Canada's next Pfizer vaccine shipment deferred

Trudeau still reassuring Canadians vaccination objectives for first quarter of the year not changing.

Pfizer has informed the government that this week's deliveries will be around 82% of what we were expecting

Pfizer vaccine shipments will pick up in the first two weeks of February

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The COVID-19 vaccine shipment from Pfizer that was supposed to arrive in Canada next week has been deferred, according to the head of the country’s vaccine distribution program.

Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin says shipments will pick up in the first two weeks of February.

“We are expecting modified numbers as we shared last week so about half of what we originally expected,” Fortin explains.

He says Pfizer has informed the government that this week’s deliveries will be around 82 per cent of what we were expecting. Next week, there won’t be any deliveries and only half of the expected amount will come in the first two weeks of February.

Maj Gen Dany Fortin says next week's Pfizer vaccine shipment will be deferred, meaning Canada will not get a Pfizer delivery. Will pick up in the first two weeks of February #cdnpoli — Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) January 19, 2021

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says she has been speaking with the company and says all resources are being used to make sure we get our deliveries back to normal as soon as possible.

This comes after Pfizer reported a temporary reduction in the company’s ability to deliver vaccines as it makes improvements to its facilities to increase production capacity in the long run.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still reassuring Canadians this will not be a long term problem, saying, “the situation with the Pfizer delay is temporary. Our vaccination objectives for the first quarter of the year, January to March, are not changing.”

Several provinces are running out of supply for their inoculations and have had to cancel or delay many vaccination appointments.