Action group leader Covid Ontario has apologized for “stopping” coronavirus vaccines over the Christmas holidays, amid frustration across Canada over the slow release of the drug.
Officials in the country’s largest province – and the worst hit – shortened the hours of vaccine clinics on December 24 and closed on December 25 and 26, citing staff concerns. By Tuesday, all 19 had reopened.
“We shouldn’t [have] they made that decision. I take responsibility for that, ”retired general Rick Hillier, head of the department’s Covid executive group, told CTV News. “And clearly, we got it wrong. We’re lost, we’re lost, we’re going to pick up our game. ”
Canada was one of the first countries to approve the Pfizer and Modern vaccines and has the highest per capita level of secure vaccine contracts with drug manufacturers, but its vaccine levels are lower than other countries. has also approved the drug.
The United States, Britain and Bahrain have received vaccinated residents at a faster rate. On Sunday, Israel vaccinated nearly 100,000 people in one day – nearly double the number of Canadian vaccines over two weeks.
Canadian efforts have been hampered by cold storage requirements required for the Pfizer vaccine, as well as poorly implemented vaccination programs in some areas.
While Ontario has received 96,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, it has delivered only 14,000 doses. Until this week, officials had been holding back the supply of the drug to make sure everyone who received the vaccine received the required second dose.
However, following criticism from healthcare workers and infectious disease experts, the province has announced plans to increase vaccinations in the coming days and will no longer keep doses.
“We will not take more days off until we win this war against Covid-19,” Hillier told reporters Tuesday, adding that the province will open four vaccine sites in the coming days.
Ontario, which filed a record 2,553 new cases and 41 deaths Tuesday, is not the only region to suspend vaccinations over the holidays.
In Manitoba, which had the worst per-capita growth rate in new diseases, vaccine clinics closed on December 23, reopening them Tuesday.
And in parts of British Columbia several vaccination sites have been closed for the holidays.
“Due to the statutory holidays and logistics involved in operating these clinics, clinics were closed at Christmas to provide a major, albeit brief, disruption to healthcare workers. the holidays, ”the province said in a statement.
For those on the rise, delays and frustration have added to the growing fear and fatigue.
“It doesn’t make any sense. Why delay something that would stop future deaths? Dr Oili Kaplan-Myrth, an Ontario-based GP, told CBC News.
Frustration is gradually coming in when northern Canada receives the first doses of the Moderna vaccine, a drug that requires less intensive storage and is more suitable for remote indigenous communities and depopulated areas -strict healthcare structure.
There are currently over 74,000 active cases and 15,000 deaths in Canada. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has expressed hope that the majority of the population will be vaccinated before September.