Trudeau hopeful Canada will receive COVID-19 vaccines by early 2021

By Lucas Casaletto

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he hopes to see COVID-19 vaccines roll out in Canada early next year, but warns that won’t bring an immediate resolution to the pandemic currently seeing a resurgence in several provinces.

Trudeau says news from Pfizer that one of its vaccine candidates appears very effective in clinical trials is “very encouraging” but won’t help anyone who catches the virus in the meantime.

Speaking in Ottawa, Trudeau said other vaccine candidates have also appeared to progress well.

“If you catch COVID in the coming days and weeks, a vaccine won’t help you or your family,” he said.

“We see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’re hopeful we are getting there because our scientists are working incredibly hard. But we need to do our part. We need to stay strong and hang in there a few more months, maybe more than that, but we can see it coming.”

Canada has bought the rights to about 300-million doses of vaccine from a number of potential suppliers, including 20 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine.

Trudeau’s comments come after a weekend that saw the two provinces hardest hit by the pandemic report record-breaking daily case counts.

Quebec reported 1,397 new cases on Sunday and Ontario reported 1,328, nearly 200 more than the record it had set the previous day.

The number of new infections stayed above 1,000 in Ontario on Monday, with 1,242 reported.


With files from the Canadian Press

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