Further delivery delays of COVID-19 vaccines in Ontario have prompted the provincial government to push back the deadline for administering first doses to all long-term care home residents.
Last week, the province said all residents of long-term care homes in Ontario would be able to receive their first dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine by Feb. 5, 10 days sooner than originally promised.
But on Tuesday, officials confirmed that in response to scaled back shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to Canada from Europe, that deadline has now been pushed back to Feb. 10.
The province says they expect to receive 26,325 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week and another 27,300 next week, an estimated 80 per cent reduction in the allotment that was previously promised by the federal government.
Ontario will receive 63,400 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week, about 18,000 fewer doses than what was expected, officials confirmed Monday.
The stalled shipments have forced the province to shift its vaccination strategy in recent weeks, providing first doses only to residents in long-term care or high-risk retirement homes and as well as those who live in First Nation elder care homes.
Once sufficient doses are secured, the province says it will continue providing first doses to staff and essential caregivers in long-term care and high-risk retirement homes.
Another 130,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive in the province during the week of Feb. 15 and 155,000 are expected to be delivered during the week of Feb. 22. No allocation information has been provided to the province beyond that date.
According to the latest information released by the province, in the remaining weeks of February, 310,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses are expected to be delivered.
Officials say they believe they currently have sufficient vaccine supply to provide second doses to everyone who has received their first dose.
The province has said the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine should be administered no later than 42 days after the first dose.
For residents in long-term care, the interval between doses should be maintained at 21 to 27 days.
To date, more than 70,000 people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, receiving both the first and second doses.
Approximately 280,084 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 61,816 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered in Ontario.
Figures provided by the federal government suggested that Ontario would likely see another 80,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine on the week of Feb. 22, although that the number has since disappeared from the government’s website.
Ret. Gen. Rick Hillier, chair of the province’s COVID-19 task force, said he is not sure why Ottawa is no longer providing that information.
“I heard about it just before I came over here to come on to the press conference here and my heart went pitter-patter, quite frankly,” Hillier said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t know if it is just a number that has disappeared, if it is a computer glitch or an IT glitch, or if there is something else behind it.”
Hillier said the province is currently reaching out to the federal government to find out what is happening with the Feb. 22 allotment.
“I don’t know if somebody was updating to make it actually more, which we’d love to see. I’m simply crossing my fingers hoping that we are not going to see a further reduction in Moderna,” he added.
“I know that the team is communicating to Ottawa now and talking to Ottawa to determine exactly why that number disappeared.”
All public health units have now received vaccine doses but some will need to wait until this week’s delivery before they can finish vaccinating residents of all long-term care homes.
Officials say the province has the capacity to vaccinate nearly 40,000 people per day and is working to triple or quadruple that capacity as soon as it receives sufficient supply from the federal government.
Provincial officials confirmed Tuesday that Health Canada is still reviewing data on other vaccine candidates that are awaiting approval, including AstraZeneca, but an announcement could be made in the next week.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Tuesday that Canada has signed a tentative deal with Novavax to produce vaccines here in Canada if it is approved for use. Domestic production of the vaccine also cannot proceed until construction is complete on the Montreal facility where it will be produced.
“These shipment delays with the Pfizer vaccine have been incredibly disappointing,” Ford said on Tuesday afternoon. “With the uncertainty surrounding a steady supply of vaccines, it’s clear we need to start production of COVID-19 vaccines right here in Canada.”
Source:- CP24 Toronto’s Breaking News
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