[GTranslate]TORONTO – The federal government is poised to change gears on the vaccine front. The confirmation came yesterday from Justin Trudeau during a press conference in which the prime minister did not hide a cautious optimism about the latest developments in the vaccination campaign that is about to come to life in Canada. The first factor to consider – underlined by the Liberal leader – is the approval of the third vaccine in Canada, that of AstraZeneca, which has a significant acceleration in the roadmap drawn up by the government in recent months. Yesterday – added Trudeau – the first supply of the vaccine arrived in our country with about half a million doses, which will be immediately distributed to the province and territories. “In addition to this,” he continued, “we are waiting to have a response from Health Canada on another vaccine, the one produced by Johnson and Johnson.” The latter, which in the United States has been able to give the green light by the regulator, could represent the turning point in this problematic immunization campaign against Covid-19, as a difference of all the other approved vaccines in Canada – Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca – to be effective needs a single dose and does not require recall injection.

In any case, the government’s plan, for now, does not change. The final goal remains to make the vaccine available to all Canadians who want to take it by the end of September. In case Canada will be able to secure doses faster, then the timing of the vaccination campaign will also undergo changes.

Meanwhile, in Ontario, the vaccine front continues to be very hot. Yesterday, Premier Doug Ford, speaking at Queen’s Park after being pressed by the opposition, pointed the finger at the federal government for delays in recent weeks that have essentially caused the provincial vaccination campaign to stall.

In any case, do not convince all the leopard-spot strategy desired by the provincial government that has left autonomy to the individual local health units for the management of vaccines. We are faced with one of the imbalances and inconsistencies that have led to opposition parties in the provincial legislative assembly. In the York region, about 20,000 elderly people over 80 have been able to book their vaccination and the first doses are already inoculated. The same applies to peel, Hamilton and other peripheral health units.

In Toronto, on the other hand, the situation is very different. Yesterday morning Mayor John Tory confirmed that the booking system for those over 80 will not be in place until 15 March, in accordance with the timetable set out last week by retired General Rick Hillier, head of the task force responsible for managing the vaccination campaign. Also yesterday, the provincial government announced the green light for the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine also to people in the 60 to 64 age group, excluding those over 65 years of age.

Another issue remains to be resolved, namely the definition of the categories of employment that will be included in the definition of essential workers. Health Minister Christine Elliott has yet to clarify matters.