Premier says province ready to distribute potential COVID-19 vaccine when available
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Nov 28, 2020
Amid criticisms about the lack of details around vaccine distribution in Canada, the Prime Minister has tasked a former North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commander to lead the charge in the nation's COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
On Thursday, Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner slammed the government for its vaccine plan, saying more Canadians will die if Canada can't roll out vaccines as early as other countries like the U.S.
"The fact that the doctors highlighted that if all goes according to plan, we should be able to have the majority of Canadians vaccinated by next September, puts us in very good stead", he said, offering the government's most specific timeline yet.
"We must reach everyone that wants a vaccine no matter where they live."
"The Canadian Armed Forces will assist on planning, including to meet challenges like cold storage requirements, data-sharing, and reaching Indigenous and rural communities", Trudeau said.
We could actually face two delays: one from being at the back of the line in terms of countries who signed agreements to buy the vaccines and the other from Health Canada delaying approval.
"Canada is well prepared for large-scale rollouts of vaccines, but this will be the biggest immunization in the history of the country", he said outside his Rideau Cottage home.
"This is quite the opposite of the assurances that the prime minister has been providing us as Canadians for a number of weeks and even a month or two now", Moe said.
When asked why he didn't appoint a military liaison earlier, when the USA has had one in place for months, Trudeau said his government is doing "its very best" and work on the distribution plan has been ongoing for some time.
On a positive note, Trudeau also announced on Tuesday a deal with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to secure 26,000 doses, "with options for thousands more", of a therapeutic drug to treat COVID-19 patients. "And most importantly, when will we start to receive the vaccine in our respective provinces?"
McNeil and Higgs have said that after vulnerable populations, hotspots like Toronto should be a priority.
Moe said Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman asked those questions during a conference call Tuesday with his federal and provincial counterparts.
Because Canada won't be receiving these vaccines earlier, Moe said, there are now questions about the contracts.
Canada's Covid-19 cases surpassed the 350,000 level on Thursday afternoon as the country confirmed a total of 351,133 COVID-19 cases and 11,776 deaths.
