Vaccines — getting to the point

Many Canadians have been buoyed by news that several COVID-19 vaccines are showing promising results in early trials.

Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca — these three companies and others have become household names as we await word of when their vaccines might be approved by Health Canada and made available to Canadians.

With nearly 57,000 active cases of COVID-19 in the country and a death toll above 11,500, there is great incentive to stop the virus in its tracks.

But don’t get ready to rip off that mask and throw out the hand sanitizer anytime soon.

We must heed the advice of our public health officials, that progress in the fight to thwart COVID19 will be incremental. And while vaccines for COVID-19 are being developed and tested rapidly, comparatively speaking, a lot of i’s have to be dotted and t’s crossed before we can roll up our sleeves.

In Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is group of experts in pediatrics, infectious diseases, immunology, public health and other areas, that makes recommendations about vaccine usage in Canada.

The federal government has earmarked $1 billion to purchases vaccines, and it will fall to the NACI to recommend how those vaccines should be distributed across the country.

Should they be divvied up proportionately by province and population?

Should areas with more active cases get more of the vaccine?

Should the elderly and others with underlying medical conditions be vaccinated first?

Where do children fit into the mix — after all, they are back to sharing classrooms and school buses.

How do you efficiently and cost-effectively arrange mass immunization of a vaccine to fight a virus that can spread like wildfire in large gatherings?

And what of those Canadians who refuse to be vaccinated, for whatever reason (including medical)?

Statistics Canada reported in August that one in seven Canadians said they were somewhat unlikely or unlikely to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available.

Should there be prohibitions for those who choose not to be vaccinated?

Already, some airlines are advising that proof of vaccination will be required for anyone boarding their planes in the future.

The BBC reported that Alan Joyce, head of Australian airline Qantas, said this week, “We will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft... for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity.”

Of course, a return to travel as it used to be is a still a distant dream.

While vaccines could be rolled out in Canada in early to mid-2021, for now we must stay the course and take measures to keep each other safe.

As Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told a news conference on Monday, “Vaccination will be a process. We cannot and we do not vaccinate everyone in the country on the same day.”