Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he’s concerned after learning that Pfizer vaccine shipments from the federal government will be slowed down in the coming weeks.
Canada’s Procurement Minister Anita Anand made the announcement on Friday, saying it’s because Pfizer is scaling up its European manufacturing capacity – a move that will impact the vaccine’s production for a “short period.”
“Saskatchewan has been able to increase our pace of vaccinations in recent days, but our planning is based on the federal government providing a reliable weekly supply of vaccines,” Moe said.
“The federal government has advised Saskatchewan to expect 11,700 Pfizer doses a week throughout the month of February and we have been planning our vaccine rollout based on this schedule, including second dosages.”
Moe said if this has changed, the government needs to advise the Saskatchewan government right away.
“This also raises the importance of the federal government quickly reviewing and approving additional vaccine candidates, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is already being administered in other countries,” Moe said.
He said Paul Merriman, Saskatchewan’s health minister, will be raising the matter on a call with federal and provincial ministers on Friday.
Although Pfizer is scaling back on shipments, Anand said it won’t impact Canada’s long-term vaccination timeline.
“This is a temporary delay and we remain on track to have enough approved vaccines for everyone who wishes to be vaccinated by the end of September 2021,” Anand said.
On Thursday, Saskatchewan authorities said the province may run out of the Pfizer vaccine before the next allocation from the federal government due to its increased pace of delivery expected to take place in the coming days.
—with files from Rachel Gilmore.