The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has tried to reassure Canadians that vaccine deliveries will resume in a few weeks and that the overall goal of vaccinating every Canadian willing by September will remain on track.
But it was Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford who strongly expressed the frustration of many provincial leaders, while Pfizer continues to reduce its vaccine delivery schedule in Canada.
“We have to be these guys like a blanket, I’d be out of that guy’s house. Every time he moves, I’d say, ‘Where are our vaccines?’ “Other people are receiving them, the European Union is receiving them, why not Canada? This is my question to Pfizer, we need your support,” Ford told a news conference Tuesday.
The supply of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine to Canada comes from the European allocation and not from nearby factories in the US, as the Trump administration has stated that the vaccines will not be exported.
“There’s a factory, a Pfizer factory, six hours in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with the Americans,” Ford said. “My American friends are helping us, we need help once again, as we did with the EPP. You have a new president, we have no more apologies, we don’t need your support and we look forward to your support and this is a direct message to President (Joe) Biden, “help your neighbor.”
Ford has made a direct plea to President-elect Joe Biden for one million vaccines for Canada.
The receiving Biden administration is unlikely to issue vaccine doses for short-term export because Biden transition officials have stated that they are unsure of the current supply of vaccines available in the US.
Canadian government officials said on Tuesday that the shortage of deliveries from Pfizer would lead to a “major reduction” in vaccinations in the coming weeks.
“There will be a considerable impact in all provinces,” said Major General Dany Fortin, the Canadian commander in charge of launching the vaccine, adding, “the overall impact next month is in the range of a 50% decrease in allocation.”
The Canadian pandemic curve is starting to show signs of bending down after weeks of blockages. But hospitalizations remain high, and officials say the total number of deaths during this second wave could eventually be worse than the first.
“We all contribute to reducing the burden on the health system by supporting the health workforce in the difficult task of planning and implementing mass launch of vaccines and giving vaccines a longer runway to start operating as access expands. to reach all Canadians. ” said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer during a news conference Tuesday.
In addition, on average, about 140 virus-related deaths are reported in Canada every day.