Premier Ford alongside the Minister of Health Dec. 7th
Monday, the Federal Government announced that the first shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine can be arriving in Canada as early as next week.
Following the announcement, Premier Ford joined by the Minister of Health and General explained how the 2.4M vaccines for the first quarter will be distributed for Ontario. General Hillier says they are taking it “one step at a time, so every person in the province can get the vaccine.”
Distribution of the vaccine is split into 3 phases:
Phase 1: Those who are most vulnerable, and healthcare workers will be the first to receive the vaccine. Focussing on long-term care homes. May take up to 3 months to complete this phase, as there may be restrictions for long-term care homes in COVID-19 hotspots.
Phase 2: April 1st by the earliest, other vaccines will begin to arrive. Everyone else who is eligible will be able to receive the vaccine.
Phase 3: “Steady State” – vaccine will become identical to a flu-like vaccine with normalcy and follow-ups.
Ford stated that the vaccine will be optional, as he doesn’t believe in forcing Ontarians to get the vaccine. Premier Ford and the Minister of Health do highly encourage everyone to get the vaccine in order to protect themselves and their loved ones. As well as to get the economy and healthcare system moving in the right direction.
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The Minister of Health urges Canadians to continue to follow the rules, even with the vaccine on the way.
“Limit your holidays with members of just your own household. Please don’t have big family parties, please don’t go to big get-togethers,” she says. “That just increases community transmission, and we’re trying to get those numbers down.”
Although the vaccine will not bring everything back to normal right away, the Minster says following the rules will allow us to “start living more normally, whatever the new normal is at that point.”
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