Gatineau & Toronto: Canada will receive up to 249,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in this month, contingent on Health Canada authorization of the vaccine.
Anita Anand, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, said these doses are part of the up to 76 million doses Canada has secured through its existing agreement with Pfizer. As with all Covid-19 vaccine candidates, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be authorized by Health Canada before being administered to Canadians.
Ontario Identifies Key Groups for Distribution
The Ontario government is ready to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as they are received, beginning with vaccinating vulnerable populations and those who care for them, said a provincial statement.
Groups receiving the early vaccine doses in the first few months of the Ontario immunization program will include:
- Residents, staff, essential caregivers, and other employees of congregate living settings (e.g., long-term care homes and retirement homes) that provide care for seniors as they are at higher risk of infection and serious illness from Covid-19;
- Health care workers, including hospital employees, other staff who work or study in hospitals, and other health care personnel;
- Adults in Indigenous communities, including remote communities where risk of transmission is high; and
- Adult recipients of chronic home health care.
Pfizer, the Public Health Agency of Canada with the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Provinces and Territories are working together to finalize preparations at the first point-of-use sites this week, including training on how to handle the product, which must be transported and stored at -70 degrees Celsius, said a federal statement.
Important logistical tests are planned, beginning with a dry run with Pfizer this week, led by the National Operations Centre. This dry run will be used to confirm the ordering, shipping and importation processes from the point of manufacture to the point of use across Canada. In this initial dry run with Pfizer, a shipping container with dry ice and a data-logger will simulate a shipment of the vaccine.
Pfizer submitted an application for regulatory review of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate under Health Canada’s interim order on October 9, 2020. Results of this review are expected soon.
Contract to distribute Covid-19 vaccine
Minister Anand also announced that the Government of Canada has awarded a contract to FedEx Express Canada and Innomar Strategies Inc., for an end-to-end Covid-19 logistics solution for Covid-19 vaccines.
The services provided by FedEx Express Canada and Innomar Strategies Inc. will be fully operational to receive initial doses of vaccines, and will facilitate the distribution of doses to provinces and territories from coast to coast to coast, as soon as Health Canada approves their use.
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada has signed agreements with seven companies to secure access to seven Covid-19 vaccine candidates, including with Pfizer and Moderna. Four vaccine candidates are currently under review for approval by Health Canada.
- Model points of administration and clinical use are being established now across Canada to train and prepare for vaccine roll-out. First deliveries of approved Covid-19 vaccines are anticipated during the first quarter of 2021.
- These first deliveries will be guided by experts to focus on priority populations such as residents and staff in long term care facilities, the elderly, front line health workers and isolated Indigenous communities remote from health care services.
- Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the PHAC, has also awarded two contracts for the purchase of 26 freezers at -80 degrees and 100 freezers at -20 degrees Celsius. To date, 42 freezers have been delivered.
- A competitive procurement process is underway for additional freezers. On November 27, Requests for Proposals (RFP) were issued for 265 additional under-the-counter and portable freezers and 23 ultra-low temperature freezers. The RFP closed on December 2, and bids are being evaluated.
- Public Services and Procurement Canada has procured the necessary supplies to support vaccine administration. To date, contracts have been put in place for the required supplies to administer nearly 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, including syringes, needles and gauze.