TORONTO – Pressure continues on the provincial government on vaccinations. While Ontario’s mass immunization campaign is proceeding smoothly – at least in recent weeks – there have been growing calls for the executive led by Premier Doug Ford to have a clear strategy on administering the second dose of vaccine. The node in question can be easily understood by examining the numbers provided by the provincial health authorities themselves. According to yesterday’s covid19tracker.ca data, 8,386,950 doses of the 10,036,905 sent to the province by the federal government were administered. The vast majority of residents in the province who are entitled to receive the vaccine, however, until now, have only had access to the first dose of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca. According to covid19tracker.ca, to date there are 569,317 people completely immunized against Covid-19: in all, this is 3.9 percent of the total. A still very low percentage, therefore, that more or less reflects the federal one: by the admission of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself, Canada is in the top positions of the G20 countries for the percentage of the population that received the first dose but is well behind for the second.

At this time, therefore, the provincial executive should present a clear road map that provides a more precise and accurate timeline on the administration of the second dose. Also because as recently as two weeks ago it was health minister Christine Elliott herself who revealed how, due to the progressive increase in vaccine doses arriving in Ontario, the government would review the timing of the second dose, shortening the time distance from the first. At present, the maximum window allowed by the health authorities is sixteen weeks between the two doses.

Yesterday, meanwhile, another important result was achieved in Toronto. After health authorities announced on Tuesday that the threshold of 65% of vaccinated Bulls had been exceeded, yesterday the target of 2 million doses administered was reached in the city. Exactly a month ago, a million doses were distributed in Toronto. 

Even in the Peel Region, the immunization campaign proceeds with marches. Yesterday, the Region’s Medical Officer of Health Lawrence Loh made no secret of his satisfaction with the new data.

“Our vaccination program continues to exceed targets – he said – just think that on Monday we exceeded one million doses administered and today, instead, we are fast approaching the target of 70% of the adult population covered by at least one dose of vaccine”. 

The provincial government will therefore have to resolve some issues in the coming days, in line with the process of reopening in three phases that has already been summarized in recent days: first of all the plan for the second dose and the one on the possible reopening of schools.