wear that mask, do we still need to physically distance, can you still be contagious?
Low: Currently it's recommended that you still wear a mask and that you physically distance even though you have the vaccine. Because even though it's less likely you'll get sick from the virus, there's still a chance that you can be infected and pass it on to others. So you still need to take care.
Pires: While front-line workers are first to get the vaccine, when do you expect seniors will be getting it? And for lower-risk people?
Low: That's the big question and we're getting lots of calls and emails from our patients about this … the federal government and the provincial government are the ones guiding the national strategy. My guess is by spring we'll have some for the general public – we're talking about later spring. And for seniors, a little bit earlier. About February or March, hopefully.
Watch the full interview in the video player above.
