Most Canadians could be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of next year, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer said today.
In recent days, pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna have announced successful trials of their coronavirus vaccines. Dr. Howard Njoo said he is optimistic they can be approved by Health Canada and rolled out soon.
“Hopefully these two vaccines get approved, because we still have to look at the clinical data, the clinical trials to make sure our regulatory colleagues are comfortable and approve them and the other vaccines,” Njoo told reporters in Ottawa today.
“We’re looking at hopefully covering the vast majority of the Canadian population … by the end of next year. But like I say, this is something that is happening in real time and certainly there will be adjustments made as we move along.”
Canada has signed deals with several vaccine developers to reserve millions of doses under development to ensure Canadians have access to vaccines when they become available.
WATCH: Dr. Njoo on vaccine rollout
Canada’s deputy chief public health officer spoke with reporters during the bi-weekly pandemic briefing on Tuesday. 2:18
The federal government has agreements with Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Novavax and Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. It also has deals with Sanofi/GSK, AstraZeneca and Medicago.
Canada will receive 20 to 76 million doses of each vaccine should they make it through clinical trials and be approved by Health Canada.
Pfizer announced last week that its vaccine has proven to be 90 per cent effective at protecting people from COVID-19 in a study that contained almost 44,000 subjects.
While those early results are promising, a key component of the vaccine has to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius — limiting delivery options once it has been approved by Health Canada.
Freezers being purchased
“Getting those vaccines from an airport tarmac or a port to Canadians right across the country is a significant logistical challenge, one which the government is focused on and working on ardently to be able to make sure that as vaccines arrive, they are getting out to the most vulnerable and the people who need it on a priority basis,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at his morning press conference today.
The prime minister said multiple government agencies and private contractors — and perhaps even the Canadian military — will be drafted to help with the delivery of the vaccine.
Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said the military may be involved in the vaccine rollout because of its logistical expertise, while the federal government will play a significant role in meeting the challenges of distributing a vaccine that has to be kept very cold.
“I do know that yes, absolutely, sufficient freezers are being purchased,” she said. “Some are already. We’ve mapped out the ones already in Canada and the additional ones that might be needed.”
A government source speaking on background said that the federal government has purchased 26 freezers so far that can maintain temperatures of minus 80 degrees Celsius, and 100 freezers that can maintain a temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The official said private companies such as UPS and FedEx, which have the ability to ship medicine at extremely cold temperatures, could be contracted to help.
Tam said that once vaccines are approved that can be stored at higher temperatures, distribution will be simplified and the provinces probably won’t need as much federal help in getting them out to the public.
Trudeau added that until a vaccine arrives, Canadians will need to take the usual precautions to “get the second wave under control.”
“This is good news, but remember — a vaccine can only protect you once you’ve gotten the shot,” he said.
Rationing vaccines
Another factor for governments to consider is how to divide vaccine doses between provinces — an issue sources say was discussed during last week’s phone call between the prime minister and the premiers.
During that call, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs suggested governments ration the initial vaccine doses as they did with personal protective equipment in the early days of the pandemic. Higgs argued that provinces should only ask for the doses they need to protect their most vulnerable populations, allowing the rest to go to hot zones across the country.
“We’ve worked together on this so far, so it wouldn’t be time to all split and run in our corners … when a vaccine actually arrives,” Higgs told CBC News.
New Brunswick, like the rest of the Atlantic region, has kept its COVID-19 caseloads under good control due to travel limits and quarantine rules. Higgs said the bulk of his province’s 32 cases are related to travel — people who work abroad getting infected and coming home. He said allowing the initial vaccination efforts to focus on hot spots will make New Brunswick safer.
“The fewer hot zones that there are in places where we’re travelling, the less exposure we have in our communities here in New Brunswick. So there’s a direct connection,” Higgs said. “Having those situations addressed, no matter where it is in Canada, will be helpful for us in the long haul too.”
Higgs said his idea was discussed only in passing during last week’s meeting. He said a broader discussion could take place at a formal First Ministers meeting set for early December if there’s greater clarity on the vaccine front at that time.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
