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Most Canadians could be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of next year, Canada’s deputy chief of public health said today.
In recent days, pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna have announced successful trials of their coronavirus vaccines. Dr Howard Njoo said he was optimistic that they could be approved by Health Canada and launched soon.
“Hopefully these two vaccines will be 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 hope to cover the vast majority of the Canadian population … by the end of next year. But as I said, this is something that is happening in real time and there will certainly be adjustments as we go along.”
Canada has signed agreements with several vaccine developers to reserve millions of doses for development to ensure Canadians have access to vaccines when they become available.
WATCH: Dr. Njoo on the vaccine launch
On Tuesday, Canada’s Deputy Chief Public Health Officer spoke to reporters during the bi-weekly briefing on the pandemic. 2:18
The federal government has agreements with Moderna, Pfizer / BioNTech and Novavax and Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. It also has agreements with Sanofi / GSK, AstraZeneca and Medicago.
Canada will receive 20 to 76 million doses of each vaccine if it passes clinical trials and is approved by Health Canada.
Pfizer announced last week that its vaccine was found to be 90% effective in protecting people from COVID-19 in a study that included nearly 44,000 subjects.
While these early results are promising, a key component of the vaccine must be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius, limiting delivery options once approved by Health Canada.
Freezers under purchase
“Getting those vaccines from the tarmac of an airport or port to Canadians across the country is a significant logistical challenge, a logistical challenge that the government is focused on and works hard to be able to make sure that when vaccines, they are going to the most vulnerable and people who need them as a matter of priority, “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today in his morning press conference.
The prime minister said more government agencies and private contractors – and possibly even the Canadian military – will be enlisted to help with the delivery of the vaccine.
Theresa Tam, the Canadian chief public health officer, said the military may be involved in introducing the vaccine due to its logistical expertise, while the federal government will play a significant role in addressing the challenges of deploying a vaccine which must be kept very cold.
“I know that yes, absolutely, enough freezers are bought,” he said. “Some already are. We’ve mapped those already in Canada and the additional ones that may be needed.”
A government source speaking in the background said the federal government has so far purchased 26 freezers that can maintain temperatures of minus 80 degrees Celsius and 100 freezers that can maintain temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The official said private companies like UPS and FedEx, which have the ability to ship medicines in extremely cold temperatures, could be contacted to help.
Tam said once vaccines that can be stored at higher temperatures are approved, distribution will be simplified and provinces likely won’t need as much federal help to make them public.
Trudeau added that until a vaccine arrives, Canadians will have to take the usual precautions to “keep the second wave in check”.
“This is good news, but remember: a vaccine can only protect you once you get the injection,” he said.
Rationing of vaccines
Another factor governments need to consider is how to divide vaccine doses between provinces – a problem that sources say was discussed during last week’s phone call between the prime minister and prime ministers.
During that phone call, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs suggested that governments ration their 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, while allowing the rest to go to the country’s hot spots.
“We’ve been working on this together so far, so this isn’t the time to split up and run out of our corners … when a vaccine arrives,” Higgs told CBC News.
New Brunswick, like the rest of the Atlantic region, has kept its COVID-19 workloads in check due to travel limits and quarantine rules. Higgs said most of his province’s 32 cases are travel-related: people working abroad get infected and go home. He said allowing initial vaccination efforts to focus on hot spots will make New Brunswick safer.
“The fewer hot spots there are in the places we travel, the less exposure we have in our communities here in New Brunswick. So there is a direct link,” Higgs said. “Addressing these situations, no matter where in Canada, will also be beneficial for us in the long run.”
Higgs said his idea was only briefly discussed at the meeting last week. He said a broader discussion could take place at a formal meeting of prime ministers scheduled for early December if there is more clarity on the vaccine front at that time.
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