HEALTH CANADA GAVE ITS NOD TO THE COVID-19 VACCINE DEVELOPED BY PFIZER AND BIONTECH WEDNESDAY. `IT'S ALL HANDS ON DECK RIGHT NOW, SAYS DR. HOWARD NJOO, CANADA'S DEPUTY CHIEF PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW THAT HEALTH CANADA APPROVED THE PFIZER VACCINE FOR COVID-19

Health Canada approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada on Wednesday.

The Pfizer-biontech COVID-19 vaccine, which is 95 per cent effective, is the first in the country to be approved, for use by those aged 16 and older, says a Health Canada report.

The government has said it expects nearly 250,000 doses to arrive before the end of the year.

“It’s all hands on deck right now,” said Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer.

“At last we have a reason to feel optimistic and excited,” he said. “Things are happening quickly.”

Here’s what you need to know now that a COVID-19 vaccine has been approved.

SO WHAT NOW?

The initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive and be distributed to priority areas of the country. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended that the initial doses go to the most at-risk populations.

That includes residents and staff of long-term care homes, people aged 80 years and older (and younger age groups as supply improves), healthcare workers, and adults in Indigenous communities.

The next phase could include essential workers like police and firefighters, those in prisons and jails and those who live in “congregate” settings, such as work camps or homes for migrant workers.

But — and it’s a big but — it is the responsibility of provinces to “plan, store, administer and deliver vaccination programs” and make decisions about who gets it. Provinces and territories must also “manage, track and share data on coverage and adverse events,” says a planning document.

The general population can expect to start getting the shot by April, and by the end of 2021, the federal government hopes the vaccination program will be complete.

WHAT DOES THE VACCINE LOOK LIKE?

The United Kingdom is already injecting people with the Pfizer vaccine, and the government’s health website describes it as “a white to off-white frozen solution.”

The serum is thawed and diluted before it is injected.

It is a two-dose vaccine — after getting the first intramuscular injection, you’ll need to return in 21 days to get round two for it to be effective.

DO I NEED ROUND TWO?

Yes. The vaccine will not be effective until seven days after the second dose.

“It is very important that you return for the second injection, or the vaccine may not work as well,” says Health Canada.

HOW IS THE VACCINE SHIPPED AND STORED?

The Pfizer vaccine is unique because it requires storage and shipping at incredibly cold temperatures. Pfizer’s website says -70 degrees Celsius is ideal and dry ice is used to keep it cold.

The company says it has designed special thermal shippers. These can also be used, upon arrival, to store the vaccine for 30 days, as long as the dry ice is topped up every five days.

Prior to injection, they are thawed and stored between 2 C and 8 C; refrigerators at this temperature are easily found. Pfizer says the vaccine must be injected within five days or it will spoil. It cannot be re-frozen.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE, NO?

It is. Canada has said it has, at this point, only 14 sites across the country where it will be able to store the frozen vaccine.

Julie Swann, a professor and head of the department of industrial and systems engineering at North Carolina State University, said there are, generally speaking, extra-cold distribution networks that exist, but it’s no doubt a challenge.

“I think we’ll find a lot of organizations will try to pre-register people to come get the vaccine, so they can plan their supply accordingly,” Swann said.

DOES CANADA HAVE ENOUGH COLD STORAGE?

There have been some concerns raised that we do not have the capacity. A report from Mckesson, a pharmaceutical distribution company, called the logistics of distribution a “Herculean task.”

“The existing public and private vaccine supply chains in Canada are not equipped to support frozen and/ or ultra-frozen COVID-19 vaccines at scale, and even if the vaccine is refrigerated, the sheer scale of doses to be distributed will overwhelm existing infrastructure,” the report says.

However, the federal government has said it has ordered 26 freezers that will store the vaccine at colder than -80 C, and an additional 100 freezers that can store a vaccine at -20 C. The dry-ice solution can also be used for storage.

The government says it’s anticipated these challenges.

“Federal, provincial, territorial and local governments have made a number of investments to support the storage and handling needs for these products, including sourcing -80 C freezers and dry ice, and preparing transportation options for delivery and storage to remote communities,” says a government planning document.

It says the “usual vaccine distribution systems in Canada are generally not equipped to manage vaccines held at these temperatures,” and so it will be “support(ed)” by the federal government.

“Vaccines that will be available later in the immunization program will have more standard storage and handling requirements and will be distributed using existing distribution mechanisms across Canada,” it says.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A PROBLEM FOR FAR- FLUNG COMMUNITIES?

Yeah, it could be. The Moderna vaccine, said Swann, is probably going to be more likely to be used in rural areas, because it doesn’t need as precise cold-storage requirements.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has said the province expects to get more of the Moderna vaccine for exactly that reason.

WHAT ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS?

There are some. The approval documents say more than 10 per cent of all recipients will feel pain at the injection site, and various other side effects such as tiredness and muscle pain, chills and fever. Uncommon side effects include enlarged lymph nodes.

WHAT ABOUT ALLERGIES?

The United Kingdom has also advised people who have a history of allergies not to get vaccinated until regulators finish investigating two cases where people suffered allergic reactions to the vaccine. In both cases, the patients are recovering well. Health Canada says to “seek medical attention right away” if you develop serious symptoms such as hives, trouble breathing or swelling of the face, throat or tongue.