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Canada’s ‘slow’ rollout of coronavirus vaccine ’embarrassing’: experts

Published

4 years ago

January 4, 2021

A majority of Canadians should be vaccinated against the coronavirus by September 2021, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But with the current pace of the country’s vaccination distribution, experts warn provinces may not be able to reach the target anytime soon.

“Canada is definitely having a slower start,” said Kerry Bowman, a professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto. “And each day and week goes by, we run the great risk of falling further and further behind.“

Canada has fallen behind countries like Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom in vaccine distribution.

According to recent numbers from Our World In Data, a University of Oxford-based organization, the total number of vaccination doses administered per 100 people for Canada was 0.3, as of Jan. 2. For the U.S., it was 1.28, in the U.K. it was 1.39 (as of Dec. 27). And for Israel, it was 12.59.

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Israel, which has vaccinated a higher proportion of its population against the coronavirus than any other country, is delivering shots so quickly it’s running out of vaccines.

Canada’s geography is, of course, much large than nations like the U.K. and Israel, meaning there are different logistical hurdles.

However, Bowman said geography still does not explain why the initial rollout has been so slow, as many administration sites are in large urban areas, such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

“These vaccines are of no use to anybody if they’re not in someone’s arm. … Having them in the country and in a freezer is not great.”

How many Canadians have been vaccinated?

Canada has so far approved two vaccines — by Pfizer-BioNTech (Dec. 9) and Moderna (Dec. 23). Both vaccines require two doses a number of weeks apart for full efficacy.

Provinces have differed in their approaches to the vaccine — some have held back supply to ensure a second dose is available when the time comes, while others planned to administer all doses as soon as they’re available.

Health Canada is also currently reviewing clinical data from Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca, so more vaccines are in the pipeline.

As of Sunday, Canada had administered 119,202 coronavirus vaccines across the country, according to COVID-19 Tracker Canada.

That means 0.317 per cent of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 420,000 doses of Moderna and Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccines have been delivered to the provinces for administration, according to the website. And as of Sunday, 28.4 per cent of the doses have been administered.

“It’s an utter failure when you have three-fourths of our vaccines still sitting inside of freezers,” said biostatistician Ryan Imgrund, who works with Ottawa Public Health.

In Ontario, Canada’s largest province, 42,419 people have been vaccinated since Dec. 14.

Imgrund called the number “embarrassingly” low.

“We have been hoping for this vaccine for quite some time and it’s still sitting inside of freezers. We’re still only vaccinating four (to five) thousand people per day (in Ontario). It’s a shame,” he said. “At 5,000 people per day, it would take eight years to vaccinate all of Ontario at this rate.”

Ontario, with a population of 14.57 million, previously said it expects to vaccinate approximately 8.5 million people by the end of June. So far, 19 hospitals across Ontario are equipped with administering the immunizations.

Why the slow start?

Imgrund said at first he believed the slow start was due to the storage requirements for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine (which requires it to be stored at ultra-low temperatures of -70 C).

“But, now we now have the Moderna vaccine that can be easily rolled out, it can be stored in just basic freezers. We don’t need any specialty logistics for this to happen,” he said.

Bowman agreed.

He said the arrival of Moderna’s vaccine has helped speed up the rollout, but still, it’s not enough to meet the September target. And he said staffing and infrastructure are not to blame. It ultimately comes down to planning and leadership.

For example, Ontario paused coronavirus vaccinations during the Christmas holidays, citing staff shortages. Yet after the announcement, many health professionals took to social media saying they would volunteer their time.

The Ontario government is saying they paused #COVID19 vaccinations during the holidays because of a lack of staffing.

Given the opportunity, I’d gladly sign up to vaccinate. I know many other health workers who feel the same.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

— Naheed Dosani (@NaheedD) December 28, 2020

“We just haven’t had great planning on this,” he said. “I know health care professionals that volunteered weeks and even more than a month.

“Existing infrastructure is not being used and you have people volunteering that haven’t been called. And so that’s very, very worrisome,” Bowman said.

Like Bowman, Imgrund blamed the slow rollout in Ontario on a lack of leadership.

“I think that’s really what it comes down to because if you had a plan to actually get people vaccinated, you would run out of vaccines before you know. Instead, it’s the complete opposite … and it’s frustrating because we knew that in phase one we’re going to be targeting the most vulnerable people.

Global News reached out to the Canadian and Ontario governments for a comment about the vaccination rate but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Bowman and Imgrund argued that provinces should be asking family physicians, pharmacists and even veterinarians, to help get the vaccines in people’s arms.

The use of doctor’s offices, pharmacies and even high school gyms should also be utilized, they said.

“We don’t have schools open here in Ontario right now. Why not turn a local high school has a vaccination facility? And then bus long term care facility residents there,” Imgrund said.

On Monday, Manitoba became the first province to set up a “supersite” for vaccines, utilizing its convention centre to help inoculate frontline workers and vulnerable people.

Bowman said provinces like Ontario should follow suit and open up larger areas (on an appointment basis) to help administer more vaccines.

Source: – Global News

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Langford, Heim lead Rangers to wild 13-8 win over Blue Jays

Published

6 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.

Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.

Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.

“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”

Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.

Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.

Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.

Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).

“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”

Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.

Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.

“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.

—

AP MLB:

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Billie Jean King set to earn another honor with the Congressional Gold Medal

Published

7 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”

The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.

King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”

___

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Account tweaks for young Instagram users ‘minimum’ expected by B.C., David Eby says

Published

7 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”

He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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