Toronto
If you are looking forward to the pace of distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine in the US, count your blessings. At least you don’t live in Canada. As of Wednesday, my country has received only 3.52 doses of vaccine per 100 people, according to The University in Data website at Oxford University. The USA, at 17.00, manages almost five times the same. The figures were 80.07 in Israel, 25.04 in the United Kingdom and 5.40 in the European Union.
Why is Canada so late among developed nations? The government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not negotiated contracts with established pharmaceutical companies. Rather, it quietly approved a working relationship between Canadian researchers and a Chinese vaccine manufacturer, CanSino Biologics Inc. CanSino abandoned its project in August, after multiple failures. Then Ottawa had to hurry through agreements with Pfizer, Moderna and other companies. “I wouldn’t have put all the eggs in China’s basket,” Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole told reporters.
When Canada and other countries saw a significant increase in Covid-19 cases last month (which has now dropped), Pfizer reduced its shipment to my country by more than two-thirds for a few weeks. Moderna announced that only three-quarters of its vaccines will arrive in Canada in early February.
Other options are not available at this time. Although Canada has purchased a total of 398 million doses, more than 70% are vaccines that have not received approval from health officials. The Liberals pointed fingers at drug companies and provincial governments.