Despite Alberta’s pleas for single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, uptake is slow – CBC

‘It took a long time to get this vaccine,’ says co-lead of Alberta’s vaccine task force

Nov 20, 2021

In a bid to raise vaccination rates among holdouts, doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine are now available in several provinces, including British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

But uptake of the single-dose option has been slow to start.

Earlier this month, Alberta received 5,000 doses of the J&J vaccine. In the first week of its campaign, 1,190 shots were administered in the province.

Part of the problem with uptake is likely the length of time it took to get the vaccine, said Dr. Cheri Nijssen-Jordan, co-lead of Alberta’s Vaccine Task Force.

After the province implemented proof of vaccination at many businesses in September, many people who had been holding out got vaccinated with other vaccines, she said, so they could access services.

“We do find that people that want specialized vaccines, specialized treatments can be quite vocal.… It’s hard to know the numbers that actually underlie that,” she said.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/johnson-johnson-vaccine-uptake-slow-1.6256617