Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccines Arrive Next Week: Who’s Getting It First?

Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine, reportedly making Canada the third country to give it the green-light.

The first shipment is expected to arrive in Canada next week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday adding that Canada will receive up to 249,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year.

“The first shipment of doses is tracking for delivery soon. This is all good news – but it doesn’t mean we can let our guards down,” Trudeau tweeted this morning regarding Health Canada’s approval of the vaccine. 

While the authorization and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine in Canada is great news, the question remains about who will be first in line to get the shot.

Canada Secured More Vaccines Than Any Other Country

According to Bloomberg, Canada has secured enough potential COVID-19 vaccine doses to accommodate more than 400% of its population.

Trudeau took heat last month after he noted that Canada wouldn’t be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine because the country lacks local manufacturing capacity. Initially, Canada planned to start a vaccination campaign early next year and an initial supply sufficient to vaccinate 3 million people.

Canada reportedly added another 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and has moved quickly to get the vaccines available to residents.

Canada has reportedly secured 40 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. In total, Canada has secured enough doses to vaccinate 154 million people and has now secured a higher COVID-19 vaccine capacity than any other country.

In comparison, the United Kingdom has reportedly secured enough doses for approximately 295% of its population and Australia has secured enough doses for about 269%.

The United Kingdom is the first to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and some citizens have already received the first dose this week after British regulators granted emergency authorization for its use. The U.K. has also granted legal indemnity to Pfizer, protecting the American company from any possible legal action that may arise from patients having any complications after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently approved a plan to roll out COVID-19 vaccine doses in America.

Who’s First in Line to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?

Canadian provinces have reportedly selected 14 initial locations to administer the COVID-19 vaccines, some of which are hospitals.

Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin, a former NATO commander who is leading the vaccine distribution efforts, says that these initial 14 sites were selected because they are “close to the population that will receive the vaccines.”

“The provinces have chosen additional sites and over the coming days and weeks, we will start to activate those sites,” Fortin said. “They were chosen based on the conditions laid out by Pfizer so the vaccines can be administered as quickly as possible to Canadians.”

Long-term care residents and staff are prioritized for the first COVID-19 vaccines. However, because most long-term care residents cannot easily be moved to another facility, they are unlikely to be first in line for the initial vaccines.

According to Canada’s chief public health officer, the first people to get vaccinated will likely be those who can physically get to one of the sites. 

COVID-19 Numbers Continue to Climb 

Canada is in the midst of a second wave of COVID-19 cases and is reportedly experiencing more than 6,000 new cases per day. In response, provinces are imposing new regulations to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Alberta has banned all social gatherings for at least four weeks and masks will be required indoors. Many businesses will again be forced to close, and bars and restaurants are restricted to delivery and takeout orders. Retail stores, malls and places of worship will be limited to 15% capacity, and employees must work from home unless their position requires them to be present at the worksite.

Can Canada Make its Own COVID-19 Vaccines?

Canada reportedly does not have the manufacturing capacity for mRNA vaccines, which involve a new vaccine development technology that has recently gained recognition for its high efficacy rates.

According to the Globe and Mail, Trudeau declined to pursue a private option to produce a COVID-19 vaccine domestically and opted to invest in a government-run production center and boost Canada’s biomanufacturing sector. He reportedly plans to spend $170 million to upgrade existing National Research Council labs and to construct a new facility in Montreal.

Vaccine production at these facilities is unlikely until late summer 2021, at the earliest.

Trudeau has since acknowledged the government’s failure to live up to its promise that production of a COVID-19 vaccine would commence in November, but he says the government lab will be used to combat future pandemics.

“We will not be caught on the wrong foot again,” he said.

Although seemingly effective, these mRNA vaccines pose other challenges, including the need for extremely cold storage, which adds additional complexity to the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Do you think Canada is moving quickly enough to get the COVID-19 vaccine to its residents? Will you be getting a COVID-19 vaccine? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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