Canada has fallen behind other developed nations in the number of shots administered per capita as supply disruptions derail planned vaccinations.
According to data collated by the University of Oxford-based Our World in Data, Canada now ranks 20th globally, well behind allies like the United States and the United Kingdom but also middle-income countries like Poland and Serbia.
Canada’s vaccination effort has also been outpaced so far by those in Bahrain, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
While a laggard compared to many other wealthy nations, Canada has administered more shots per capita than G7 partners like France and Japan.
Japan, with a population of 126 million people and just 5,400 COVID-19-related deaths, hasn’t yet started its vaccination campaign. Unlike Canada, Japan is planning to produce 90 million shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine domestically.
Some observers have blamed France’s “technocratic” system with its maze of red tape — a patient needs to consult with a doctor before they get a shot — for the slow rollout there.
While the U.S. is grappling with distribution issues of its own — the press there has said President Joe Biden is “inheriting a complete disaster,” and an “absolute mess” from the last administration — the Americans have so far vaccinated 24.5 million people with at least one dose.
Even when accounting for population size, the U.S. has vaccinated 3 times more people per capita than Canada. The CBC’s vaccine tracker estimates just over 900,000 doses have been administered in Canada to this point.
The U.S., with a population roughly nine times bigger than Canada, has fully vaccinated 3.8 million Americans with the two-dose regime of either the Pfizer or Moderna products, compared to about 150,000 people in Canada.
The U.K., a world leader so far, has administered at least one dose to 11.3 per cent of its people, nearly five times more per capita than Canada.
That country’s vaccination efforts have been helped by an early approval of the product from Swedish-British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Health Canada regulators are still reviewing the company’s promising vaccine for safety and efficacy.
Canada was among one of the first countries in the world to authorize the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for use but other nations have since caught up, as Canada contends with shortages because of a plant shutdown in Belgium.
Pfizer is making upgrades to its Belgian plant so it can manufacture up to two billion doses this year to meet the insatiable demand.
In order to complete those upgrades, some production lines were idled and Pfizer didn’t have enough vials to go around in the short term to meet its previously promised delivery schedule.
WATCH | COVID-19 vaccine shortage forces provinces to rethink rollout:
Canadian provinces are being forced to rethink their vaccination rollouts due to the shortage of doses from Pfizer, with some jurisdictions now considering stretching out the time between shots, despite questions over whether that would reduce vaccine effectiveness. But the federal government maintains it will vaccinate all willing Canadians by September. 2:02
A Belgian newspaper reported Thursday those upgrades are now complete, but a spokesperson for Pfizer confirmed Canada’s deliveries won’t return to a more normal level until next month.
“We expect the supply constraints of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to last in Canada until mid-February when we will be able to increase allocations to catch up,” the spokesperson said.
“While the precise percentage allocation may fluctuate, Pfizer Canada remains on track to meet our quarterly delivery objectives to Canada by the end of the first quarter of 2021.”
While the delivery schedules may fluctuate, the government insists its medium-term targets are more certain.
However, a government planning document released to the provinces Wednesday caused confusion as the delivery charts indicate Canada would only receive 3.5 million Pfizer doses by the end of March, 500,000 less than anticipated.
The confusion stems from just how many doses are included in each vial shipped. Amid manufacturing delays, Pfizer is pushing the government to recognize that six doses can be extracted from each vial, but the current Health Canada standard is only five.
Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, said Health Canada is still reviewing the request to formally change the label and is examining whether that sixth dose can be extracted consistently.
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander leading vaccine logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada, insisted Thursday that, regardless of how many are in each vial, Pfizer is still contractually obligated to send 4 million doses to Canada in the first quarter of this year.
He said the 3.5 million figure floated to the provinces was just for “planning purposes” in the interim, and the country will still hold Pfizer to its previous commitments.
Fortin said the pharmaceutical giant has assured Canada that it will reach 4 million doses delivered, no matter which vial standard is recognized. If Health Canada accepts that six doses can be extracted from each vial, Pfizer will send more product to cover any gaps, Fortin said.
Fortin said that Canada is expecting 79,000 Pfizer doses next week, 70,000 doses for the week of Feb. 8, 335,000 the week of Feb. 15 and 395,000 doses the week of Feb. 22. Moderna will deliver 230,400 doses next week with 249,600 doses to follow three weeks later.
Thus, Canada is expected to receive 1,359,000 by the end of February, enough to vaccinate 679,500 people.
The opposition Conservatives have been pressing the government on why Canada has been bested by small countries like the Seychelles on vaccinations so far. “That is not normal for a country that claims to have the best vaccine portfolio in the world,” Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus said in the Commons.
The government has said it still expects hundreds of thousands of doses to flow in the months ahead. “This is a completely temporary situation, as we are working hard to ensure that every Canadian who wants a vaccine gets one,” Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand said.
Under questioning from the opposition, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said “there is no more urgent issue for this government than getting Canadian vaccinated.”
She reminded MPs that Canada has vaccinated more people than our Five Eyes partners of Australia and New Zealand. Those two countries haven’t yet begun their vaccination programs but COVID-19 is almost non-existent there.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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