All Things COVID-19

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still to early to make any claims, great that were getting some of our pre orders but will have to wait and see how it all plays out. Pretty sure whats being send out now is because these companies have been in mass production for months. The real test will be when all the pre orders go out and and the stockpile been depelted.

still long way to go but im hopeful that they will find ways to speed up things like they have throughout this pandemic.
 
Keep in mind the target group of 65 plus years is about 1 million people in BC (of which 20% are probably not frail or at significant risk). The rest of the population won't benefit that much from a vaccine considering the minute risks associated with Covid exposure. Not saying not to get the vaccine, but once the at risk pop is vaccinated this whole thing is going to be a long forgotten nightmare. Viva la Mexico
 
dradons said:
Great news. Hopefully the arrival of the vaccines will quell some of the back of line misinformation that was being spread. There are criticisms of the governments (federal and provincial), however, the one that we somehow were in the back of the line for all vaccines just didn't make sense.
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Oppositions oppose, it's what they do.
 
dradons said:
Great news. Hopefully the arrival of the vaccines will quell some of the back of line misinformation that was being spread. There are criticisms of the governments (federal and provincial), however, the one that we somehow were in the back of the line for all vaccines just didn't make sense.
Click to expand...

US will have 40,000,000 doses by end of 2020. UK will have 4,000,000. Canada will have couple hundred thousand....and you say we aren’t at back of the line. Even mexico will have drastically more than us
 
Dec 15, 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has signed a contract to receive up to 168,000 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine before the end of December.

The Moderna vaccine is still in the final stages of its review by Health Canada, but Trudeau says deliveries could begin within 48 hours of the department's experts giving it the green light.

Canada has contracted to receive two million doses from Moderna by the end of March, and 40 million by the end of 2021. But initially the first doses weren't going to arrive until January.

Now they will start arriving within two days of the vaccine's authorization by Health Canada. The Moderna vaccine's less stringent storage requirements will allow remote communities and northern territories to start receiving vaccine for the first time.

Health Canada approved the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech Dec. 9 and injections began in Ontario and Quebec Monday morning, with most provinces on track to deliver their first vaccinations by the end of the week. There are 30,000 doses arriving this week, and Trudeau said 200,000 more will arrive next week.

Because the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be stored at ultralow temperatures — between -60 C and -80 C until shortly before injection — it was initially limited to 14 delivery sites in the 10 provinces. Trudeau said by next week there will be 70 sites.

Moderna's vaccine is stored in regular freezers at about -20 C, which makes it easier to ship and store. Trudeau said the territories and remote communities, which asked not to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because of the cold-chain complexities, will be prioritized for the Moderna vaccine.

In all there should be 417,000 vaccine doses in Canada before Dec. 31, which will be distributed to provinces and territories based on population share, but the territories will get all of their doses from Moderna.

"This is the good news we all needed," Trudeau said. "This pandemic will end. We will get through this. But for now, we need to be incredibly careful."

Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada, told The Canadian Press the department's review of Moderna's vaccine is in the final stages. She said the final clinical data from the Massachusetts-based biotech company were received Dec. 11, and the final data on the manufacturing process is expected before the end of the week.

"It does look promising and it does look positive," said Sharma.

She said she will know better when the manufacturing data comes in how much longer it could be until a decision is made.

Both Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines require two doses — 21 days apart for Pfizer's and 28 days apart for Moderna's. Sharma said with the Pfizer vaccine, a recipient's immune system generates some protection after the first dose, with maximum immunity in place seven days after the second dose.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Canad...of-Moderna-COVID-19-vaccine-before-year-s-end
 
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A look at what provinces and territories have said about COVID-19 vaccine plans​

December 16, 2020

The largest mass immunization effort in Canadian history began Monday in Ontario and Quebec after the country received its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment over the weekend.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada has signed a contract to receive up to 168,000 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine by the end of December, ahead of their planned January arrival and part of 40 million Moderna doses Ottawa has secured for delivery by the end of 2021.

The Moderna vaccine has not yet been approved by Health Canada, but Trudeau said deliveries could begin within 48 hours of it getting the green light.

Canada is also set to receive about 200,000 of its total early shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech doses next week, on top of 30,000 this week. They are bound for 70 distribution sites across the country — up from 14 now — where the vaccine can be administered.

The Canadian military is assisting a massive effort to distribute 249,000 doses developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. Here's a look at what the various provinces have said about their rollout plans:

—

Newfoundland and Labrador

Premier Andrew Furey says he anticipates receiving 1,950 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at the St. John's receiving site this week.

Furey says the province expects another shipment of the vaccine later in the month.

—

Prince Edward Island

Health officials on Prince Edward Island say they are ready to administer the COVID-19 vaccine today after the first shipments arrived earlier this week.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Heather Morrison says the province plans to begin by administering the Pfizer vaccine to priority groups, including residents and staff of long-term care homes, health-care workers and adults in Indigenous communities.

Morrison says she expects to receive 1,950 doses in the first shipment, and the clinic will have to be held at the storage location because the Pfizer vaccine must be kept frozen.

The owner of a bluefin tuna exporting company in the eastern part of P.E.I. has offered up two freezers to the provincial government to aid in the effort to store the vaccine.

—

New Brunswick

The first doses of Pfizer's vaccine have arrived but immunization is not scheduled to begin until later in the week.

New Brunswick's health minister says its shipment of 1,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine would be used to inoculate long-term care residents and staff, staff from rapid COVID-19 response teams, ambulance workers, health-care workers involved in COVID units, seniors 85 and older and First Nations nurses.

Dorothy Shephard says the vaccine plan would be carried out by the provincial Emergency Measures Organization.

The first round of vaccinations will be carried out Dec. 19 and 20 at the Miramichi Regional Hospital, which has an ultralow-temperature freezer to store the vaccine.

—

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is set to begin immunizations today.

The province's chief medical officer of health says 1,950 doses of Pfizer's vaccine were received Tuesday.

Dr. Robert Strang says the first doses will be used to immunize front-line health workers in the Halifax area who are most directly involved in the pandemic response.

Strang says because the vaccine has specific handling requirements, Pfizer has stipulated that the initial round of immunizations take place near where the doses are stored.

Nova Scotia has one ultralow-temperature freezer to store the vaccine at the tertiary care teaching complex at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre.

Strang says the province is getting another freezer through Ottawa that will operate out of a central depot for vaccines at the public health office in Halifax. The province is also looking at securing freezers from the private sector.

—

Quebec

The first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the province Monday.

Residents of long-term care homes and health-care workers are to have first priority.

The groups next in line are people living in private seniors residences, followed by residents of isolated communities and then anyone aged 80 and over.

—

Ontario

Ontario received 6,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend and began giving them out on Monday.

Retired gen. Rick Hiller, who is leading Ontario's vaccine task force, says half the shots will be administered this week, and the other half will be intentionally held back to give the same workers a required second dose 21 days later.

"Given the sort of information flow of what we know about the supply, which is very little at this time ... we decided it was better to err on the side of caution," he says.

An additional 90,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive later this month and are to be provided to 14 hospitals in COVID-19 hot spots.

Hillier has said the province also expects to receive between 30,000 and 85,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine by the new year, pending its approval by Health Canada.

Ontario's Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said that the hospitals receiving the first shots have made security arrangements to ensure the vaccine is safe from theft.

—

Manitoba

Manitoba says high-priority health workers will be getting the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine starting today.

Premier Brian Pallister says some 900 health-care workers in critical care units will be the first to receive the vaccine.

As more shipments come in, priority will be given to other health-care workers, seniors and Indigenous people.

The province plans to vaccinate more than 100,000 people by March -- that's roughly seven per cent of Manitoba's population.

Officials say they've been setting up a large-scale "supersite" to deliver the vaccine. The first freezer able to store the Pfizer vaccine at low temperatures has been delivered and installed, with another four on the way.

The province says the vaccine will become more widely available at a larger number of sites, similar to a conventional vaccination campaign, such as the annual flu shot.

--

Cont:
 
Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan began its vaccination program Tuesday as two health care workers got the first shots.

Premier Scott Moe says the province received 1,950 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine.

The first official stage of Saskatchewan’s vaccination program will be in late December when the province receives more doses.

It will target more health-care workers, staff and residents in long-term care, seniors over 80 and people in remote areas who are at least 50.

Some 202,052 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive within the first quarter of next year, and there are to be 10,725 weekly allocations.

Moe says vaccinations for the general population is expected to begin in April.

--

Alberta

The first vaccinations in Calgary and Edmonton were given Tuesday to health care workers.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced in a video released late Monday and recorded next to a cargo plane at Calgary International Airport that the province's first 3,900 vaccine doses had arrived.

Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro said 25,000 Pfizer doses are coming next week and will be administered to health workers.

Doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected by the end of the month.

The province says it eventually plans to roll out the vaccine from 30 different locations.

—

British Columbia

The first COVID-19 vaccination was administered Tuesday in British Columbia as those working in long-term care facilities and intensive care units become the first people to take part in the province's immunization program.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said last week that an initial shipment of 4,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be available at two clinics in the regions covered by the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser health authorities, before immunization is eventually expanded to 30 sites.

Henry has declined to reveal the locations of the clinics.

Workers in long-term care facilities are at the top of the list to get the vaccine.

Henry expects about 400,000 people to be vaccinated by March.

The province said it is developing a system so people can register to get the vaccine and receive a formal record of immunization.

—

Nunavut

Nunavut's premier says the territory will get the vaccine made by Moderna in the first quarter of 2021.

Joe Savikataaq says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told him Nunavut will get enough doses to vaccinate 75 per cent of the population.

Chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says Nunavut will prioritize elders and health-care workers first for the vaccine.

Savikataaq says his government is still working on its plan to roll out the vaccine once it arrives in the territory.

__

Northwest Territories

The premier of the Northwest Territories says N.W.T. will receive 51,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine in the new year.

Caroline Cochrane says that's enough to vaccinate 75 per cent of the population ages 18 and up.

The territory is creating a vaccine team made up of nurses and support staff to travel to smaller communities.

Health Minister Julie Green says two specialized freezers for storing the vaccines are on their way from the federal government and will be placed in Yellowknife and Inuvik.

Smaller, portable freezers are also on the way and will be placed in smaller communities.

—

Yukon

Yukon says it will get enough of the Moderna vaccine by spring to vaccinate 75 per cent of its residents.

A statement from the Yukon government says the territory's allocation is in recognition of it's large Indigenous populations and remote communities.

Premier Sandy Silver says getting vaccinated is the best thing residents can do to protect themselves and their loved ones.

"Over time, widespread immunization will allow us to return to a life without COVID-19 restrictions."



This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2020.

The Canadian Press
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/look-provinces-territories-said-covid-090000090.html
 
Good news from Mexico

Mexico's medical safety commission has approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine​

December 11, 2020

MEXICO CITY -- The Mexican government’s medical safety commission approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine Friday, making Mexico the fourth country to do so.

Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said Mexico's approval came after Britain, Canada and Bahrain. The United States announced its own approval of the vaccine shortly after Mexico.


Mexico is set to receive 250,000 doses of the vaccine, enough for 125,000 people, because each person requires two shots. López-Gatell has said that front-line health workers will get the shots first.

Vaccinations are expected to begin as soon as next week. López-Gatell said the approval “is of course a reason for hope,” though the initial rounds of shots are not nearly enough for Mexico’s estimated 1.6 million health care workers.

López-Gatell downplayed reports of allergic reactions among some vaccine recipients in Britain, noting that “the immense, immense, immense majority of people in Mexico and the world will be able to take this vaccine.”

Mexico posted a record increase of 12,253 coronavirus cases Friday, for a total of 1,229,379 infections during the pandemic.

Officials also reported 693 more deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the country's total to 113,019. However, even official estimates place the real death toll at closer to 150,000, due to Mexico's extremely low level of testing.

Mexico City has become the central focus of increasing cases in the country. The capital's hospitals were 78% full Friday, a level that worried officials.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum issued an urgent appeal for residents of the capital to stay home, saying the city of almost 9 million was in a “coronavirus emergency.”

López-Gatell called it an “extremely urgent” situation.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireS...emergency-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine-74682797
 
SerengetiGuide said:
US will have 40,000,000 doses by end of 2020. UK will have 4,000,000. Canada will have couple hundred thousand....and you say we aren’t at back of the line. Even mexico will have drastically more than us
Click to expand...
How about we watch and see how this plays out instead of focusing on worst case. I'd say we're already doing better than that, Ottawa placed orders for at least four vaccines dating back several months when only preliminary results were available. Given that almost thirty were in development back then, they did well to pick the first two to become available and turned in efficacy rates north of 90%.
 
GLG said:
Good news from Mexico

Mexico's medical safety commission has approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine​

December 11, 2020

MEXICO CITY -- The Mexican government’s medical safety commission approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine Friday, making Mexico the fourth country to do so.

Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said Mexico's approval came after Britain, Canada and Bahrain. The United States announced its own approval of the vaccine shortly after Mexico.


Mexico is set to receive 250,000 doses of the vaccine, enough for 125,000 people, because each person requires two shots. López-Gatell has said that front-line health workers will get the shots first.

Vaccinations are expected to begin as soon as next week. López-Gatell said the approval “is of course a reason for hope,” though the initial rounds of shots are not nearly enough for Mexico’s estimated 1.6 million health care workers.

López-Gatell downplayed reports of allergic reactions among some vaccine recipients in Britain, noting that “the immense, immense, immense majority of people in Mexico and the world will be able to take this vaccine.”

Mexico posted a record increase of 12,253 coronavirus cases Friday, for a total of 1,229,379 infections during the pandemic.

Officials also reported 693 more deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the country's total to 113,019. However, even official estimates place the real death toll at closer to 150,000, due to Mexico's extremely low level of testing.

Mexico City has become the central focus of increasing cases in the country. The capital's hospitals were 78% full Friday, a level that worried officials.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum issued an urgent appeal for residents of the capital to stay home, saying the city of almost 9 million was in a “coronavirus emergency.”

López-Gatell called it an “extremely urgent” situation.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireS...emergency-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine-74682797
Click to expand...
They certainly need the help. It's a tragic tale down there
 
ourworldindata.org

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations

Our vaccination dataset uses the most recent official numbers from governments and health ministries worldwide. Population estimates for per-capita metrics are based on the United Nations World Population Prospects. Income groups are based on the World Bank classification. A full list of our...
ourworldindata.org ourworldindata.org
 
sly_karma said:
How about we watch and see how this plays out instead of focusing on worst case. I'd say we're already doing better than that, Ottawa placed orders for at least four vaccines dating back several months when only preliminary results were available. Given that almost thirty were in development back then, they did well to pick the first two to become available and turned in efficacy rates north of 90%.
Click to expand...

like my post said that’s by end of 2020. I think that’s best case as it’s dec 16. And B.C. only had 409 people vaccinated. Gonna have to be quite the next few weeks. The numbers are the numbers.
 
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some pretty great news it seems the vials instead of containing 5 dosses they are being able to get 6 to 7 dosses from them.


The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that pharmacists can draw additional doses from vials of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, potentially expanding the country’s supply by millions of doses as the Trump administration negotiates with Pfizer to speed up the next round of vaccine deliveries.

The government’s existing supply of the first authorized vaccine can be stretched further after pharmacists began to notice that vials contain more than the expected five doses.
The FDA is in touch with Pfizer about how to handle this issue, the agency said. In the meantime, regulators say those extra doses from a single vial can be used.
“At this time, given the public health emergency, FDA is advising that it is acceptable to use every full dose obtainable — the sixth, or possibly even a seventh — from each vial, pending resolution of the issue,” an agency spokesman said, confirming news first reported by Politico.
 
SerengetiGuide said:
like my post said that’s by end of 2020. I think that’s best case as it’s dec 16. And B.C. only had 409 people vaccinated. Gonna have to be quite the next few weeks. The numbers are the numbers.
Click to expand...
My math tells me we could do 50 - 60 thousand by the end of the month here in BC. What numbers are you getting?
 
GLG said:
My math tells me we could do 50 - 60 thousand by the end of the month here in BC. What numbers are you getting?
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that would be game changing but I don't think we have the nurse resources to set that up yet. Maybe some will forgo there Christmas vacations to help that happen, I heard the call went out begging for that.
 
This is the right move as the holiday season might not go according to plan.
We also have one setup and ready to go in Vancouver.

Temporary hospital under construction in Edmonton's Butterdome​

Dec 17, 2020

Alberta Health Services and the Red Cross are setting up a 100-bed temporary hospital in the University of Alberta's Butterdome, says the province's chief medical officer of health.

"There is no plan to staff these beds unless they are needed," Dr. Deena Hinshaw said at her daily COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday. "This is a purely precautionary measure for use if needed in the future."

Branded as an "alternate care centre," the temporary setup on the University of Alberta campus could be used for patients recovering from COVID-19 and who are at low risk of transmitting the novel coronavirus that causes the disease, Alberta Health Services spokesperson Kerry Williamson said in an email.

More here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...nstruction-in-edmonton-s-butterdome-1.5844981
 
Hundreds of thousands of Sydney residents have been told to stay home after a new outbreak of coronavirus ended a two-week run of no local cases.
www.bbc.com

Covid: Sydney residents urged to stay home amid new outbreak

Residents are told to stay home as officials scramble to contain a cluster ahead of Christmas.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
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