When is it my turn to get a vaccine?
Vaccine distribution is organized by the provincial and territorial governments, working with local health units. On June 28th, everyone in Ontario age 18+ is eligible for their first or second dose.
As of December 15th all Ontarians are eligable for a third vaccine dose 3 months after their second dose.
How do I book a vaccine appointment in East Toronto?
- Book a local appointment in East Toronto via Michael Garron Hospital at tehn.ca
- Use the provincial portal to book at other locations in Ontario covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine
- Visit vaccineto.ca to see a list of mass immunization clinics in Toronto which may have bookings available
- Call your pharmacy and ask to be added to their list
Which vaccine is best? Is mixing vaccines safe?
All vaccinations approved by Health Canada are safe and effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalization. Many Canadians are choosing to receive the vaccination they’re offered as soon as possible.
Mixing vaccinations is both safe and effective. If you are offered a second dose that is different from your first dose, you should know that receiving two doses offers the best protection for you and your family.
Mixing vaccines is likely to end the pandemic sooner for everyone. The similarity between mRNA vaccines is important to note, as is the increased effectiveness of mixing doses.
What is the status of Canada’s vaccine procurement efforts?
Canada is now 1st in the world of major countries for first dose vaccination rate.
Over 55.1 million doses have been delivered and 46 million doses administered.
Over 80% of the eligible Canadian population has received at least one dose. More than 59% have received two doses and this number is rising quickly.
What steps has Canada taken to rebuild domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity?
With the US blocking exports, the re-tooling of Pfizer’s facility in Belgium, and regular delays in the shipping of Moderna, Canada’s lack of domestic manufacturing capacity has been a major challenge. To fix this, our government has made a series of investments, including:
$126 million to build a large scale Biologics Manufacturing Centre in Montreal, in partnership with Novavax and the National Research Council. 10 months later, the construction of this site is now complete. Installation of critical equipment is currently underway, meaning that vaccine production will be ready by 2022.
$46 million to help the University of Saskatchewan’s VIDO-InterVac transform its animal vaccine facility to produce 40 million doses per year.
$173 million in Medicago to advance its vaccine candidate and establish a large-scale biomanufacturing facility.
$415 million to help Sanofi build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Toronto.
These investments build on our work to strengthen domestic supply chains for PPE, and they will both play a key role in contributing to global vaccination efforts in this crisis and help guarantee our domestic security against future crises.
Why did NACI recommend a single-dose strategy?
The UK’s single-dose strategy has worked (12 week interval), and the independent National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended a similar strategy here in Canada in order to vaccinate “the largest number of people as quickly as possible” and keep as many people out of hospital as we can.
According to NACI, current evidence suggests very good vaccine efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 from one dose as well as very good effectiveness against hospitalization and death.
More, there is no evidence that an extended interval between doses will either increase or decrease the emergence of variants, but NACI notes that “preventing transmission in the community by vaccination may decrease the chance of the emergence and/or spread of variants.”
How has Canada supported global vaccine equity and why did Canada access vaccines from COVAX?
We will donate all of our excess vaccine doses once our population is safe, and we are the 4th largest contributor to the ACT-Accelerator to support equitable access to tests, treatments, and vaccines.
The COVAX facility is part of that effort, and pools financial resources across countries to procure vaccines. COVAX has two streams: one to assist lower-income countries, and the other that encourages high-income countries to participate and secure their own supply by giving them access to a portfolio of vaccine candidates, ensuring against the risk that the candidates they invest in are unsuccessful.
Canada contributed $325 million to support access for low-income countries. Canada also contributed $220 million to secure its own supply through COVAX’s second stream, and has withdrawn vaccines accordingly.
Did Canada delay in entering vaccine procurement agreements?
No. For example, Canada was among the first countries to enter into agreements with Pfizer and Moderna.
Here is the complete list of agreements:
- July 24, 2020: Moderna
- August 1, 2020: Pfizer
- August 24, 2020: J&J
- August 27, 2020: Novavax
- September 11, 2020: Sanofi
- September 25, 2020: AstraZeneca
- October 22, 2020: Medicago
Hindsight being 20/20, it’s possible Canada could have moved faster towards an agreement with AstraZeneca. But overall, Canada moved very quickly to secure a diverse portfolio of vaccines, as recommended by the Vaccine Task Force.
Could Canada have rebuilt domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity more quickly? Isn’t this what the United Kingdom did?
The expert vaccine task force recommended that the government procure a diversified portfolio of seven vaccine candidates to deliver in the short term, and that the government make investments to rebuild manufacturing capacity to deliver in the medium to long term. Canada listened to its experts and followed this strategy.
Mark Lievonen, co-chair of the taskforce, testified that “there is always the possibility to look at manufacturing vaccines in Canada, but across the board, the shortest timeframe for bringing it into Canada was through importing it from other countries.” He went on to say that he didn’t think it would have been possible to “sign a licensing deal, do the technology transfer, bring it here, and have it up and running faster than when we expect to receive it.”
Some testimony at the Industry committee compared Canada to the UK and suggested we should have moved more quickly to establish a partnership between the NRC facility in Montreal and AstraZeneca (ultimately a deal was reached for that facility with Novavax). At the same time, deputy minister Simon Kennedy explained how “the UK started from a much higher base” including “a number of very large contract manufacturing operators that were capable of quickly shifting to produce COVID vaccines” and made investments in 2017 “to launch a significant rebuilding strategy” which allowed them to pivot. He concluded that “there’s really no comparing the situation with Canada.”
Did the proposed partnership between the National Research Council and CanSino impact our overall response?
It did not impact our response at all.
According to Iain Stewart, president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the “explicit objective” of the proposed partnership “was to leave no stone unturned, and the CanSino project was just one among many projects examined. Before the CanSino project was even announced, the government had already moved forward with major investments in other vaccine projects, including in Medicago and at Vido-Intervac in Saskatchewan. The announcement of these investments was mere days after the WHO declared a pandemic in March, and months before the CanSino announcement.”
Stewart testified to the Industry committee that the proposed partnership came about because “the NRC and CanSino had a research relationship that went back a few years, and it was part of ongoing work around developing different kinds of vaccine variants.”
Finally, he also testified that “there’s no connection whatsoever between the CanSino deal and the procurement negotiations that Minister Anand’s team were doing.” Again, the proposed partnership had no impact on our overall response.
How does Canada’s roll-out compare to the rest of the world and to our original delivery targets?
On April 30 2021, Canada ranks 3rd in the G20 for vaccine administration behind only the United States and United Kingdom, both of which have domestic manufacturing that we don’t.
We have received more vaccine doses than most countries, and the countries ahead of Canada either have very small populations or have relied upon Chinese and/or Russian vaccines.
While the pace of the roll-out has been frustrating at times given supply chain challenges, Canada is well ahead of its original delivery projections. For example, we expected 6 million doses by the end of March and received 9 million doses instead.
How strong are Canada’s border measures?
There is evidence that severe travel restrictions work to reduce the transmission of the virus, but there is also evidence that robust testing and quarantine measures work too.
Canada restricts most foreign travel, except for essential workers, exempt personal reasons, and for Canadian nationals. Personal reasons exempt include family reunification, international students, and immigration. Overall, compared to 2019, travel is currently only 5% of the previous volume.
The measures upon arrival into Canada provide comprehensive and robust testing and quarantine procedures to prevent spread in the community. Travellers arriving by land borders are subjected to a pre-entry test requirement before leaving the US and another test within 72 hours of entry into Canada. Upon arrival, travellers receive two at-home test kits, one to use on the day of arrival and another to use on Day-8 of the mandatory quarantine. An address for one’s quarantine must be provided, and security personnel conduct random visits to ensure the quarantine rules are respected.
Travellers arriving by air are subject to similar rules for pre-entry test requirements and arrival testing. The difference is that air travellers are also subject to a mandatory hotel quarantine for up to 3 nights to await results from the arrival test. Again, an address for one’s quarantine must be provided, and security personnel conduct random visits to ensure the quarantine rules are followed.
For travellers who fail to adhere to quarantine protocols, tickets are authorized to be issued in accordance with the Quarantine act.
According to Health Canada, of travelers arriving into Canada, 1.5% have tested positive for COVID-19, and only 0.3% passing through land borders are testing positive after entry. These positive cases are identified through the comprehensive testing and quarantine program that prevents community spread of these cases.
Currently, flights from India and Pakistan are suspended for a minimum period of 30 days to prevent the spread of variants of concern. This order has been extended till at least June 21st, 2021.
When will recipients hear about timing on 2nd doses?
The timing of second doses will be impacted by vaccine supply in applicable jurisdictions. For local second dosages information in East Toronto, visit the Toronto East Health Network website here.
AstraZeneca Second Doses: Starting the week of May 24, individuals who received their first dose of AstraZeneca during the period from March 10, 2021, to March 19, 2021, may opt for an earlier dose interval of 10 weeks with informed consent to receive their second-dose at participating pharmacies.
At this time, eligible individuals should wait for updates from their pharmacy where they received their first dose so they can begin booking appointments. Deliveries to pharmacies begin the week of May 24th, and the Ontario vaccine list of participating pharmacies is being updated with new vaccine deliveries as they happen.
The province will provide further guidance with respect to administering doses of two different vaccines in advance of the 12-week interval when most people are needing to receive their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. When the time comes to receive a second dose, everyone who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine will receive either an AstraZeneca or an mRNA vaccine for their second dose.
You can read more about the details of the Ontario plan here