(Ottawa) The federal government should buy new refrigerators due to the arrival of millions of additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine starting in the second quarter.
In total, Canada expects to receive 23 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines during April, May and June, nearly five million more doses than originally planned, said Major General Danny Fortin, in charge of logistics and vaccine distribution in Thursday, Canadian Public Health Agency.
Last week, Minister of Supply and Utilities Anita Anand said Canada had managed to secure millions of doses that were expected in the third quarter during the second quarter. In Pfizer-BioNTech’s case, an additional 2.8 million doses will arrive early in the country, in the second quarter. This vaccine should be stored at -70 ° C.
Major General Fortin said federal and provincial authorities are already planning the finer details of a vaccination campaign in the second quarter that will accelerate dramatically. Therefore, the purchase of new refrigerators is necessary to keep these vaccines in the extremely cold temperatures required before consuming them.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, Canadian Press
Major General Danny Fortin
“Orders for new freezers have been placed some time ago and will be delivered in the coming weeks. […] We continue to adjust vaccination plans with the provinces where we get these vaccines, “said Major General Fortin.
He said the provinces and territories are looking at other options to increase their vaccination capacity. In addition to health care workers, some counties will invite pharmacists and other health experts to obtain a “better” system to administer vaccines more quickly.
The Major General also confirmed that Canada had finally received delivery of 403,650 doses of the expected Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week, despite the delay caused by a winter storm in the United States. He said, “The distribution of these doses to the governorates is currently underway and is expected to be completed by the end of the week.”
Next week, 475,000 doses of the same vaccine are expected to arrive in Canada, so 1.8 million doses should have been received by the end of February.
The pharmaceutical company has now confirmed the delivery schedule for the entire month of March, allowing provinces to schedule the vaccination campaign in a quarter-turn. The major said that Canada is scheduled to receive 444,000 doses per week during the month of March, bringing the total doses to four million as planned in the first quarter.
As for Moderna, the next delivery should take place next week. In total, 168,000 doses are expected. But the company maintains that it can deliver 2 million doses as planned by the end of March. This means that it plans to deliver 1.3 million doses of its vaccine in March alone in two batches.
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