Supply Chain Snarls Canada’s COVID Inoculation Campaign

Summary

• Canada’s Covid-19 inoculation facing supply chain challenges
• Approved vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna cited plant overhaul issues for delayed supply.
• Canada has administered 2.7 doses per 100 persons compared to 16.5 in the UK, 11.2 in the US and 3.4 in Germany

On Monday, December 14, 2020, support worker Anita Quidangen was one of the first Ontarions to be administered the first vial of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Canada was the third nation after the United Kingdom and Bahrain to authorize the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on December 9.

During that time, Canada was supposed to receive up to 249,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine.

Canada has performed better than its neighboring country, the United States (US) during the critical moments of the early stage of pandemic.

Steps like ramping up of testing quicker than the US, faster isolation of the sick, and contact tracing helped limit the spread of COVID-19.  

As on February 4, 2021, Canada distributed almost 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

According official sources, 758,459 i.e. 2 per cent of the Canadian population received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 113,446 i.e. 0.3 per cent have been inoculated two doses of the vaccine. 

@Kalkine Image 2020

Approval of Moderna Inc’s vaccine:

After Pfizer, Canadian health authorities approved Moderna Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine to strengthen its arsenal in the fight against COVID-19.

With this approval, the Canadian federal government had expected to receive about 417,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for the last two weeks of January. But due to shipment cancellation, the country received about 1,71,000 doses for the period.

Why Is There Shortage of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines?

According to reports, Moderna is facing challenges in trying to source the materials needed to produce and package the vaccine. Canadian authorities blamed the European Union's attempt to control export of materials needed to produce the vaccines.

Pfizer has delivered just 20 per cent of the number of vaccines it initially promised, citing upgradation work at its manufacturing plant in Belgium as a reason for the delay.

COVID-19 Vaccination Drive In Canada: What You Should Know

All approved COVID-19 vaccines in Canada are free and are available to priority population first. After administering to the vulnerable sections, the vaccines will be made available to everyone in Canada as recommended by federal, provincial and territorial health authorities.

Who Does This Apply To?

Everyone in Canada irrespective of whether you hold a citizenship or not.

Is There Any Age Limit?

• For Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine – 16 years and above
• For Moderna vaccine – 18 years and above

Who Qualify Under Priority Groups?

• Residents and staff of shared living spaces/ caregivers for seniors
• Those aged 70 and above
• Frontline health care workers

Who Follows Next?

Once additional supplies become available, the following group of people will be vaccinated:

• Health care workers not included in the first phase
• Residents and staff of homeless shelters, correctional facilities, housing for migrant workers

Vaccine Distribution Stats:

Assuming that Canada receives a continuous supply of the approved vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, it is expected that the entire inoculation campaign will be accomplished by September 2021.

As on February 4, total vaccine distribution stands at 1,198,200, out of which Pfizer-BioNTech constitutes 858,000 and Moderna 340,200, respectively.

Out of the 10 provinces, Ontario and Québec have received the largest doses of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at 437,975 and 256,625, respectively.

By February 28, Government of Canada has planned 395,850 of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine inoculations in total.

Meanwhile, US drugmaker Novavax also received approval from the federal government to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine doses in a Montreal facility.

Vancouver-based genetics medicine technology provider Precision Nanosystems also received C$ 25.1-million government funding to kickstart COVID-19 vaccine production on home ground.