Statistics are a part of our lives. Sadly, most people do not have a clue how they work and how they are to be interpreted. Our conservative government here in Alberta continues to find unique and exciting new ways to drop the ball when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. The government has set up mass vaccination clinics in Calgary and Edmonton and both are ghost-towns.
Why?
(**edit – It has been brought to my attention that this comparison is more like orange to apples than oranges to oranges – The type of clot and severity are on quite different scales. However, a better comparison would be the possible chance and complications from the AstraZenca vaccine versus the chance and effects of being infected with Covid 19 or one of its variants and the complications involved. The vaccine is the better choice.)
Because people don’t want to die of AstraZeneca vaccine related blood clots. How likely is that to happen? Roughly the risk is 1 in 250,000.
Scary, right?
The risk of getting blot clots from another injection – Between 3 and 9 people out 10,000 will develop blood clots on the birth control pill.
Yet Birth Control pills are still widely prescribed and used in society with not a great deal of hoopla. That being said, this what the vaccination centre looked like here :
“The mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Edmonton Expo Centre can administer 7,000 shots per day, if operating at full capacity.
On Wednesday, it did 280.
The rapid-flow clinic is solely offering the AstraZeneca vaccine and only to Albertans aged 55 to 64. An Alberta Health Services spokesperson said the Expo clinic did not run at full capacity this week because a slow uptake was expected for the shots.
On its opening day on Monday, the clinic administered 1,632 doses. That dropped sharply the next day to 520. As of Thursday mid-morning, AHS said around 400 people were booked for the day.
Another mass clinic at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre is also facing low appointment numbers after it opened last week.
“The first day we were doing about 5,000. Right now, we have bookings for between 500 and 1,000 people,” Dr. Cheri Nijssen-Jordan, AHS’s vaccine task force co-lead, said in an interview with the Calgary Eyeopener on Thursday.”
The targeted people in the demographic are small in society and are afraid of the AZ vaccine – because blood clots(?).
“Nijssen-Jordan said part of the issue is hesitancy brought on by reports of extremely rare blood clots occurring in people who have received AstraZeneca, also known as Covishield.
On Wednesday, Health Canada announced it had completed a safety review and found that AstraZeneca is safe, and that Canadians over 18 shouldn’t hesitate to take it if offered.
Eligibility is still limited to those over 55 for the time being as the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is still reviewing research and hasn’t updated its recommendation. An Alberta Health spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that the province is following NACI’s recommendation and will continue to only offer AstraZeneca to Albertans aged 55 to 64.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said Thursday that the province’s Alberta Advisory Committee on Immunization would discuss expanding the age eligibility this week.”
So because of statistical illiteracy we have viable vaccinations sitting on the shelf while not all essential and front line people have been vaccinated.
The UCP government has added fruitless dithering to its already terrible record of dealing with the pandemic in this province.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
4 comments
April 17, 2021 at 11:50 am
John B.
Our illiteracy extends to our understanding of information we’ve been provided on the comparative efficacy of the products.
From: https://healthydebate.ca/2021/03/topic/comparing-vaccines/ (11 Mar 21)
“The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have the highest efficacy at around 95 per cent. Lower efficacy, in the 60 to 70 per cent range, was found for the AstraZeneca and Janssen products. …
“However, we should be cautious in comparing these trials since they used different ways to measure efficacy, says Alison Thompson, an associate professor who studies public health policy and ethics at the University of Toronto.”
Moreover, some believe that we have a ready supply of the AstraZeneca because the Americans don’t want it.
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April 17, 2021 at 11:59 am
tildeb
Some clarity is needed regarding blood clots from these vaccinations: yes, birth control pills have a higher incidence of blood clots but the blood clots from the vaccines are a different kind, namely a significantly more dangerous kind called ‘immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia,” or VITT. This kind (the people who have gotten the shot and then had this kind of clot are associated with having a low platelet count) stimulates the production of more platelets and can block not just major arteries but cause heart attacks as well as significant strokes in the brain, whereas the pill can produce a clot called a pulmonary embolism, or PE, which is far less dangerous. So, to be honest, the concern is understandable. Add to the fact the Astra Zeneca production, testing, studies, and now side effects all have suffered from fuck-ups at every stage, and uncertainty is forgivable.
That being said, what is not forgivable is not recognizing Covid is far, Far, FAR more dangerous in every way and not stepping up and doing one’s civic duty to get vaccinated. Duty, not choice. If that means waiting for Moderna or Phizer then so be it, but vaccination regardless.
So here’s where I’m at: Anyone who chooses not to get vaccinated should understand this choice means not having access to public services… like health, education, or pension ever again because each person is ‘choosing’ to be a significant health risk risk to the rest of the public. If they owe the public nothing with such a selfish choice (unless medically necessary), then they should understand they are ‘choosing’ to receive nothing from the public.
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April 18, 2021 at 10:45 am
The Arbourist
@tildeb
Thanks for the clarification. I’ve added an update to the post to reflect the more accurate information.
I wrote this post because I’m quite annoyed at Alberta Health Services, as they have the facilities set up for vaccinations and then won’t vaccinate people. Being a substitute teacher puts me in the thick of the pandemic every time I choose to work – my bills are remarkably unsympathetic to my plight. I’ve limited my work to one school during the pandemic, but that will have to change soon. I would get the AZ vaccine if was available, the risk is small and the benefits outweigh the negative factors by a large margin.
People who are choosing not mask, respect social distancing, and getting vaccinated are all contributing toward the rise of the third wave, and a possible fourth wave on the horizon (a la the US). Countries that managed not to half-ass their lockdowns have emerged on the other side of the pandemic while we continue to dither and thus continue to ride the Covid roller coaster. :(
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April 18, 2021 at 11:20 am
tildeb
Absolutely; I hear you. Alberta’s governments have done a huge disservice to the population as a whole with mixed messaging and very stupid policies. The rates reflect just how atrocious those in charge – from medical to elected – have done their civic duty.
Here in Ontario, we have the same problem but to lesser degree. The message about the goals – to prevent death – by all health authorities are directly contrary to addressing community spread. And so what constitutes ‘risk’ has been to produce misinformation. Risk means exposure to air breathed by others, whereas all health authorities have advertsided risk to be local infection rates. And so schools are advertised to be ‘safe’ if the risk is death but in reality superspreader locations with the right variant. These variants are now the majority of infections and it’s no surprise the main age cohorts getting sick and requiring hospitalizations are those under the age of 30. True, they may not die, but they add to rather than subtract from the actual risks of contagion. It has been very frustrating to see all levels of government and health authorities set the stage for a terrible third wave that overwhelms the health care system. The ONLY protection people can get is vaccination because the spreaders don’t exhibit symptoms. And, not advertised or talked about at all is that the biggest reduction we can work towards of reducing the worst symptoms beyond getting vaccinated is to lose weight if we are deemed ‘obese’ (about 80% of all ventilated people are obese).
So your concerns are valid and I don’t see the risk being reduced or even addressed any time soon.
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