Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 3

Your COVID-19 Questions Answered Dr. Aaron Burry, leader of the CDA COVID-19 Response Team and CDA’s Deputy CEO—Professional Affairs, answered question in May about dentistry in the context of the pandemic. Q How would you describe where Canada currently stands in the pandemic? Dr. Aaron Burry (AB): We are in the middle of the worst period that we’ve had since it began. It’s unfortunate for everybody. We have a lot of confusing messaging out there lately, and it’s a difficult time for many of us. It feels like being stuck in the doldrums. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on a sailboat when there is no wind for an entire day, or more. It’s misery! There’s no forward momentum. Every now and then you hear a creak or sail slap, and the sailboat just lists. We’ll likely turn the corner in the next four weeks or so, due to lockdown measures and vaccination roll out. We are starting to see some improvement in the vaccination narrative. I’m looking forward to the moment when we’ll have provided the first vaccine dose to 70 to 75% of Canadians and fully vaccinated 25% with two doses. At that point, I think we will begin to see fewer restrictions. Consider how well vaccination has worked in the United Kingdom; the infection rate is now much lower and people are enjoying more activities, including some in-person socializing and attending sporting events. Q How will dentistry in Canada be affected? AB: In dentistry, I expect that our enhanced protocols are going to stay in place for some time. Over the next two years, we will be re-evaluating, as a profession, what protocols we’ll want to keep going forward into the future. The pandemic has changed our whole approach to the prevention of contact with respiratory illnesses. When I talk to my colleagues in dentistry, I’m also hearing about general fatigue. We’re more tired than ever. During lockdown, it can feel like life has been boiled down to: eat, sleep, work, repeat. For me, I just feel very isolated and cutoff from my colleagues, especially in practise. Q Recently, several provinces put AstraZeneca vaccines on pause as a first dose and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said that AstraZeneca isn’t a “preferred vaccine.” How do you think this will affect the vaccination roll out or the levels of vaccine hesitancy? AB: There is updated information based on the Canadian experience with the vaccine and increased reports of a rare but life-threatening side effect (VITT) associated with the vaccine. Recent Ontario data indicates that VITT occurred in about 1 out of every 60,000 vaccinations. New guidance is currently being developed for those who have had their first dose of AstraZeneca in terms of their options for their second dose. Basedon thehighly successful control of theCOVID-19 pandemic achieved in the UK, the AstraZeneca vaccine was the best vaccine when it was the only one available, especially for an individual at risk of serious illness from COVID. Canada now has a greater supply of mRNA vaccines coming. Out of an abundance of caution or better supply of other vaccines, we no longer need to rely on AstraZeneca to the same extent. The real-life experience of new medications and vaccines is very closely reviewed and it is common as the science grows to see changes in recommendations. Dr. Aaron Burry 15 Issue 3 | 2021 | CDA at W ork