This is the story I heard. I guess I missed the part where it was moving the vaccine around that was the tricky part.
Understood but does that give people the right to risk facilitating the spread of covid and hindering efforts to slow and control the spread of it?
Moving vaccine around and keeping it in cold storage are fairly trivial logistical concerns that can be dealt with.
The problem is going to be stupid anti-vaxxers who will do what they can to spread false information and prevent anyone from getting the vaccine in the first place.
Just wait. The idiocy will be out in full force.
Trivial? The Pfizer vaccine does seem on the delicate side. There’s more chance for error every step of the way. I’m not comfortable assuming it’s all negligible.
Yes, “trivial” was a poor word choice on my part.
But getting the vaccine out is an exercise in logistics, and is certainly do-able, especially if the Canadian Armed Forces are involved. They are pretty good at logistics, and have pretty good capacity to quickly respond to emergencies like this. This federal response will be combined with provincial capabilities. I know that here in BC the BC Center for Disease Control is rapidly ramping up their vaccination plans, (and they already have a good records system in place that is linked to local health authorities for tracking vaccinations, which will be very useful for Covid vaccines)
So I think the plan in Canada is:
Federal Govt: Negotiate contracts, buy the vaccine
CAF: Distribute vaccine to provinces (maybe help set up portable vaccination centers?)
Provinces: Establish priorities (done) give vaccines and track who has gotten vaccines using their existing Electronic Health Records systems
I don’t see this kind of coordination in other nearby countries with no centralized system for healthcare. In fact, I see a gong show, where the wealthy and politicians will be first in line for vaccines, and the rest of the public can go pound sand, or hold a fundraiser to get a vaccine for grandma.
As far as I know, the only “nearby country” is also using the military as part of their vaccine distribution.
An advert from Saskatchewan healthcare workers (the click bait was “Who ever thought you’d miss the Blue Bombers?”)
Canada has a fair amount of expertise in logistics and the cold chains needed to deliver vaccines. It seems the first few doses are going to health care workers in Toronto and Ottawa. I suspect the vaccine will be helpful, but not as much of a panacea as many hope. While one might suspect the wealthy and the worthies to receive the first rounds, and probably will to some degree, this happens less often in Canada than you might think - the wealthy often wait in line as well.
How did they choose those two cities?
Wild ass guess, but because they are the two largest population centres in the province?
Right, it’s just that looking at some maps and graphs, it kinda looks like Toronto is in much worse shape and not going in the right direction. Meanwhile, Ottawa has fewer than 400 active cases in a city of a million and trending better. Maybe it wouldn’t have been politically feasible to send the entire first batch to Toronto.?
Ottawa? Toronto yes, but Ottawa is where all the government workers are.
I typical Canadian fashion, we started the week by beating ourselves up for not being able to secure vaccine, and ended the week by beating ourselves up for securing too much.
Ottawa has had some problems. It also has politicians, health ministers and the military brass who will be helping distribute the vaccines. If Trudeau was exposed to Covid, he might have to run daily press conferences from his cottage - and there are many pressing issues to address.
The first vaccinations probably will go to those in senior political positions who make decisions about vaccines. But that doesn’t mean an influential businessman in Calgary is next on the list.
Thanks for this…I laughed!
That would…not be good. Pretty sure they are going to health workers.*
*eta: wait, thats what you said a few posts up.
I hope most of them do. I know most of them eventually will.
In British Columbia, vaccines out next week. From the BCCDC website:
"B.C. expects to have vaccines in the province ready for use in the week of Dec. 14, 2020. They will be administered to high priority populations. "
Here is the definition of high priority populations:
- Residents and staff of congregate living settings that provide care for seniors such as long-term care homes
- Adults 70 years of age and older, beginning with adults 80 years of age and older, then decreasing the age limit by 5-year increments to age 70 years as supply becomes available
- Health care workers (including all those who work in health care settings and personal support workers whose work involves direct contact with patients)
- Adults in Indigenous communities where infection can have disproportionate consequencesI live in the GTA and the idea of vaccines being publically available isn’t even something the government is talking about yet.