Vaughn Palmer: U.S. fast tracks approval to get newer COVID vaccine than B.C. has on offer
Opinion: B.C. officials assert bivalent vaccine approved by Canada is almost as good as more recently developed U.S. variety
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B.C. health officials are playing down the difference between the COVID-19 booster to be distributed in this province and the one already available in the U.S.
The U.S. vaccine is specifically tailored to the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants that account for more than 80 per cent of new cases in both countries.
B.C., like the rest of Canada, will have to make do with a Moderna vaccine that was crafted for an earlier version of Omicron, the BA.1 subvariant, which lately accounts for only a tiny fraction of cases.
“The one that was approved by Health Canada is the one that is bivalent with BA.1,” Dr. Bonnie Henry said this week, referring to how the vaccine targets both the original version of COVID-19 as well as the Omicron subvariant.
“We know that it is BA.4 and 5 that we’re seeing most commonly now — particularly BA.5,” Henry acknowledged.
Still, she insisted that the difference is not all that significant.
“BA.5 is not a dramatically different strain. It is not a new variant. It is still within Omicron, so we’re seeing good protection.”
In clinical studies of the Moderna vaccine on people, “it has been shown to give really, strong increased boost against all of the Omicron subvariants,” she said.
However, earlier this year, provincial health officials suggested B.C. could look forward to a more up-to-date vaccine in the fall.
Two months ago, the province had already recognized that BA.5 was supplanting BA.1 as the dominant subvariant.
“One of the siblings, if you will, of Omicron is taking over,” Dr. Martin Lavoie, the deputy provincial health officer, told reporters at a July 8 briefing. “We expect BA.5 will probably become the majority of those viruses that we’re seeing.”
The good news was that manufacturers were already working on a vaccine that would be “better adapted to Omicron” and its subvariants.
“The virus has evolved over time and our vaccines need to evolve as well,” said Lavoie. “As the virus goes further out away from the vaccine that we have now, we need to have a vaccine that actually is closer related to what circulates to be more effective.”
In anticipation of those new vaccines being available in the fall, British Columbians were advised to hold off getting their latest booster unless they fell into one of the high-risk categories.
“The message is — the recommendation is — really the best thing to do is wait for the fall,” said Dr. Penny Ballem, executive lead on the provincial immunization program.
Health Minister Adrian Dix agreed.
“A fall booster campaign is coming and that’s the best time to get it.
“We want to have a vaccine that’s adapted to Omicron — because right now the vaccine we have is not adapted.”
“It’s going to be better to have that vaccine — That’s coming.”
The fall booster drive is scheduled to get underway next week.
But the vaccine being distributed here is not as adapted to the latest subvariant of Omicron as the version available in the U.S.
“There is very little data that shows it is more effective,” says Henry.
Yet.
The U.S version — and there are two vaccines, one made by Moderna, the other by Pfizer — is a recent arrival.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sought and obtained agreement for the manufacture of the BA.4/5 vaccine earlier this year after considerable internal debate about the right approach.
The Americans decided to match vaccine development with the dominant subvariant in search of the best available outcome.
In order to expedite availability, they opted for the vaccine to be tested on mice. Testing on humans could have delayed implementation until spring, well past the fall respiratory season.
Animal testing is the usual procedure with influenza vaccines to expedite implementation.
The FDA further justified the move on grounds that it was updating an existing vaccine.
“Real world evidence from the current COVID-19 vaccines, which have been administered to millions of individuals, show us that the vaccines are safe,” said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf.
Clinical trials on humans are going on.
Even if the BA.4/5 vaccine were proven to be more effective to the satisfaction of B.C. officials, the question is moot because it is not being offered to Canada.
The Americans paid in advance for more than 175 million doses of the latest Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
Perhaps when the U.S. orders are filled, it could be offered for approval here.
For now, Henry says that anyone wanting to be boosted has only the one option.
“There are 1.3 million people who have not had that third booster shot and we have been trying to understand their reasons,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
“As we know, Omicron has been spreading quite a lot. We have heard that about a third to 40 per cent of that 1.3 million people are willing to get a vaccine.
“They were waiting for the bivalent vaccine. So we will be targeting, and one of the things we’re saying today is if you’re in that group of people, this is your vaccine to get in the coming months.”
Alternatively, there have already been reports of Canadians venturing to the U.S. to get vaccinated, no questions asked.
Anyone wanting to access the more up to date option of the Omicron vaccine could take their chances south of the border.
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