Toronto
If you are impatient with the pace of distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine in the US, count your blessings. At the very least, don’t live in Canada. As of Wednesday, my country had only administered 3.52 doses of vaccine per 100 people, according to Oxford University’s Our World in Data website. The United States, at 5 p.m., also did so almost five times. The figures were 80.07 in Israel, 25.04 in the UK and 5.40 in the European Union.
Why is Canada so late among developed nations? The government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not negotiate contracts with established pharmaceutical companies. Rather, he quietly approved a working relationship between Canadian researchers and a Chinese vaccine manufacturer, CanSino Biologics Inc. Ottawa had to rush through agreements with Pfizer, Moderna and other companies. “I wouldn’t have put all the eggs in China’s basket,” Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole told reporters.
When Canada and other countries experienced a significant increase in Covid-19 cases last month (which has now decreased), Pfizer reduced its shipment to my country by more than two-thirds for several weeks. Moderna announced that only three-quarters of its vaccines would arrive in Canada in early February.
Other options are not available at this time. Although Canada acquired a total of 398 million doses, more than 70% are vaccines that have not received approval from health officials. Liberals have pointed fingers at pharmaceutical companies and provincial governments.