TORONTO (AP) – The leader of Canada’s most populous province said on Thursday he did not buy the explanation given by Pfizer as to why the company delayed deliveries of coronavirus vaccine to Canada next week.
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford has said it is unacceptable that other countries are receiving doses, and Canada is not.
“This comes exclusively from Pfizer because it disappointed us,” said Ford, who spoke with Pfizer’s chief executive officer on Tuesday.
Pfizer announced a temporary reduction in deliveries last Friday so that it can improve the plant in Puurs, Belgium, which supplies all photos shipped outside the United States. Pfizer said any small step back now in deliveries would result in a huge leap forward during the year.
“I’m not buying anything from that shit,” Ford said. “Bottom line, get us vaccines. I don’t care what you build, you can throw me any excuse you want, I don’t buy it. We have placed an order, we have a contract, we are fulfilling the obligations of the contract, because lives are in danger if you continue to deceive this. ”
Ford has been criticized for the slow release of the vaccine in Ontario amid a second wave of infections. He said he needs to close a mass vaccination clinic in Toronto.
Keanna Ghazvini, a spokeswoman for Pfizer, declined to comment on Ford’s specific remarks, but said they listened to Ford’s concerns earlier this week.
We have acknowledged that it has made it more difficult to advance the expansion of the immunization program in Ontario and across Canada. We reiterated that this is a short-term situation, and our focus is on meeting quarterly commitments, “Ghazvini said in a statement.
European governments also claim that the Pfizer delay costs critical time in the early stages of the launch for nursing homes and hospital staff.
The delay, which the US pharmaceutical giant said will last several weeks, not only affects the number of people who can be inoculated during that period, but also throws out the careful choreography that governments have developed to get elderly residents and caregivers. two required doses in a strict schedule of a few weeks.
The EU now expects Pfizer to deliver 92% of what was expected this week and next in the 27-nation bloc. The missing 8% is expected to be recovered in the week of February 15. Major General Dany Fortin, who leads the launch and distribution of vaccines in Canada, said Pfizer has postponed deliveries next week entirely in Canada and there will be a 50% supply of the vaccine by mid-February.
“Every day we lose is a day we lost in the war and it’s a death,” Ford said.
Ford also reiterated a request to US President Joe Biden to share some of the Pfizer doses made at his unit near Kalamazoo, Michigan.
“We appreciate any support from the new president, President Biden, we need your support. You have millions of doses six hours away. Your ally no. 1 in the world needs your help right now and we need you to step up, ”Ford said.
The US federal government has an agreement with Pfizer that the first 100 million doses of vaccine produced in the US will be owned by the US government and distributed in the US
Canadian Federal Minister of Public Procurement Anita Anand said all doses from the Michigan plant are for distribution in the United States.
A senior Canadian official said that once these 100 million doses are delivered to the United States, the Canadian government will work to ensure that the doses are delivered as quickly as possible from wherever they are made. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not allowed to speak publicly about it. Canada’s current contract specifies that Canada’s doses will come from the Puurs facility.