Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to reassure Canadians that vaccine deliveries would increase again in a few weeks and that the overall goal of having all Canadians ready to vaccinate by September would remain on track.
But it was Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford who bluntly expressed the frustration of many provincial leaders as Pfizer continues to cut its vaccine delivery schedule to Canada.
“We needed to be on these guys like a blanket, I would be outside this guy’s house. Every time he moved, I said, ‘Where are our vaccines?’ Other people are doing it, the European Union is doing it, why not Canada? That’s my question for Pfizer, we need your support, “said Ford during a news conference on Tuesday.
The Canadian supply of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine comes from European distribution and not from nearby manufacturing facilities in the United States, since the Trump administration made it clear that vaccines would not be exported.
“There is a factory, a Pfizer factory, six hours in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with the Americans,” said Ford. “My American friends help us, we need help again, as we did with the PPE. You have a new president, no more excuses, we need your support and we expect your support and this is a direct message to President (Joe) Biden , ‘help your neighbor’. ”
Ford made a direct appeal to President-elect Joe Biden for a million vaccines for Canada.
It is unlikely that the next administration of Biden will release doses of the vaccine for export in the short term, as Biden transition authorities have said they are unsure of the current supply of vaccines available in the U.S.
Canadian government officials made it clear on Tuesday that the drop in deliveries from Pfizer would result in a “big reduction” in vaccinations in the coming weeks.
“There will be a considerable impact in all provinces,” said Major-General Dany Fortin, the Canadian commander responsible for implementing the vaccine, adding: “The overall impact next month is in the range of a 50% decrease in the expected allocation. “
The pandemic curve in Canada is starting to show signs of declining after weeks of blockages. But hospitalizations remain high and officials say the overall death toll during this second wave may be more dire than the first.
“We are all contributing to reducing the burden on the health system, supporting our health workforce in the difficult task of planning and implementing mass vaccine distribution and giving vaccines a longer time to start functioning as access expands to reach all Canadians “. said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s director of public health, during a news conference on Tuesday.
Tam added that, on average, about 140 virus-related deaths are reported in Canada each day.