the good doctor on: Vaccines Again?

Blog #27

Vaccines again?

Back in August I wrote a blog on the topic of vaccines. Today my family and I made our annual trip to the doctor’s office to receive our influenza shot, reminding me, once again of the benefits of having government-sponsored immunization programs.

Previously I had discussed the importance the Shingrix vaccine for Herpes Zoster. I have some great news for those who qualify. The Ontario Government is now providing this vaccine free to anyone who is 65-70 years of age and has not received the Zostavaxpreviously from OHIP.

This vaccine is a lot more effective in stopping shingles, especially in the elderly population. Even if you do not qualify, please consider getting this vaccine in spite of the financial cost.

Another piece of great news was the federal government’s recent announcement regarding a made-in-Canada vaccine for COVID-19. Medicago, a biotech firm out of Quebec, took only 20 days to produce virus-like particles (VLP’s) from a plant source that could be used to create a vaccine. Unlike other vaccines, this new one does not have genetic material from the virus, presenting no risk of the vaccine causing infection.

Medicago is now entering Phase II and has received major financial backing from our federal government. They are hopeful that the vaccine will be ready for market in 2021, and they should be able to produce 1 billion doses a year when the new production facility is up and running. Special thanks should be given to the researchers and techs that have been bringing this together and to all levels of government, especially the province of Quebec for its timely support.

No doubt, this presents a much needed light at the end of the tunnel.

Til next week,

The Good Doctor, Dr. Mark Germain, Burlington Eyecare