Evidence of meeting #21 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was covid-19.
A recording is available from Parliament.
MGen Dany Fortin
Indeed, if provinces are not given a good idea of the number of doses they will receive and the delivery schedule, it will become difficult for them to manage.
The provinces all indicate that they have the capacity to deliver the expected number of doses. At this point, the best way to help them is to give them the best possible estimates of how many doses they will receive so that they can coordinate all their resources. These are the indications we are receiving at the moment, yes.
February 26th, 2021 / 2:30 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
On the opposition side, we have made small, easy calculations, which are not scientific. We estimate that 300,000 Canadians would need to be vaccinated every day to ensure that all Canadians are vaccinated by September, which is the deadline announced by the Prime Minister.
Do you think this is feasible and possible?
MGen Dany Fortin
These are also projections that we use and share with the provinces.
I certainly have the impression that we are heading in the right direction. What we can do to continue helping provinces is to identify risks and sticking points and make sure that we're using our logistical support to the maximum extent possible. We also need to put the freezers in the right places and prioritize distribution to ensure that we are able to make this significant increase.
These are projections that were shared with provinces. They tell us whether they are able to do so over time. We will continue to work with them to make sure we don't run into any administrative difficulties.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Thank you, Mr. Fortin. I would like to ask you one last question.
As far as planning is concerned, the 6 million planned doses have taken a long time to arrive and they will all arrive at the same time. We had known since November that this was the deal. As of April 1, for the second quarter, there will be 26 million doses.
Do you have information for the months of June, July and August?
Have companies already announced figures?
MGen Dany Fortin
Yes, of course.
We previously announced that we will have 23 million doses from Pfizer and Moderna during the second quarter. In the third quarter, we will be receiving more than 55 million doses. That will give us a total of 84 million doses from those two manufacturers alone.
Today, we added AstraZeneca to our portfolio of vaccines. The exact quantities we will receive during the second and third quarters still have to be confirmed. However, we can easily see that about 25 million doses will be added to our portfolio of vaccines starting in March, according to the announcement by the Serum Institute.
Those are some of the projections we have communicated to the provinces. Of course, we have to turn to the provinces quickly to tell them about the quantities we will be receiving shortly and to inform them about the distribution process. We want to avoid situations in which quantities arrive unannounced on a clinic's doorstep.
We will clearly have to plan quickly for the first deliveries of the doses from AstraZeneca.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
You are convinced that all Canadians will be vaccinated by the end of September?
MGen Dany Fortin
That is what the numbers tell us. The quantities will be sufficient to vaccinate all Canadians before the end of September.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Thank you, Mr. Fortin.
I have no further questions, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you to all of the witnesses for joining us today—the same day we received the news of the approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine by Health Canada.
Mr. Chair, I want to begin my round of questioning with a few brief questions for our witnesses to set the record straight for Canadians watching.
Mr. Stewart, most of the GTA is presently under a stay-at-home order. Is it correct to say that the Province of Ontario, not the federal government, imposed it based on consultations with regional and provincial public health experts?
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes. It would be the Province of Ontario that would be establishing public health measures of that nature.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you.
General Fortin, is it correct to say that the federal government distributes vaccines to provinces per capita and that the provinces are responsible for local vaccine distribution, including through online booking portals?
MGen Dany Fortin
Yes. While we've focused in the last few months, or up until now, on establishing distribution networks, we're really focusing on supporting provinces to administer and execute their immunization plans. It's very much their responsibility.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you.
General Fortin, how many vaccine doses have been distributed to the Province of Ontario? How many have been administered by the province? How many are presently in the fridges?
MGen Dany Fortin
Mr. Chair, I think I'll have to get back to you in a few seconds, if I may.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you, General Fortin.
Can I ask my other questions? He can come back to that question.
General Fortin, the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved this morning. This week, Canada received the largest number of doses of the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines so far.
Are you confident that provinces will be able to increase their delivery capacity to keep up to the supply coming in? Do you have any concerns? How are you preparing for the influx of vaccines?
MGen Dany Fortin
Mr. Chair, we're focusing on helping provinces identify the risks and the additional requirements they may have in order to help them immunize at scale. The AstraZeneca and other non-mRNA vaccines have less stringent, less demanding cold chain requirements. They can be stored in the pharmaceutical fridges that you would find in pharmacies. That gives us more options. They are much easier to handle and distribute in the provinces and territories. It's good news for provinces and territories.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Would you be able to comment on the vaccination work in remote northern and indigenous communities in Canada?
MGen Dany Fortin
Mr. Chair, we are in close coordination with Indigenous Services Canada and, of course, with the provincial and territorial authorities as well. They are the colleagues that distribute vaccines. The input of the different jurisdictions is also factored in, or discussed at, numerous tables. There is plenty of opportunity to take their considerations into account. As I said, we work closely with Indigenous Services Canada in addressing the particular requirements of indigenous communities in remote locations. Personally, I have taken part in numerous discussions with my colleagues at Indigenous Services Canada and the leaders of national indigenous organizations.
It's an all-aware network that continues to develop, and we continue to address the particular concerns and requirement of all Canadians through those tables.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you.
The next question is for Mr. Stewart.
You said that NACI is giving recommendations about vaccine prioritization. How will we see if there is a difference among provinces? How can you explain the difference among provinces? At the end of the day, the province has to decide which demographic will be vaccinated first. Can you explain that?
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes, that's an excellent point.
Mr. Chair, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization provides advice on priority populations, as has been mentioned. That advice suggests who to target for vaccination and who has first priority. It is shared with the provinces and territories in an ongoing collaborative dialogue, but as was pointed out, at the end of the day each province and territory has to make choices about who they will immunize first within their jurisdiction, because they are delivering health care in that community.
Liberal
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Thank you.
Mr. Chair, I would still like General Fortin to submit an answer to the question I previously asked about the numbers.
Do I have time for another question?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
No. Thank you, Ms. Sidhu.
General Fortin, if you have those numbers, you can give them now. Otherwise, I'll ask you to submit them to the clerk in due course.