Your COVID vaccine is getting a makeover (well kind of).

Freshly formulated updated Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccines are now available.

These  new bivalent booster shots rolling out across Canada are specifically tailored to match currently circulating COVID omicron variants and are thought to provide enhanced protection against newer versions of SARS-CoV-2 than our earlier shots. Uptake of booster vaccines has not been anywhere near as high as the initial vaccines.

▶️🎧 🎙️ 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫t, 𝐃𝐫.𝐙𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐚 who breaks down all  you need to know about (in less than 36 minutes): 

✔️✔️How do you approach and recommend the updated bivalent COVID-19 booster to eligible patients

✔️✔️How should you be framing the efficacy conversation in relation to this bivalent booster-antibody data vs clinical effectiveness

✔️✔️Strategies to increase booster uptake in clinical practice

✔️✔️Key practicalities of the vaccine and how this would fit into your daily practice?  

✔️✔️Are breakthrough infections less likely with this updated bivalent booster?  

✔️✔️Will this booster still work if the virus mutates again and there’s a new variant?

✔️✔️ What does the healthcare provider  need to know from this discussion to communicate with a patient the next day?  

Dr.Zain  Chagla, MD MSc MD, FRCPC  is an associate professor at McMaster University, co-medical director of infection control at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and a consultant in infection control at Woodstock General Hospital. Dr. Chagla is also a teacher at McMaster University where he won a clinician teaching award in internal medicine and a young investigator grant for his work in supporting undergraduate medical education at the University of Namibia. 

Dr. Chagla also has a Master of Science in infectious diseases and a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. 

As an infectious disease specialist, Dr.Zain Chagla has given media interviews on the COVID-19 pandemic and published several op-eds on testing, disease elimination, and public health interventions. He  has contributed to local, provincial, and federal policy planning, and to several clinical trials on COVID-19 therapies. He has published works on COVID-19 research, epidemiology, testing, and infection control. He is involved with a  prospective cohort study looking at respiratory physiology and radiologic features of patients post covid with persistent symptoms over time, including those with long covid and those who were critically ill.