‘Urgently need vaccine’ says Toronto’s University Health Network president on COVID-19 doses

A Toronto hospital system president says the University Health Network will run out of coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of the day on Friday.

“We’re out of vaccine,” UHN President and CEO Dr. Kevin Smith tweeted.

Smith said the hospital system has 3,000 people booked per day on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to be given the immunization.

On Friday, Premier Doug Ford said other hospitals, such as Southlake in York Region and The Ottawa Hospital, have told him that they too will exhaust their vaccine supply by the end of the week.

“All of Ontario will be out of Pfizer vaccines by the end of next week,” Ford said.

“Without them, hospitals will have to start cancelling appointments,” Ford continued. “And all the progress we’ve made, getting our daily vaccine numbers up, will be lost as clinics stand by waiting for vaccines from the feds.”

As of 8 p.m. yesterday, the province said 4,053 people have been fully vaccinated with two shots. Ontario has administered 87,563 doses so far.

According to a coronavirus vaccine data tracker website, Ontario has 196,125 doses available and has administered about 44.6 per cent of its current supply of vaccines.

Ford previously said the 53,000 doses of Moderna it has received would be used for residents and staff in long-term care homes in hotspot regions and in the north due to its ability to be transported more easily.

However, Ford said Ontario has administered more vaccine doses than any other province in Canada.

1:49 Coronavirus: Ford says Ontario is ‘running out’ of COVID-19 vaccines