COVID-19 vaccine tracker: tracing every dose of the coronavirus vaccine administered in Canada
The largest mass vaccination program in Canada's history began on Dec. 14, 2020. With more than 70,000,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine required for everyone in the country, health officials are facing a logistical challenge of colossal proportions.
Adding to the complexity is the fact that both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines require two doses administered several weeks apart. Both companies say the efficacy of their vaccines is 95 per cent.
Being able to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 within a year is frankly a miracle of science, and it's a gift that we shouldn't squander," said Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at the Sinai Health System and the University Health Network. The sooner we all get vaccinated, and we reach a vaccinated level of herd immunity we'll have our freedom again as Canadians."
When we talk about that light at the end of the tunnel, the slower it takes us to vaccinate 80 per cent of Canadians, the longer that tunnel is going to be. We can shorten that tunnel by getting vaccines into the arms of as many Canadians as quickly as possible," he added.
Here, the Toronto Star presents its vaccine tracker, tracing every dose of the vaccine administered in Canada. The tracker also follows the number of doses each province has received from the federal government and how many of those doses have been administered. The goal is to keep readers informed with the progress of the vaccine rollout and establish transparency around where the doses are going.
Vaccine administration is being rolled out in phases, with high-risk groups - healthcare workers, residents and staff of long-term-care homes, people over 70 years of age and adults in Indigenous communities - given first priority. With the arrival of more vaccines, additional healthcare workers, along with residents and staff of other shared living arrangements - homeless shelters, correctional facilities and migrant worker housing - and essential workers will be targeted.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says everyone who wants a shot should be able to be vaccinated by September 2021. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said a majority" of Canadians would likely be inoculated by that time.
The country has signed purchase agreements with several companies manufacturing their own vaccines, including Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Medicago, Sanofi-GlaxoSmithKline, and Novavax, in an effort to secure enough doses for Canada's population.
Kenyon Wallace is a Toronto-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @KenyonWallace or reach him via email: kwallace@thestar.ca
Cameron Tulk is the lead digital designer at the Star, based in Toronto. Reach him via email: ctulk@thestar.ca
Nathan Pilla is a digital designer at the Star, based in Toronto. Reach him via email: npilla@torstar.ca