The US economy is opening up and Covid-19 vaccines are increasingly available. But its northern neighbor has had one of the slowest vaccines among developed economies and is now imposing new blockades to curb an increase in infections.
Blockades in Canada occur as new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus have been imposed on the country. The rapid spread of variant B.1.1.7, first identified in the United Kingdom, and variant P.1, originally from Brazil, has forced the authorities of the largest provinces in Canada to impose new residence orders in home and, in some cases, close schools.
The deployment of vaccines in the country, stalled by supply chain problems and a lack of coordination at the federal and provincial levels, contrasts with its initial and aggressive response to obtaining doses before the pandemic. Canada signed agreements with eight vaccine manufacturers, most of which were completed before the end of last year, to access up to 404 million doses, most doses per capita from any advanced economy.
But it has taken Canada a long time to get these shots into the arms of the people, and Canadians have envied the progress of the United States.
Data collected by Our World in Data from Oxford University show that Canada had provided one or more doses to approximately 16% of its population as of Tuesday, while the US had covered 32% of its population. , the United Kingdom stood at 47% and Israel reached 61%.