The MP for Kenora is calling for a concrete COVID-19 vaccination plan now that Canada is finally getting more doses.
Eric Melillo says we are seeing a positive development with vaccines starting to roll in.
However, the Conservative member says, “We’re many weeks late. We’re many weeks behind. We’re still not on track to meet the government-stated goal of having vaccines available to everyone by the end of September. So we’re continuing to push through parliamentary procedures, through committee, to try and get as much information and transparency from the government as possible.”
Melillo says he will continue to hold the Liberals accountable and will push the government for answers.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it expects more than 640,000 shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna this week, which would represent the largest number of deliveries in a single week.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that hundreds of thousands of doses are now expected to arrive each week.
Melillo says the government has been saying one thing and their talking points don’t seem to match the realities that we are seeing.
He stresses the failed national vaccine approach, “Has made life a lot more difficult for the province’s. It’s made life, of course, more difficult for our front-line workers who are ready to go. They are ready to get to work but we need to give them the tools that they need to be able to do that.”
A recent report from CanAge, Canada’s national seniors advocacy organization, ranked Canada’s immunization effort low compared to other countries.
The average overall score across the country was a D-.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu says she is not keeping an eye on our ranking but is instead focused on our own vaccine delivery.
“I think we’re on a good trajectory. Of course we had that bump where we didn’t receive doses from Pfizer. We received reduced doses and no doses from Moderna, which really, I think, disappointed everyone but we’re back on track.”
The Thunder Bay-Superior North MP says she’s working as hard as she can to deliver for Canadians.
(With Files From Vic Krasowski: Thunder Bay)
