The Public Health Agency of Canada says it expects more than 640,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from the pharmaceutical giants this week, which would represent the largest number of deliveries in a single week.
Pfizer and Moderna will ship more than 475,000 injections this week before dropping it to 445,000 per week to fulfill its commitment to deliver 4 million injections by the end of March.
Canada will also receive 168,000 shots this week from Moderna, which ships its doses every three weeks. Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech shots, Moderna’s are largely destined for northern and remote communities.
The expected influx of vaccine shots follows news on Friday that the millionth Canadian had received a first dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.
Several provinces have moved to expand their vaccination offerings beyond the first priority groups in long-term care homes and front-line health workers thanks to the vaccine influx over the past two weeks.
At least three provinces — Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta — announced details for getting vaccines to seniors living in the community.
There was also evidence last week that one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could be almost as good as two, and news that the vaccine might not need to be kept extraordinarily cold as previously believed.
This content is also available in: Tiếng Việt
