Sputnik V and other vaccines: can quarantine hotel be avoided?
Soon, self-isolation and hotel quarantine will be lifted for those who have been vaccinated. But what about those who were not vaccinated in Canada?
Last week, it was revealed that as of July 1, fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and residents will not be required to stay for a 3-day hotel quarantine and then comply with a 14-day self-exclusion. But as it turns out, not everyone who is vaccinated is covered by these long-awaited indulgences.
Cathy Gibson, a 36-year-old teacher from Calgary, Alberta, was offered the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm when she and her husband lived in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The couple didn't hesitate to agree, as Sinopharm was the only vaccine available in the Emirates.
"We had the opportunity, so we just got vaccinated," Katie recalls. — A vaccine is a vaccine."
After two years abroad, the family of four wants to return home this summer. The declining number of cases of infection in Canada gave hope that it would soon be possible.
But when the federal government announced it was lifting quarantine hotels and a two-week self-exclusion for vaccinated Canadians, Katie learned that she might not be subject to the rules because Canada only recognizes vaccines approved by its Ministry of Health: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca-Oxford and Janssen.
Although Sinopharm is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), it is not on the Canadian list. Neither is Sputnik V, which is used in Russia, Mexico, India, and several countries in South America, and is awaiting approval from WHO.
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