Canada to secure additional 20-million doses of Pfizer vaccine, U.S. border closure extended
Posted January 12, 2021 12:08 pm.
Last Updated January 12, 2021 12:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government has reached a deal with Pfizer to buy an extra 20-million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking outside his home in Ottawa this morning, Trudeau says that means Canada will receive 80-million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this year.
“We’re on track to have every Canadian who wants a vaccine receive one by September,” the Prime Minister said.
Trudeau says the vaccines are expected to arrive in mid-to late spring.
“We are looking at seeing those doses arrive in April, May I believe.”
Trudeau also says the feds have let provinces know how many vaccines to expect in deliveries for each week until the end of February to let them better plan for distribution.
By June, it’s anticipated more than half the country will have the ability to be vaccinated.
Trudeau also announced that the border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least February 21 – another 30-day extension to the restrictions in place since last March.
Last week, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin said Canada is expected to receive six million doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines by the end of March.
Fortin confirmed that Moderna’s shots will arrive every three weeks while Pfizer’s vaccine shipments will continue to arrive on weekly basis.
Pfizer recently updated its guidelines for transporting vaccine doses in a thawed state, which means more options for more delivery sites and smaller amounts.
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Both vaccines take two doses to be effective.
In early January, the provincial government said it hopes to safely vaccinate all residents, health care workers, and essential caregivers at long-term care homes in the priority regions of Toronto, Peel, York, and Windsor-Essex by Jan. 21.
The largest mass immunization effort in Canadian history began on December 14 in Ontario and Quebec after the country received its first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
With files from 680 NEWS reporter Cormac Mac Sweeney, The Canadian Press
