Canada is a leader in vaccination
Despite the positive news, the country has been criticized because of it.
Although Canada has long lagged behind other countries, it has now emerged as a leader in the percentage of the population vaccinated against COVID-19 with at least one dose.
Currently 58% of the country's residents have been vaccinated at least once. In the global ranking, Canada is roughly on par with the United Kingdom and just behind Israel, where 63% of the population is vaccinated. This makes Canada one of the top-ranked countries among large countries. Canada is ahead of the United States in first-dose coverage, where only half of the population is vaccinated. However, the percentage of people who have received both doses is higher in the United States.
The absolute world leader in immunization is Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, where about 70% of people have been vaccinated. The country has 97,000 inhabitants and uses a Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine that is not approved in Canada.
Some experts are optimistic and note that Canada is moving toward its goal of starting to lift restrictions in the summer. High immunization rates and low disease rates are crucial to the easing measures. In Canada, vaccines are approved for people as young as 12 years old, and the government's goal is to vaccinate 66% of the population — or 75% of those eligible for vaccination — with first doses. The provinces are already developing plans to phase out the restrictions.
Despite the high bar set, the demand for vaccinations also remains high. About 1% of Canada's population is now vaccinated every day. But there is also a perception that further immunization rates will be harder to meet because people who are hesitant or unwilling to be vaccinated will have to be persuaded to get vaccinated.
The other bad news is that because of high vaccination rates and a large stockpile of doses, Canada is facing international pressure because of inequities in vaccine distribution among countries. Among large countries, Canada has purchased the most vaccines, and its surplus will be in the millions, so it is being urged to share vaccines with populations in those nations that have little or no access to the drugs.
Canada has also come under heavy criticism for being the only G7 country to have access to vaccines through a reserve earmarked for poor countries. Even though Canada had the right to do so, it is being urged to return the doses.
According to the latest recommendation of the Canadian Immunization Advisory Committee, vaccines approved in Canada can be considered interchangeable.
