Canada lags in vaccinations but ready to catch up

TORONTO — Canada once was hailed as a success story in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, faring much better than the United States in deaths and infections because of how it approached lockdowns.

But the trade-dependent nation has lagged on vaccinating its population because it lacks the ability to manufacture the vaccine and has had to rely on the global supply chain for the lifesaving shots.

With no domestic supply, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government bet on seven vaccines manufactured elsewhere and secured advance purchase agreements — enough to get 10 doses for each of Canada’s 38 million people. Regulators have approved the Pfizer, Moderna, Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. While acquiring them has proved difficult, that gamble appears to be about to pay off.

Although Canada’s economy is tightly interconnected with the U.S., Washington hasn’t allowed the hundreds of millions of vaccine doses made in America to be exported, and Canada has had to turn to Europe and Asia.

“Our best friend and neighbor, the United States, has a Pfizer vaccine plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I can shoot a puck from Kalamazoo and hit Ontario, yet we’re not getting our Pfizer vaccine from them,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease scientist at the University of Toronto.

The vaccine supply chain difficulties have forced Canada to extend the time between the first shot and the second by up to four months so that everyone can be protected faster with the primary dose. The hope is to get all adults at least one shot by the end of June.

“It’s not just Canada that is experiencing turbulence. The entire globe is undertaking the largest mass vaccination campaign in its history with completely new supply chains,” Procurement Minister Anita Anand said in an interview.

According to the World Health Organization, nearly 80 percent of the vaccines manufactured have been administered in only 10 countries.

Canada ranks about 22nd in the number of doses administered, with about 8 percent of the population getting at least one shot. That compares with 36 percent in the U.K., 21 percent in the U.S. and 8 percent in the EU.