On December 9, 2020, just nine months after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic, Health Canada authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada. This milestone, which may soon be followed by other vaccine approvals, is a crucial step towards a distribution campaign that will reach from coast to coast to coast.

Vaccine mobilization will involve a significant number of stakeholders and all levels of government. McCarthy Tétrault is closely monitoring the development of COVID-19 vaccines and their rollout across the country and the world in real time, and we will update this tracker as events unfold. If you require any assistance, please reach out to Awanish Sinha, Matthew Kelleher, or Kate McNeill-Keller.

This roundup was last updated on December 11, 2020.

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Table of Contents:

International

Canada (Federal)

  • December 7, 2020: The Minister of Public Services and Procurement announced that Canada will receive up to 249,000 Pfizer vaccine doses in December 2020, contingent upon Health Canada's approval of the vaccine (link).
  • December 4, 2020: The Government of Canada released a guide outlining the federal government's immunization plan. The plan is comprised of seven key elements and the roles of key stakeholders in the plan (link).

British Columbia

  • December 9, 2020: The Government of British Columbia announced that the first round of 4,000 vaccinations will begin during the week of December 14, 2020 at two sites in the Lower Mainland, expanding to nine sites by January 2021. The initial vaccinations will be administered to Lower Mainland health-care workers in long-term care homes and front-line health-care workers essential to the COVID-19 response (link).

Alberta

  • December 7, 2020: Government officials told the CBC that the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine to the province will contain 3,900 doses (link).
  • November 28, 2020: The Premier stated that COVID-19 vaccination will not be mandatory (link).

Saskatchewan

  • December 1, 2020: The Health Minister said that COVID-19 vaccination will not be mandatory (link).

Manitoba

Ontario

  • December 7, 2020: The Government of Ontario announced the key groups to receive the initial COVID-19 vaccines. The groups, including long-term care home residents, health workers, and adults in Indigenous communities, align with those recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (link).
  • December 1, 2020: The Health Minister said that COVID-19 vaccination will be voluntary (link).

Québec

  • December 7, 2020: The National Institute of Public Health of Québec proposed an order of priority of groups for vaccination, establishing 12 levels of priority. Long-term care home residents and health-care workers will be prioritized (link (FR)).
  • November 17, 2020: The Public Health Director said that the possibility of mandatory vaccination was "very, very low" (link).

Newfoundland and Labrador

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Yukon

Northwest Territories

Nunavut

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