OTTAWA -- Once vaccines are approved for use in Canada, the top military general leading the rollout is anticipating a 鈥渃onstant flow鈥 of doses into the country.
鈥淲hat we expect to see in January is constant flow of vaccines that come in, Pfizer and others as well, as they become available. So, they will be distributed, and then the next wave comes in鈥 next delivery comes in for the second dose, in a prescribed timeframe,鈥 said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin who is the vice president of logistics and operations within the Public Health Agency of Canada.
In an interview on CTV鈥檚 Question Period, Fortin said that his plans are centred around the expectation of receiving doses 鈥渆arly in the new year.鈥
鈥淎ll I can tell you at this time is that we expect to receive them in January, and we expect to receive them as soon as possible in that timeframe, and in successive amounts鈥 multiple deliveries,鈥 Fortin said.
鈥淲e're planning on January onwards. It would not be prudent military planning on my part, on our part, to take us close to that date. So we're really planning on being ready by mid-December,鈥 he said.
That preparedness includes a 鈥渄ry-run鈥 for the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, where essentially a test distribution factoring in all the delicacies of the doses are taken into account, and ensuring health care workers are comfortable with the administration process, without using any actual vials.
Because the Pfizer vaccine鈥攅xpected to be the first one approved by Health Canada鈥攔equires ultra-cold storage around minus 80 degrees Celsius, it is going to be delivered directly by the pharmaceutical giant, first to at least 14 provincial 鈥減oints of delivery鈥 and then on to the places where it will be administered, as identified by the provinces.
鈥淭here are very peculiar requirements and we're paying close attention to those requirements to avoid wastage,鈥 said Fortin. This has included ordering, distributing, and installing ultra-cold freezers and plans to procure dry ice to help keep the doses stable.
鈥淭here are a number of steps, as you can imagine with the minus 80 vaccines, where they have to be thawed, they have to be decanted, they have to be mixed, and then there's a certain period of time when in cold storage, they can only last so many days,鈥 he said.
While each of the vaccines will have 鈥渦nique characteristics,鈥 the Pfizer doses are shaping up to prove the most logistically challenging.
鈥淲e'll learn more as we go about those different vaccines in terms of handling them,鈥 Fortin said.
