‘We have to get those case numbers down. We need to crush COVID right across the country. We need to get vaccination rates up over 75 per cent’
Ryan Tumilty
People line up for the COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Toronto on Tuesday May 11, 2021.Photo by Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Article content
OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday Canadians can expect a much better summer, but only if they get vaccinated and continue to follow health restrictions and push COVID cases down to low levels.
Trudeau said Canadians need to continue to get COVID-19 vaccines and follow health restrictions, but there is a way forward.
If we can do this, we can have a more normal, better summer and a one-dose summer sets us up for a two-dose fall, he said.
He said he expects there will be enough doses to get every Canadian one dose by the end of June and two doses by the end of September. He said some restrictions will likely fall after Canadians get one dose and more still will fall after they receive two.
But Trudeau stressed the number of COVID cases has to drop as well and people have to follow public health restrictions to make that happen.
We cant ease public health restrictions until cases are way down. We all want to have the summer where we can see our loved one, and invite friends over for barbecues, he said. We have to get those case numbers down. We need to crush COVID right across the country. We need to get vaccination rates up over 75 per cent.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
One of the potential vaccines Canada has been using is coming out of the arsenal, as both Ontario and Alberta have now announced they will stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine.
- ‘Very little excuse’ to continue to use AstraZeneca in Canada: infectious diseases specialist
- Vaccines will get us back to normal. Why is Canada pretending otherwise?
- Do lockdowns not work? Why Florida and Texas are doing better than Ontario and Alberta
Alberta cited unclear future deliveries and the need to hold some vials for second doses for its decision, but Ontario paused first doses because of growing concern about the risk of rare blood clots with the vaccine.
Dr. Jessica Hopkins, Chief Health Protection officer for the province, said new data suggests the number of cases of rare blood clots is higher than previously estimated and is now roughly 1 in 60,000. She said with COVID starting to subside, it makes sense to temporarily pause use of the vaccine.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The context has changed. Happily, the numbers of COVID cases in Ontario are going down, she said.
Ontario has just 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine left and it will reserve them for second doses. The federal government has said more AstraZeneca doses are on the way with 655,000 arriving in the coming weeks and one million more doses coming in June, but no firm deliveries have been set.
Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontarios coordinator of outbreak response, said any vaccine is valuable, but AstraZeneca is not a major part of the provinces rollout and he believes they will still be able to vaccinate 65 per cent of Ontario adults by the end of May.
We did not include AstraZeneca in those calculations. We are confident with the tracking, despite this decision that were making today.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Dr. David Williams, Ontarios chief public health officer, said the province is studying how to handle second doses of AstraZeneca for those who have already received one. He said early results suggest the rate of complications in people who receive a second dose of AstraZeneca is very low. He said theyre also looking at studies currently underway of a mixed dose regime, using AstraZeneca with a mRNA vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna.
Canada has contracts for more than 22 million doses in total of the AstraZeneca vaccine and has received only 2.3 million so far.
Trudeau said provinces will decide how best to use vaccines, but his government will continue to try and get as many vaccines as possible into Canada.
From the federal governments perspective, our job is to make sure that we get the largest number of safe vaccines into Canada, as quickly as possible.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Conservative MPs called for an emergency meeting of the Health Committee to study the new issues around vaccines. In a letter to the committee chair, the four Conservative MPs also suggested the prime ministers comments had made things unclear.
This statement by the Prime Minister has created confusion on the timeline for which Canadians can expect to be fully vaccinated, they wrote. More information on this topic is immediately needed as well as guidelines for Canadians who are only partially immunized.
The MPs said the committee must also meet to discuss how people who received a first dose of AstraZeneca will be dealt with.
More information is needed on the work the federal government is undertaking to support the determination of the path to full immunization for Canadians who have received one dose of AstraZeneca.
Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com | Twitter: ryantumilty
Share this article in your social network
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
NP Posted
Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.