Canada approves AstraZeneca vaccines as Trudeau looks for rollout lift

The Trudeau government has pre-ordered 20 million doses of AstraZeneca. Canada is in line to receive another 1.9 million doses of the drugmaker’s vaccine through the COVAX global vaccine equity effort. The government had been working to obtain additional deliveries from the Serum Institute of India.

Delivery schedules: The Trudeau government has assured Canadians that anyone who wants a vaccine will get one by September.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand recently acknowledged that approval of more vaccines could accelerate that effort. “Timelines can, hopefully, be moved up,” she told a House committee.

Canada vs. Covid: Deputy Public Health Officer Howard Njoo said on Thursday that 1.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in Canada. He said 2.9 percent of Canadians have received at least one dose of vaccine, while 1.1 percent have received two doses.

By comparison, the United States is vaccinating 1.5 million Americans a day.

Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech deliveries: Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is overseeing the military’s involvement in vaccine distribution, said Thursday that shipments of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines were picking up, with 643,000 doses distributed across Canada this week.

He said 444,000 more Pfizer doses were expected weekly through March and 769,000 weekly in the first half of April.

By the end of March, Fortin said that Moderna will have delivered on its first quarter commitment of 2 million doses.

“As we head into spring, we’re collectively gearing up for what we call the ramp-up phase,” he said.

An inside look at Canadian politics and power in Ottawa.