Ontario top doctor expands 4th vaccine eligibility, acknowledges myocarditis risk from vaccines

Tia Riley — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 02:05:20 +0000

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore announced at a press conference on July 13 that Ontario will expand eligibility for the fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot to include all adults starting July 14 at 8 a.m. Those who are under 60 and healthy can choose to wait until the fall for a new shot that’s expected to better target Omicron variants.

A reporter who asked him why the province has allowed for a “personal decision” instead of recommending the second booster shot for everyone. Moore replied “We are doing a risk-based approach. There’s always a risk to having any therapeutic versus a benefit,” healthy adults do not necessarily need a second booster shot for COVID-19, as the risk of hospitalization is “very, very low.” “You want to make sure there’s a very strong benefit versus the risk. If you’re an 18-year-old healthy individual, the risk of getting hospitalized, if you have no underlying medical illness, is very very low” said Moore.

“We know there is a risk, a very small risk, 1 in 5,000 that may get myocarditis, for example, and you’d have to have that discussion on the risk-benefit of complications from the vaccine versus the benefit of decreased hospitalization for a young healthy person.”

Ontario Chief Medical Officer Kieran Moore said not everyone should get COVID-19 vaccine due to risk of myocarditis. He said there is a "1 in 5000" chance of getting myocarditis, adding "you'd have to have that discussion on the risk-benefit, for a young, healthy person." pic.twitter.com/Wnkq5wMEPZ

— Canadian Riley (@TiaRileyCanada) July 14, 2022