A Canadian official announced Thursday that Ontario will start administering its first COVID-19 vaccines Tuesday at two hospitals in Toronto and Ottawa as coronavirus cases climb.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that the University Health Network in Toronto and The Ottawa Hospital will give the first doses of the vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech to health care workers who are treating patients in long-term care homes and other high-risk settings.
Toronto confirmed 524 coronavirus infections while Ottawa recorded 31 new cases on Thursday, health data show. Ottawa was chosen for vaccination efforts in part to “test and validate provincial distribution networks, as well as in recognition of the challenges the region has faced with certain long-term care home outbreaks,” Mr. Ford said.
More details about rollout of these initial vaccines will be released Friday.
Ontario on Thursday reported a record of 1,983 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 134,783. The province also reported 35 more deaths, raising the toll to 3,871.
The coronavirus has infected more than 435,300 and claimed the lives of nearly 13,000 in Canada, which has a population of 38 million.
On Wednesday, Canada became the third country to authorize Pfizer’s vaccine, trailing behind the United Kingdom and Bahrain. Health Canada announced online that the vaccine meets the department’s “safety, efficacy and quality” standards for use.
The health department said it will immediately take action if safety concerns with the vaccine do arise.
The U.K. this week has advised those with serious allergies to medicine or food to not get the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. The country began mass vaccinating its population on Tuesday after becoming the first country to authorize the vaccine for the market. Since the vaccine rollout began, two reports of anaphylaxis and one report of a possible allergic reaction have emerged, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said Wednesday.
“Any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. A second dose should not be given to anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis following administration of the first dose of this vaccine,” said Dr. June Raine, MHRA chief executive.
“Anaphylaxis is a known, although very rare, side effect with any vaccine. Most people will not get anaphylaxis and the benefits in protecting people against COVID-19 outweigh the risks,” she said.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
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