How do you proceed to vaccinate 7.7 billion people. With extreme difficulty. This past week, the leaders of the G-7 nations met for a 3-day summit in Cornwall, UK, to tackle first and foremost the world health crisis and bring to an end the pandemic.

WHO Director General Tedros told reporters this past Saturday that at least 70% of the world’s population needs to be vaccinated for the pandemic to end. With this in mind, the US donated 500 million doses. France and Germany donated 30 million doses this year; Japan, 30 million; Italy, 15 million; UK, 100 million within the year.

Canada will donate 100 million vaccines to the world, pledged Prime Minister Trudeau, as reported by Hannah Jones of Global News Canada, Covid Sharing on June 13, 2021. It will provide funding to Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator to help developing countries obtain 87 million doses and will donate an additional 13 million doses to COVAX, with the rough composition as follows: about 7.3 million will be Novavax which has yet to be approved by Canada, 4.3 million AstraZeneca, 1.3 Johnson & Johnson.

Washington Post’s G-7 Summit in Cornwall Live Updates by Tyler Page, June 13, 2021, mentions the US as having purchased 500 doses of Pfizer for low- and lower-middle income countries, with President Biden hinting that the country may “be in a position to provide another billion” next year.

It should be noted that the US may be easing out of this pandemic and is now dealing with a surplus of vaccines. Its goal is to achieve 70% first-dose vaccination by July 4th, Independence Day. Whether or not this can be attained remains to be seen. There is a campaign in the US to incentivize those hesitant to take the vaccine and provide the correct information to counter misinformation about it. In the June 9th, 2021 Washington Post article by Andrea Salcedo, a doctor testified in an Ohio House hearing that vaccines leave people magnetized and suggested that they interface with 5G cellular towers. As well, also on the same date, CNN’s Carma Hassan reported on Houston Methodist Hospital Workers protesting, filing a lawsuit against the healthcare system and saying that vaccines are “unapproved” and “experimental”.

These are healthcare workers who take care of the sick and vulnerable people who are in hospital because they need special care which their loved ones cannot provide. The above mentioned two articles may sound ridiculous, even laughable, but they’re real. It seems ironic that while the US may have an abundance of vaccines, there exists a resistance to get vaccinated despite the graphic pictures and videos in hospitals and countries where this virus does not recognize age, wealth or power and has wreaked havoc, causing indescribable loss and grief.

As Neil deGrasse Tyson, American astrophysicist, planetary scientist and science communicator tweeted on October 3, 2020:

“Dear Science Deniers (anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, climate hoaxers, flat-earthers, etc), You found one another and communicate via stupefying advanced technologies that pivot on the discoveries of scientists. Just thought I’d remind you of that fact. Sincerely, Your Smart Phone”

Here in Canada, The Star’s Jenna Moon wrote on June 4th, 2021, about a vaccinated man not allowed to stay in an Airbnb in cottage country after booking it. The host had concerns over spike proteins shedding from vaccinated people. Apparently, said host was misinformed about how vaccines work – they don’t put the virus in your body but, rather, tell the cells what to do if the virus shows up.

The spokesperson for Airbnb suspended both listing and host for violating Covid policy. Despite misinformation and disinformation about Covid 19 and its vaccines, vaccine tracker Canada as of Sunday morning notes that 28,644,442 doses of vaccines have been administered, translating into 63.96% receiving the first dose and 11.4%, both doses. We are on track for a herd immunity and, and hopefully, will achieve it by Fall.

I can’t say this enough that we here in Canada are fortunate to be living in a first world country where water flows out of the faucet when you turn it, electricity lights up our dwelling and heats it up during the cold months. There’s a social net to catch us during a misstep and healthcare to help us when we’re ill.

Now, there’s a vaccine to keep us from catching this lethal virus and it is administered in health clinics, pop up vaccination sites and pharmacies. I track the vaccination rollouts in my old country. Some take a whole day to get vaccinated. Others stand outdoors, water bottle on one hand, umbrella on the other hand, their blood pressure (bp) taken just when they’re ready to get that jab. I’m thinking how can you have a normal bp after waiting for hours to get vaccinated. And what happens if you have an elevated bp. Will you be asked to come back and line up again?

I had my second dose in my pharmacy not far from where I live. The maximum time I spent in the pharmacy was less than an hour and this included the required 15-minute stay after the injection.

In the pic, by Ricky Castellvi: vaccination site, UHN, University of Toronto, McCaul Street, Toronto