CALL TO ACTION: COVID-19 VACCINES AND CANCER PATIENTS

Support us and write to your MP and MPP as we call on our governments to ensure that cancer patients receive COVID-19 vaccination doses according to the best available evidence, taking into consideration the specific needs of this population.

Click here to view the Globe & Mail Article 

What you can do to help?

1. Write to your Members of Parliament asking them to ensure that the vaccine rollout for COVID-19 vaccines to cancer patients and other immunocompromised members of your constituency receive vaccines as approved by Health Canada and as recommended by the patients’ medical professionals.
You can find your MP here by name, constituency or postal code: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en

 

 

2. Write to your Members of Provincial Parliament) / MLA (Members of Legislative Assembly / MNA (Member of National Assembly) / MHA (Member of the House of Assembly) to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in your province/territory follows this policy and that all local authorities and others administering COVID-19 in your province/territory, including pharmacies, have a copy of your written policy urgently.

You can find your MPP here by riding:
Prince Edward Island – https://www.assembly.pe.ca/members
Northwest Territories – https://www.ntassembly.ca/members/mlas
 
 
3. Donate to this initiative here
 
4. Follow CONECTed on Twitter @_CONECTed
Like and retweet our posts.

Thank you for your support, and for helping FIGHT FOR CHANGE!

Call to Action to Governments over COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout for Cancer Patients

Since before the pandemic, cancer patients were only too well aware that the healthcare system often could not accommodate even their most basic needs, leading to delays in diagnosis, treatment and care, and poorer health outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically exacerbated these problems.

Now, with the potential for vaccines to curb the spread of COVID-19, a big question for cancer patients is how the 2-dose vaccines should be administered.

There are currently 3 vaccines approved and being rolled out across Canada, each based on a two-dose regimen, and each with different recommended dosing intervals based on the clinical trial testing conditions:

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine – 2 doses, 21 days apart
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine – 2 doses, 4 weeks apart
AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine – 2 doses, between 4 and 12 weeks apart

The rollout by the provinces and territories is generally not following those dosing intervals. As of April 7, 2021, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), published its most recent statement on extended dosing intervals, continuing to recommend an extended interval of up to four months to rapidly provide vaccine to as many people as possible.

Oncology patient groups, doctors and other supporters have made numerous attempts to ensure that cancer patients get vaccines according to the best available research and clinical evidence.

We have written to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), Federal and Provincial Ministries of Health, and Public Health officials, to no avail.

Oncology Patient Group Letter to Government Decision Makers

Oncology Patient Group Letter to Government Decision Makers – Lymphoma Canada

It is time to change that. It is time for cancer patient voices to be heard.

On behalf of a group of national cancer organizations, we are committed to bringing your voices to the forefront.

Support us as we call on our governments to ensure that cancer patients receive COVID-19 vaccination doses according to the best available evidence, taking into consideration the specific needs of this population.

Write to your MP and MPP, and tell them that for COVID-19 vaccines to provide the best protection against the virus for cancer patients, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout across Canada must change urgently. That means up to 4 weeks between Covid-19 vaccine doses for cancer patients, NOT 4 months.

You can find your MP here by name, constituency or postal code: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
You can find your MPP here by riding: https://www.ola.org/en/members/current
 
Thank you for your support, and for helping FIGHT FOR CHANGE!
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