In December, before COVID-19 changed the course of the pandemic, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau boasted that he had procured enough potential vaccines to protect a population four times larger than Canada. But four months later, not even two percent of Canada’s population, just under 38 million, is completely vaccinated and large areas of the country are back in the deadlock due to a third brutal wave.
Canada has recorded nearly one million cases and 23,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Trudeau hopes to vaccinate the population by June, but now says all Canadians who want a vaccine will receive one by the end of September. Canada is one of the only major economies in the world that has not tried to make its own coronavirus vaccine.
Meanwhile, the variants catch on.
On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a strong warning that even fully vaccinated Americans should avoid traveling to Canada. And if they go for essential purposes, they should be tested three to five days after return. “It’s not news that any of us wanted, but hospitalizations are growing, ICU beds are filling, variants are spreading and even people who are convinced they shouldn’t be worried are getting sick,” he said They were working at a press conference on Tuesday. “Even though the sun is shining and the weather is getting warmer, COVID-19 is not over with us yet,” he said, calling the third wave of the pandemic “very serious.”
Even more worrying is the fact that most of the new cases seen in the hospital’s intensive care units are getting younger and younger patients, according to the Canadian health expert. “While COVID-19 continues to have an impact on people of all ages in Canada, infection rates are highest among those between the ages of 20 and 39,” it said in a statement on Wednesday. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer. We also see an increased number of adults under the age of 60 who are being treated for COVID-19 in the hospital, including in intensive care units.
So how can a country that has ordered more vaccines per capita than anywhere else in the world now face such problems? Canada does not produce vaccines on its territory – either by creating their own or manufacturing others – and the imported doses simply did not deliver. The Canadian vaccine manufacturer was privatized in the 1980s and eventually bought by the French company Sanofi, whose vaccination efforts faltered.
Trudeau announced last week that Pfizer will finally start delivering one million doses a week after the US released its exports now that it is clear there is enough supply for Americans first. AstraZeneca has also promised to deliver 20 million of its increasingly controversial vaccine, which should also help trigger the painful and slow launch. Moderna and Johnson and Johnson are also approved for use in Canada, but have not yet been delivered in significant quantities.
Trudeau came under fire from angry Canadians after acknowledging in advance that the country would not be the first in line for any vaccine because it did not produce any locally. Then, when the EU seized vaccine exports, Canada paid the price of the missed deliveries again. The Biden administration has not yet committed to exporting to Canada or Mexico, both of which are missing.