Canada Begins Vaccinations With Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine

Canada administered its first shots of Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare workers Monday as coronavirus vaccinations also got underway in the U.S.

The country’s first vaccinations took place at a Toronto, Ontario nursing home, with healthcare workers at the facility the first to receive doses.

“Over 2,500 healthcare workers in our hospitals and long-term care homes will be vaccinated over the coming days and weeks, with more people to follow as additional shipments arrive.” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Ford asked Canadians to remain patient, as supplies of the vaccine will arrive in stages, calling the massive undertaking “the biggest immunization program in a century.” The Canadian government said it expects to have 249,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine distributed by the end of the year. In total, the country has secured 76 million shots from Pfizer.

Vaccinations in the U.S. also kicked off on Monday. The U.S., with its significantly greater population, anticipates having around 40 million doses, including shots of Moderna’s vaccine, allocated by the end of 2020. Approximately 50 million to 80 million doses will be distributed in both January and February, according to Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar has said that the U.S. government believes that “across our portfolio of multiple vaccines” there will be enough doses for any American who wishes to be vaccinated by the end of the second quarter of 2021.

The U.K. was the first to authorize and administer Pfizer’s vaccine, vaccinating its first patient a week ago after clearing the vaccine on Dec. 2 (DID, Dec. 3). Britain made headlines when its health regulator warned that patients with severe allergies should not receive the vaccine, following serious side effects in two individuals who had severe allergies. The FDA has said those receiving the vaccine should be confident in taking it as long as they haven’t previously had severe allergic reactions to the vaccine’s ingredients or vaccines in general. — James Miessler