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The province is right on track on its vaccination program.
That’s according to the Vic Fedeli, Chair of Cabinet in Ontario.
“Well we’re a little over 25.5% of all adults, that’s more than 1 in 4, have received at least one shot. Premier Ford has said we expect to have 40% of Ontario adults vaccinated by the end of the stay-at-home order.”
Fedeli stresses we need more doses in order to achieve their goal, noting they have the capacity to do about 150,000 a day.
He notes Ontario recorded an all-time high Wednesday with 113,000 shots administered.
Fedeli talks about our province and where we stand in the rollout in vaccinations:
Fedeli, the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, points out that in order to have a healthy economy, you need healthy people.
“That’s why it’s so important that people go get your vaccine when it’s your turn. We really know that the economy needs to open up, but we can’t do it until we’ve got those targets met.”
The Nipissing MPP is also disputing claims that vaccines earmarked for the north are being re-allocated to hot spots in southern Ontario:
Dr. Janet DeMille is the Medical Officer of Health for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and says the amount of Pfizer vaccines coming into their region is expected to drop over the next few weeks.
She doesn’t believe they will be able to administer the 7,500 shots per week they have been doing over the last several weeks.
The health unit will be getting additional doses of AstraZeneca.
This comes as Premier Doug Ford makes a plea to the American government to send more COVID-19 vaccines to Canada.
Ford says it’s his understanding there are roughly 20,000,000 AstraZeneca doses sitting somewhere in a warehouse in the United States.
“If the Americans ever want to help us this is the time, ship’em up here,” said the premier adding, “As I’ve said many times I’ll hop in my pick-up truck and drive down there, and I’m sure the other premiers will hop in the back …and we’ll go down there together to pick them up.”
In addition to more vaccines from the United States, Ford wants Health Canada to lower the age for vaccinations to 50 years old.
At the moment the lowest age to get immunized in Ontario is 55 for the AstraZeneca vaccine which is being distributed through 3,200 pharmacies in the province including outlets in Dryden, Kenora and Thunder Bay.
Ford believes if all those locations were operating at ‘full steam’ every Ontarian would be vaccinated in less than a month.
Meantime, Liberal Leader Stephen Del Duca is accusing the premier of passing the buck.
Del Duca says there has been confusion with the province’s approach to the vaccine rollout, yet the Doug Ford isn’t willing to accept any of the blame.
He says Ontario also needs a one-stop approach to vaccine registration, instead of the multiple portals that’s caused some of the confusion.
Del Duca adds we need clear and decisive leadership right now and Ford is failing when it comes to delivering on that.
He also disputes claims of a vaccine shortage, suggesting there are 1.2 million doses sitting in fridges and freezers not being used.
(With files from Vic Krasowski: Thunder Bay and Randy Thoms: Fort Frances)
