Of course, Madam Chair.
I think Minister Freeland has a lot of information to pass on to us since she chaired the cabinet committee responsible for the federal response to the coronavirus disease, or COVID‑19. I won't go into any of the details here. I'm simply providing an overview of what the minister had to consider, including investments, in dealing with COVID‑19-related problems.
Once again, I appreciate Ms. Vecchio's comments. I'll continue.
The Government of Canada has also cooperated with major networks such as the COVID Genomics Network and the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network using current and new sequencing capacities for the rapid introduction of public health measures.
I'm thinking in particular of the development of rapid screening tests for known variants and a national sequencing strategy that combines outbreak investigations, monitoring, Canadian trends and targeted tests such as those related to travel. Canada now requires travellers returning to the country to undergo a screening test and positive samples are sequenced. This measure helps us monitor variants that enter Canada and provides us with another measure to support our border policies.
All these decisions, all these programs and all these directions didn't simply appear overnight. The cabinet committee and all the consultations it had to conduct focused on what had to be done. That explains, once again, why I think Minister Freeland could provide us with information that would be very useful in developing our final report.
Canada's vaccination strategy is clear. We're trying to vaccinate as many Canadians as possible, starting with those at greatest risk of being sick and hospitalized if infected. This approach helps protect both the persons concerned and those close to them.
Vaccination is definitely still the absolute priority, but we're nowhere near that yet. It's our ultimate goal, but first we have to ensure that Canadians get the assistance they need to stay at home when they're sick.
Since we're receiving increasing quantities of approved vaccines, Canada is well equipped to ramp up vaccinations and optimize public protection even more quickly. We know that millions of doses have been administered to date and that this work is being done in close cooperation with the provinces and territories. As I mentioned earlier, the provinces and territories all operate differently.
My husband was on a waiting list yesterday evening and was able to get in quickly. We're saying that the provinces and territories have all established their priorities and we're working in close cooperation with them.
In cooperation with our partners, we're monitoring the situation as it evolves and learning a great deal in real time about the efficacy of the vaccines and the best way to distribute and use them. We're relying on all the information we have, while of course ensuring everyone's safety and protection.
Studies conducted in Israel and the United Kingdom show that two doses of mRNA vaccine provide excellent protection and are more than 90% effective in preventing asymptomatic infection, symptomatic infection, hospitalization, serious forms of the disease and death.