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Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott will make an announcement Wednesday afternoon from Queen’s Park.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Elliott confirmed that the province is speaking directly with manufacturers of seven different COVID-19 vaccine candidates to ensure Ontario will be able to distribute vaccines starting December 31.
Elliott said the vaccine launch will be “the largest logistical feat” the province has faced “in a generation”.
“We started talking to vaccine manufacturers yesterday, including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Jansen, Moderna, GSK and Sanofi. This is absolutely critical to planning, “Elliott said.” We are also working with distribution experts like McKesson and Shoppers Drug Mart who not only have the stock capacity for vaccines like this, but also know how to get these vaccines to theirs. networks, including hospitals and other frontline care providers. “
Elliott previously said Ontario plans to receive 2.4 million combined doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by March, which would be enough to vaccinate 1.2 million Ontarians. But the federal government hasn’t confirmed that number.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the first doses of the vaccines would arrive in Canada in the first quarter of 2021 and that most Canadians would be vaccinated by next September.
Trudeau also acknowledged that Canada may fall behind the United States and the United Kingdom in introducing vaccines as Health Canada has yet to approve them before they can be distributed.
On Wednesday, British officials were the first in the world to authorize Pfizer and BioNtech’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
Pfizer said it will begin shipping the vaccine immediately, and the UK government said it will begin inoculating residents as early as next week.
CP24.com will broadcast Ford’s announcement live at 1pm
.
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