Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand announced today that Canada will have enough product on hand by the end of July to fully vaccinate everyone eligible for the shot.
Canada’s immunization campaign is already in full swing, with hundreds of thousands of doses being given every day. These shots will continue to be distributed at a steady rate for the foreseeable future – and Canada will receive 69 million doses by the end of the next six weeks.
With nearly 32 million people over the age of 12 eligible for a vaccine, the country needs 64 million injections to administer the two necessary doses — a threshold the country is likely to cross in mid-July. Health Canada has not yet allowed any vaccine for children under 12 years of age.
That commitment of 69 million doses by the end of July is millions more than the 55 million doses promised by the federal government just last week.
The boosted drop is thanks in large part to Moderna making a stronger commitment on deliveries in the last two weeks of this month through July.
Canada will receive 15 million doses of Moderna this month alone; 4.3 million of those shots have already been delivered, a number that includes the gift of one million doses from the United States yesterday.
Two more shipments of 2.8 million doses each (for a total of 5.6 million doses) are scheduled to arrive before Canada Day.
Anand announced today that another five million doses of Moderna will be shipped between now and the end of the month, although logistics have yet to be confirmed.
Moderna is expected to deliver an additional 6.6 million doses in July.
WATCH: Anand says millions more doses of Moderna will arrive in the next six weeks
Procurement Minister Anita Anand announced that her department will secure 68 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of July. 2:26
While Moderna’s supply is increasing dramatically after months of uncertainty and low deliveries, Pfizer has made some adjustments to its July shipping schedule.
Pfizer still plans to meet its commitment to send nine million doses to Canada next month, but the government says it now expects “less allocation in early July and greater allocation later in July to make up for this.”
More than 4.8 million doses of Pfizer have already been delivered this month.
The New York-based company sent another 2.4 million doses to Canada this week, and shipments of similar volumes are expected each week for the rest of the month. In July, Pfizer is expected to send an additional 9.1 million rounds.
When you add up what has already been delivered with the company’s forecast for deliveries over the next six weeks, 69 million rounds are expected in the first seven months of this year.
The federal government originally expected to have enough product on hand to fully vaccinate all Canadians by the end of September, meaning the country is on track to end the two-dose regimen about two months earlier than planned.
WATCH: What happens to unused AstraZeneca vaccines?
Procurement Minister Anita Anand reiterates the government’s pledge to donate up to 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. 0:42
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