Canada to secure 21M doses of Pfizer vaccine by end of July as goal of mass immunization continues

Canada’s Prime Minister confirmed Tuesday that the country will receive its largest shipment of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to date with the hope that life will return to normal sooner rather than later.

Justin Trudeau said Canada is expecting nine million doses of Pfizer’s treatment in July; a significant increase to the recent shipment of two million shots that arrived last week.

Prior to July, Canada is anticipating another shipment of twelve million Pfizer doses in June, which is separate from what the Prime Minister announced today.

Shipments will range from 2 to 2.5 million doses of Pfizer per week starting from the beginning of June to the end of July.

In June Canada is expecting 12-million doses from Pfizer, and in July 9-million. This does not include future shipments from Moderna or Astra Zeneca. Still waiting to hear if those 300,000 J&J shots are safe for use in Canada #cdnpoli https://t.co/nbGzgdIFhh

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) May 18, 2021

Trudeau also confirmed that 4.5 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines will arrive in the country this week.

The country’s vaccine rollout once lagging behind, Trudeau says that will help keep Canada within the top of the G-20 on daily vaccinations, where he says it has been for more than two weeks.

This means Canada is expected to get a steady stream of at least two million shots each week until the start of August; a time period when the country is expected to start focusing on second vaccine doses.

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The Prime Minister said last week public health measures won’t be eased until COVID-19 case counts are down and at least 75 percent of the country has received one shot.

Trudeau has also promised that Canadians over the age of 12 should have access to their first dose before the end of June.

The arrival of these timely shots coincides with provinces ramping up their vaccine rollout as Ontario opened up appointments to every resident 18-and-older as of Tuesday.

Trudeau is applauding younger Canadians for their patience in waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine – and encouraging them to book a shot now that they’re qualified, noting Ontario’s progress.

“To everyone who has been waiting patiently so that your parents and grandparents could go first [get a vaccine] first, thank you,” said Trudeau.

“Thank you for hanging in there but also, thank you for booking your appointments.”

The expanded eligibility in Ontario comes after a large shipment of Pfizer vaccine arrived in Canada ahead of schedule this week.

Quebec has set a goal of vaccinating 75 percent of all adults in the province by the June 24 Fete nationale holiday.

So far, 49 percent of Quebec adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine while around 46 of Canadians have received one shot.

With files from 680 NEWS Parliament Hill reporter Cormac Mac Sweeney and The Canadian Press