Health-care workers prepare doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Montreal in May.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Quebec says walk-in clinics won’t be able to offer Pfizer vaccines for the next several days due to a shipping delay.
A Friday evening statement from the Ministry of Health says the 546,000 shots expected to be delivered over the weekend now won’t arrive until June 24 or 25, prompting the temporary pause that takes effect Saturday and is expected to lift when doses land.
The Ministry statement says there’s currently enough supply to ensure previously booked appointments can proceed over the next few days, adding the short-term pause won’t affect the provincial goal of immunizing all eligible residents by Aug. 31.
Meanwhile, Quebec is reporting 160 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday and nine more deaths attributed to the virus, none of which occurred in the last 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations rose by three in the past 24 hours and now stand at 178, while the number of patients in intensive care remains steady at 39.
The province says it administered 85,917 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, for a total of 7,249,641; about 70 per cent of Quebecers have received a first dose.
At least 20 per cent of eligible Canadians fully vaccinated, data suggests
Canada has hit two of the vaccination targets government officials have previously said were necessary for the easing of public health restrictions imposed due to COVID-19.
An independent website founded by a University of Saskatchewan student and tracking federal and provincial vaccine data says just over 20 per cent of eligible Canadians – those 12 years old and above – are now fully vaccinated. And just over 75 per cent of eligible Canadians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Federal modelling completed in the spring suggested that if 75 per cent of eligible Canadians had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 20 per cent had two, provinces could safely begin easing restrictions on public movement without overwhelming hospitals again.
The modelling also suggested that when 75 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated, officials could begin to loosen personal measures like physical distancing and wearing masks.
But chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said those models didn’t include the highly contagious Delta variant, which she said surged by 66 per cent over the past week.
In Toronto, the city is also reporting more than 75 per cent of its adult population have received a first dose, while more than 25 per cent have had a second jab.
The COVID-19 Tracker Canada website is run by volunteers and uses daily federal and provincial data.
It said more than 31.7 doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across Canada as of early Saturday afternoon.
Ontario reports 355 new cases of COVID-19, while 213,236 vaccine doses were given
People wait for their COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination clinic at Jimmie Simpson Recreation Centre in Toronto on June 17, 2021.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Ontario is reporting 355 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday and 13 deaths linked to the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 58 new cases in Toronto, 54 in Waterloo and 45 in Peel Region.
She says there were also 23 new cases in Hamilton and 22 in the Porcupine Health Unit region.
The Ministry of Health says 336 people are in hospital with the virus, with 335 patients in intensive care and 221 on a ventilator.
Saturday’s data is based on nearly 25,400 tests completed.
Elliott says 213,236 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since Friday’s report, for a total of more than 12.3 million doses.
Elsewhere in Canada
- Yukon health officials are reporting 29 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases in the territory to 87. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Hanley says 22 cases are in Whitehorse and seven are in rural communities. Hanley says 31 of the cases are believed to be caused by the Gamma variant of the virus, which was first identified in Brazil. The territory has seen 182 cases of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.
- Alberta’s Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, says in a series of tweets that the new cases were identified from 5,055 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 2.5 per cent. Ms. Hinshaw says there are 2,170 active COVID-19 infections in Alberta, with 221 patients in hospital and 49 in intensive care. She says 3.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered across the province, with 70.4 per cent of Albertans over the age of 12 with one dose and 27.3 per cent with two.
- Saskatchewan says Step Three of its COVID-19 reopening plan will begin on July 11. The province had said it would begin the third stage three weeks after 70 per cent of adults received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The province’s daily pandemic update says that goal was reached today. That means the majority of public health measures will be lifted and the only remaining restrictions will be on mass public gatherings and the mandatory masking order. Saskatchewan also reported 55 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
- Manitoba is reporting three new deaths of people with COVID-19 and 151 additional cases of the virus. Two of the deaths were linked to outbreaks in hospitals – one at Winnipeg’s Health Science Centre and another at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach. Manitoba’s current five-day test-positivity rate is 8.3 per cent provincially and 7.4 per cent in Winnipeg. The province says 58 virus patients are in intensive care, and another 18 from the province are in ICUs in neighbouring provinces.
- Nova Scotia is reporting six new cases of COVID-19 and 10 recoveries from the virus over the past 24 hours. Four of the most recent cases are in the central zone, with three close contacts of previously reported cases and one under investigation. Two cases are in the western zone, with one related to travel and the other under investigation. As of Saturday, Nova Scotia has 88 active cases of COVID-19, with six people in hospital due to the virus and three patients in intensive care.
- New Brunswick residents who have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine are being encouraged to book an appointment for their second shot. The province announced Saturday that everyone who received their first dose before May 15 can now book an appointment for their second dose. Currently, 76.1 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 17.6 per cent are fully vaccinated. Public Health reported five new cases of COVID-19 in the province today, bringing the number of active infections to 55.