COVID-19 vaccine appointment bookings for Manitoba youth paused due to Pfizer slowdown
The province has paused new COVID-19 vaccine bookings for youth in Manitoba moving forward due to a Pfizer supply slowdown that is expected to cut Manitoba's weekly shipment of doses in July.
Johanu Botha, the co-lead of Manitoba's Vaccine Implementation Task Force, said the federal government released its Pfizer delivery schedule which shows Manitoba's allotment will decrease in July.
Botha said the province will continue to receive between 83,000 to 89,000 doses of Pfizer per week throughout June, but during the first week of July, the province is slated to receive 32,800 Pfizer doses.
Beyond that, the province does not know how many doses it will receive in July.
He said the federal government is expected to update the schedule with figures for the rest of July.
"Depending on those figures, we cannot concretely say how or even if this Pfizer supply disruption will affect our overall roll out or its targets," he said.
Botha said second-dose eligibility will continue to expand, as there are Moderna doses available.
However, Botha said youth will not be able to book vaccine appointments unless more Pfizer doses are confirmed.
"We cannot, and do not create appointments in the system for Pfizer that is not confirmed," Botha said.
Currently, Pfizer is the only COVID-19 vaccine approved for children ages 12 and up in Canada.
"Once we receive a confirmed shipment schedule for Pfizer again, we will be able to open up appointments for youth," Botha said.
A spokesperson for the province told CTV News while youth will not be able to book appointments in the short term, the province is not stopping youth from looking for Pfizer appointments as some may open up if adults cancel to book for Moderna.
Botha added the province may have to cancel Pfizer appointments set after July 7, but said no decisions have been made yet.
"In the unfortunate circumstance where we have to cancel some or any appointments because of no supply coming in, we will as always inform the relevant clients many days in advance – over a week in advance – so they can make other plans," he said.
"As always, we will try to, first and foremost, honour that appointment with an alternate mRNA type."
Botha encouraged Manitoba adults who are eligible for a second-dose to book an appointment as soon as possible, regardless of the brand of vaccine.
The province said Moderna and Pfizer are both safe, effective, and interchangeable.
The province said very few Pfizer appointments are expected to be available in the coming weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
WATCH LIVE As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.