[GTranslate]TORONTO – New acceleration on the vaccination front. Next week, 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in Canada as part of the agreement signed between the federal government and the Joe Biden administration in the United States. The confirmation came today during a press conference by General Deny Fortin, head of the federal vaccine task force. In the immediate future, therefore, the various provinces will finally be able to move to a new phase of the mass immunization campaign, which in the last period has suffered a general slowdown due to the lack of vaccines necessary to comply with the roadmap set by the government.

AstraZeneca vaccines will be added to the 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine that are expected to arrive in our country again next week. The pharmaceutical giant has pledged to send at least one million doses a week to Canada between now and June, for a total of about 9 million doses. As for Moderna’s third vaccine, the official supply is expected to be 1.5 million doses by mid-April, with a significant increase between now and the summer. The situation with regard to the fourth vaccine, that of Johnson and Johnson, approved last month by the Canadian regulator, which has the advantage of being single-dose, remains quite hazy, while the others need two injections to stimulate the immune reaction in people.

 At first, federal authorities announced that the first supplies of J. and J. would arrive in April, but now the timing has been lengthened and there is talk of arrivals by September.

But how the vaccination campaign is proceeding in our country. Overall, Canada still lags far behind countries that have activated a more aggressive immunization campaign, such as Israel, Britain, and the United States. So far , the health authorities have pointed out, the federal government has distributed almost six million doses to the Provinces and territories. About 10 percent

of Canada’s adult population received at least one dose.

According to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, 19% of the population aged 70-79 has been vaccinated, a figure that rises to 60% for the population over 80.

At the provincial level, the vaccination campaign in Ontario proceeds by prioritizing older people. On 15 March, mass vaccination for all people over 80 started, while last week the band was extended to all people over 75 years of age.

At the local level, then, individual public health units enjoy a certain autonomy on the basis of the availability of the vaccine. In the York Region, for example, vaccination has started this week for people over the age of 70. In phase two, other priority job categories will also be added, along with younger people carrying previous illnesses.