Great news came Wednesday when Health Canada approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccination.
What an emotional month this has been for Canadians courtesy of the prime minister, who first stated a couple of weeks ago that Canadians would not be getting vaccinated with the rest of the advanced world since we do not produce vaccines anymore.
That was followed by a week of questioning whether Health Canada would even approve the vaccination before it arrived, citing their rigorous testing regime that was somehow better than the rest (certainly America’s).
We want to make sure it is safe before it’s in the arms of Canadians, the PM said, as if somehow approval was the cause of delay or clarity in the delivery timeline.
Then, miraculously, this was all for naught, when the prime minister pulled a wee batch of the Pfizer vaccine out his hat, enough for just under 125,000. So rather than having to wait until January to March of next year for six million doses — enough for three million people — Canadians would start vaccinating before Christmas.
But wait, what about Health Canada approval, the reason cited earlier as another delay in receiving the vaccine?
No worries. The country that started the month not knowing when, where or what we were going to receive has now become only the second country to approve the Pfizer vaccine after clinical trials — and that’s a good thing.
However, this came a day after the U.K., ahead of the U.S., vaccinated their first citizens — who, by the way, did not manufacture this vaccine, either. It arrived from Belgium, from whom Canada will also get its first small supply.
How did we go from not having any to second in the world for approval and now nothing to see here, all is good?
Other than the initial sample shipment we will receive next week, the federal government has only stated it hopes to have 40-50 per cent of Canadians vaccinated by summer and most by Sept. 30.
This, while countries like the U.K. and U.S. hope to have finished their mass vaccination of those who want it by April.
Through this entire pandemic, citizens have complained about mixed messaging. I have supported governments in their messaging. But this is a bizarre turn of events, considering where the prime minister said we were just a couple of weeks ago.
The Conservatives, meanwhile, aren’t helping as they try to hammer home the idea that we were “last in line” (clearly we are not) and are just as misleading as whatever the prime minister is trying to sell.
In the end, play your politics, but stop messing with everyone’s heads.
The COVID-19 rollercoaster is bad enough, without the help of seemingly-deliberately confusing politicians.
We’re adults, so treat us as such.
Scott Thompson is the host of The Scott Thompson Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML Hamilton.
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