The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) says anyone who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either Pfizer or Moderna for the second.

The new advice affects over 2-million Canadians who got the first shot of AstraZeneca before provinces paused its use for first doses.

It’s potentially linked to a rare but serious blood clotting syndrome.

In Canada … 41 confirmed or suspected cases of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) have been diagnosed and 5 Canadians have died.

NACI says it’s basing its new advice on the risk and emerging evidence that mixing and matching vaccines is not only safe but might produce a better immune response.