Major-General Dany Fortin, the military commander that leads vaccine logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada, has disclosed that Moderna will deliver one million additional vaccine doses during the week of May 10.
Deliveries from Moderna have not been even for weeks as it encountered supply chain issues like delays connected to the “quality assurance” process at plants located in Europe.
Fortin said the government is working with Moderna to “better regulate its delivery process” to offer the provinces and territories greater certainty moving forward.
Recently, Moderna delivered 650,000 — half the 1.3 million shots that were initially expected but Fortin hinted that the period of uneven deliveries was about to end as Pfizer and Moderna have found their footing.
Fortin said the government currently expects Moderna to come “as close as possible” to the 12.3 million doses it earlier promised to deliver for the April-June period, despite past reductions.
Vaccine supplies will greatly increase in the coming months as Pfizer will start delivering two million shots per week starting from May, and 2.5 million shots every week in June.
Canada now expects 24.2 million doses of the Pfizer product in the second quarter of 2021.
The number of shots that will be delivered in the next five weeks will equal the cumulative number of shots that have come in over the past five months. The increase in supply is allowing provinces to open up vaccine eligibility.
Ontario and Quebec announced recently that every individual over the age of 18 would be able to book appointments by May 24 — earlier than initially planned, thanks to Pfizer that boosted its deliveries.
Fortin said: “What’s changed is the massive increase in vaccine over the next few weeks.
“Provinces had been planning on a significant increase from June onwards. Now that’s been accelerated.”
Fortin also confirmed that 300,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson product has arrived in the country.
