Leader-Post ePaper

TWO-DOSE SUMMER POSSIBLE?

SUPPLY CAUTION

RYAN TUMILTY Twitter: Ryantumilty rtumilty@postmedia.com

OTTAWA • With new deliveries expected next month, Canada should have enough doses by the end of July to fully vaccinate every eligible Canadian.

The government had previously indicated Canada would have 55 million doses delivered by the end of July, but because deliveries were not confirmed that figure did not include doses from Moderna, which along with Pfizer has made up the vast majority of doses distributed.

Moderna has now committed to delivering 11 million doses in July, five million of which should actually arrive in late June and combined with an expected nine millions Pfizer doses it would be enough to give Canada 68 million doses by the end of July.

Neither of the vaccines is yet approved for children under the age of 12, giving Canada between 33 and 34 million people to inoculate, which should be covered by that 68 million figure.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged people to get their second shots as quickly as possible to ensure they are fully protected and allow Canada to get out of the pandemic.

“Every dose keeps someone safe, every dose is a step closer to the end of this pandemic for Canadians,” he said. “The sooner the largest possible number of people get double vaccinated, the sooner we're going to be able to get back to more and more normality.”

Trudeau has previously said his government would have enough doses to vaccinate all Canadians by the end of September.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand said it certainly looks possible they can beat that target, but the government is being cautious because the vaccines are not here yet.

“Supply chains are still volatile, there is still a global competition for vaccines. We are watching our supply chains extremely carefully, watching every plane land and every shipment get out to Canadians.”

Pfizer is actually expected to slow deliveries slightly in the first part of July and increased them in the last two weeks.

The news comes as the National Advisory Council on Immunization recommended Thursday that people who received the Astrazeneca vaccine should receive MRNA vaccines, like Pfizer and Moderna for their second dose.

Canada has contracts for more of the Astrazeneca vaccine and Anand said they would work with provinces and territories to determine their needs for additional doses, as well as look to make international donations.

Both Moderna and Pfizer are now delivering doses earlier than expected in the initial contracts. Anand said that is the result of ongoing negotiations with suppliers, but said in some cases companies are paid more for earlier deliveries.

She stressed however Canada is getting a fair deal for the life-saving vaccines.

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2021-06-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

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