Manitoba won’t meet COVID 19 vaccine milestone due to delayed shipments, officials say

Health officials in Manitoba say disruptions in the supply chain of COVID-19 vaccines means that there will be a delay in hitting a major milestone.

Johanu Botha, who is on the team organizing vaccine distribution, says they now expect 70 per cent of Manitobans aged 12 and up to get a dose by the end of June.

Previously, the province had predicted to hit that benchmark on June 9.

Botha says the province is getting significantly less of the Moderna vaccine than expected and deliveries have been delayed.

1:50 Addressing vaccine hesitancy

At a technical briefing Friday Botha said the province had expected to receive some 75,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine over the next two weeks; instead, just over 18,000 doses are now scheduled to arrive.

Provincial data shows a steady supply of Pfizer — nearly 88,000 doses a week — are expected through to the end of June.

Botha says the amount of people getting first doses is also levelling off — even as the province faces a significant surge in infections that is pressuring the health-care system.

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The province has begun to open second-dose appointments and Botha says they still expect Manitobans to be able to get fully vaccinated by the end of July.

–With files from Shane Gibson

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.

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