Summary
Our government is calling on the federal government to immediately lay out its plan to allocate COVID-19 vaccines across the country as we continue to prepare for the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccine doses, which will be the largest vaccine rollout in a generation. This
federal plan will inform the work of the new Ministers’ COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force being led by General (retired) Rick Hillier.
With recent reports that COVID-19 vaccines will come later to Canada than other countries, the federal government must put forward a comprehensive plan for a national immunization program, including the ongoing review, procurement, warehousing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to Ontario and the other provinces and territories.
Key Messages
- We are calling on the federal government to immediately lay out its plan to allocate COVID-19 vaccines across the country as the province continues to prepare for the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccine doses, which will be the largest vaccine rollout in a generation.
- With the concerning news that COVID-19 vaccines will come later to Canada than other countries, the federal government must put forward a comprehensive plan for a national immunization program to roll out the vaccine.
- The sooner we get a vaccine, the sooner we can offer that added protection for our frontline staff and most vulnerable, take pressure off of our hospitals, and begin to return life back to normal.
- Ontario and Canada should not be the last to receive the vaccine.
- The logistics will have to be well planned for people to get the vaccines in a prompt, equitable fashion.
- The lack of clear information from the federal government makes it almost impossible for the province to make critical decisions.
- For these reasons, Ontario needs the federal government to share the volume and timing for when the province will receive its allocations.
- The new Ministers’ COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force being led by General (retired) Rick Hillier will support the Ontario government in the planning and execution of this historic logistical undertaking.
- This is a critical stage in our fight against COVID-19 that will require us to work together, as a province and as a country, to face the challenges ahead of us to protect the health and wellbeing of each and every Ontarian.
- As soon as these vaccines become available, we have to be ready and we will be.
- Ontario is home to world-class pharmaceutical companies, and the Ontario government is actively exploring options to produce the vaccines in Ontario, but it may take time to find an Ontario-made solution.