[2021-10-05] COVID vaccine: third dose
Today, I received a letter from Ottawa Public Health indicating that I was eligible to receive a third dose of a COVID vaccine. It read: "This letter confirms that this individual is a patient of The Ottawa Hospital, and has been assessed to qualify for a third dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine."
The timing was welcome. Just this morning, I read a Global News story that opens with this statement: "Moderna’s president is warning that Canada could see a rise in so-called 'breakthrough' infections of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated people by Christmas time, prompting the need for a booster shot for the broader public."
The article goes on to say that data from a Moderna study of the immune response to its vaccine shows that "antibodies start to wane about six months after the second shot."
I did the math. My second dose was on May 14, not quite five months ago.
So receiving a letter from Ottawa Public Health today to say that I could get a third dose of the COVID vaccine was reassuring.
I wasted no time. I headed to the Eva James Community Centre in Kanata and joined the queue. It moved efficiently. When I was one person from the door, I heard the screener ask the man in front of me whether he was there for his first, second or third dose. The man said he was there for his first dose. I wanted to say, "Way to go!" but I resisted the temptation.
As I've written before, studies in the spring found that cancer patients did not have the same antibody response after one dose of the vaccine as people without cancer. Based on that research, the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology called on Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization to specify in its recommendations that cancer patients receive their second dose as per the original schedule―no later than three weeks after the first dose. I received my second dose 24 days after the first.
While I was waiting in line today for my third dose, I read another article from Global News, this time on the increased risk of death from the Delta variant compared to the original COVID virus. That story led with this: "A new study using Canadian data suggests the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus causes more serious disease and is associated with an increased risk of death compared to previous strains―dangers that are drastically reduced with vaccination."
The study analyzed more than 212,000 cases of COVID-19 reported in Ontario between February 7 and June 27, 2021. The study found that people who contracted the Delta variant were twice as likely to be hospitalized, almost 2½ times as likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and more than twice as likely to die than people who contracted the original virus strain.
The researchers also found that vaccines "blunted the severity of the variants by reducing risk of severe disease and death."
I've learned in the past year that my health is a blessing that I cannot take for granted, and that there are many things about ovarian cancer that I cannot control. Choosing to get the COVID vaccine―every dose that's recommended for me―is one small way that I am taking action where I can.
