Arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine
SEEING THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
This time last year it would have been impossible to comprehend how seeing healthcare workers receive the first doses of a vaccine would be as inspiring as watching the moon landing. But after much of the world has been shut down for the better part of 2020, we’re all seeing things a little differently than we ever thought possible.
The first vaccine shipment from Pfizer and German partner BioNTech arrived at the airport in Hamilton on Sunday, December 13, less than a year after the first reports of a mysterious flu in the Chinese city of Wuhan became a global pandemic that would rival the Spanish Flu of over 100 years ago.
The development of the COVID-19 vaccine is a momentous feat, considering that it typically takes more than 10 years to develop vaccines. The mumps inoculation, which took four years to make, held the previous record.
Ontario’s initial 6,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine were given to approximately 2,500 nursing home workers in Toronto and Ottawa, with half the shots intentionally held back so the same people will receive their second dose 21 days later. The historic moment has been dubbed “V-Day” as this is the onset of the largest mass immunization effort in Canadian history. The latest Angus Reid Institute data shows that the number of Canadians who say they want to be immunized as soon as a COVID-19 vaccine is available to them has increased from 40 percent to 48 percent.
The Pfizer vaccine has an efficacy of up to 95 percent seven days after the second dose. This far exceeds the 50 percent effectiveness target set by the FDA for COVID-19 vaccines. Canada is slated to receive 249,000 doses from Pfizer by the end of December and a total of 4 million doses by the end of March. The one drawback with this inoculation is that it must be stored at very low temperatures of -70°C.
But the vaccine from Pfizer though first, is by no means the only option. Canada has secured 400 million doses across a range of seven different vaccines. This includes two million doses from Moderna by the end of March, and 40 million by the end of 2021, pending approval from Health Canada. This vaccine has less stringent storage requirements, needing to be stored at -20 C.
Depending on Health Canada approval, production, and delivery, it’s expected that all Canadians could be vaccinated by the end of September 2021. There’s the even possibility of an accelerated timeline if more vaccines get approval. This is great news in light of the fact that most of Ontario is in the midst of a lockdown that will last at least 28 days.
Despite this being a watershed moment, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. We are experiencing the highest number of deaths and hospitalizations since the onset of the virus. Canada has surpassed 500,000 cases and on December 17 there were over 7,000 new cases— the most in a single day.
We still need to continue social distancing, wearing masks, and washing our hands to avoid spreading the virus. Although this is the beginning of the end, until enough of the population is inoculated to stop transmission of this deadly disease, it’s still a long journey back to normal.