Provinces prepare to expand vaccine rollout as COVID-19 cases start to climb

Canada is expecting a smaller than usual shipment of COVID-19 vaccines this week, with fewer than 445,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech shots scheduled for delivery over the next seven days.

But this will be the last week in which Canada receives less than one-million COVID-19 vaccine doses over a seven-day period.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau guaranteed delivery of at least 1 million Pfizer doses per week starting later this month and lasting into early May.

The updated delivery schedule begins March 22 and runs to May 10 and Trudeau says provinces and territories have been updated with the new schedule so they can plan for mass vaccination sites.

“There are still many days to go in this pandemic but each one that passes, just like each person gets a vaccine, brings us closer to the better days ahead,” said Trudeau on Friday.

A recent statement from Canada’s top doctor is adding urgency to the vaccine effort, which is ramping up in several provinces as more doses arrive.

Dr. Theresa Tam says health officials are observing a rise in new infections after several weeks of levelling off.

“We don’t know what the variants are about to do,” says Tam. “And whether we can keep control of their spread at the same moment as the vaccine coverage is just beginning.”

Tam expressed concern over an increase in cases linked to more contagious virus variants, as well as a higher infection rate in Canadians age 20 to 39, who she described in a statement as more mobile and socially connected.

“Circulation of COVID-19 in younger, more mobile and socially connected adults can increase the risk of spread into high-risk populations and settings,” she wrote.

Despite the rise in cases, Tam said more severe outcomes like hospitalizations and deaths have continued to trend in the right direction.

Ontario reported over 1,700 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, marking the eighth straight day more than 1,000 new infections were reported. However, officials cautioned that the case count is higher than expected “due to a data catch-up process” in the system.

While hospitalizations have declined to just over 600, as is the case on most weekends a number of hospitals have not submitted their data to the province. The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU rose to 282 and there was an increase in those on ventilators to 186.

The province says it administered just under 42,000 COVID-19 doses, bringing the total number up to more than 1.15 million. Over 285,000 people have been fully vaccinated across the province.

Ontario launches its much awaited online vaccine booking portal and call centre on Monday.

Individuals 80 years and older (born in 1941 or earlier) plus those in the Phase 1 priority group who are eligible to receive the vaccine at this time can make an appointment starting at 8 a.m.

Some family doctors in Ontario started administering vaccinations over the weekend in six Ontario regions including Toronto and Peel Region.

The Ontario Medical Association says physicians in those regions are asking for patience as they begin administering doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca to people aged 60 to 64 years old on Saturday.

---

With files from the Canadian Press