Canada has now administered more than 12 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as the country’s race to safeguard most of its population against the virus continues to pick up speed.
To date, a total of 12,045,041 vaccine doses have been doled out in Canada according to a Global News tally.
That number also comes as Canada’s vaccination rate continues to leap on a day-by-day basis.
According to the latest statistics from OurWorldInData, Canada’s COVID-19 doses administered per 100 people now stands at 31.30, as of April 24. It’s a rate that has doubled since the beginning of the month, with the country’s vaccination rate previously at 15.62 on April 1.
The latest breakdown of vaccine administration from Health Canada states that at least 24.2 per cent of all Canadians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, as of April 24. At least 2.37 per cent of the population, or 900,000 people, have received two doses of the vaccine and are now fully immunized.
On a province-by-province breakdown, immunization numbers continue to look similar across most parts of the country.
At least 25 per cent of British Columbia’s population has received one dose, with a total of 1,542,066 shots administered there to date. In Alberta, just over 21 per cent of the population received their jab as well.
In the Prairies, Saskatchewan recorded over 26.2 per cent of its population as having received at least one dose. Manitoba on the other hand has recorded over 424,000 vaccinations with at least 19.4 per cent of its population given a dose.
Ontario has recorded the highest number of vaccinations across the country so far, with over 4.6 million doses administered, though over 75 per cent of its population still haven’t been able to get their vaccination.
Quebec recorded the highest percentage of vaccinations across all provinces so far, according to Health Canada, with over 27.1 per cent of its population having been given a dose of the vaccine. Over 2.8 million vaccine doses have been administered there to date.
Provinces in Atlantic Canada also continue to steadily record more vaccinations.
In both New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, at least 23.3 per cent of the population have now received at least one dose. Prince Edward Island has also administered over 46,000 doses, while Nova Scotia’s vaccination rate stands at 17.7 per cent of the province.
Vaccination rates across all the territories however remain much higher than that of the rest of the country, with the Yukon and Northwest Territories having administered at least one dose to over 56 per cent of their populations, and Nunavut giving a jab to over 36 per cent.
While vaccination rates have increased country-wide, it should also be noted that there are no vaccines yet that have been approved for anyone under the age of 16 — accounting for roughly 6 million people that are still ineligible to get a vaccine.
The vaccine ramp-up also comes as public health units, particularly in Ontario, continue to grapple with a devastating third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 6,982 new cases were added on Sunday, as well as 38 new deaths according to Health Canada.
On Saturday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam warned of a steady increase in COVID-19-related admissions to hospitals and ICUs that continues to impact the country’s health care system, despite the country’s decline in new case counts.
According to Tam, there was a more than 20 per cent increase in hospitalizations and ICU patients over a weekly period. Her numbers, according to a statement Saturday, detailed an average of 4,167 people with COVID-19 being treated in hospital from between April 16 to April 22. During the same period, an average of 1,268 people were also being treated in ICUs.
The country is expected to receive roughly 36.5 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines by June 30. Another 1.5 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine are also slated to arrive next week.
— With files from The Canadian Press and Global News staff