7.1M doses arriving this week

OTTAWA • The federal government is expecting to receive about 7.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week, as it adjusts its distribution strategy amid waning vaccination rates and substantial supply.

The deliveries will include about 3.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and four million Moderna doses.

“In the coming weeks, we will cross a symbolic threshold of 66 million doses, signalling that there are enough doses in Canada to vaccinate every currently eligible Canadian,” Brig.-Gen. Krista Brodie said Thursday at a virtual news conference.

Brodie, who is overseeing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, said Canada is moving to a “more nuanced” approach as the supply of doses is on the verge of outstripping demand.

More than two million doses of vaccine are already being held back because provinces have said they can't use them yet, she said.