Who have provinces pegged to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks?

As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have released details of who can expect to receive a shot in the coming weeks.

The military commander handling logistics for Canada’s vaccine distribution program says there will be enough vaccine delivered to give a first dose before Canada Day to every Canadian over the age of 12.

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin says that’s if provinces follow the advice to delay second doses up to four months.

He also cautions that it is dependent on having no production delays again.

Health Canada currently expects 23 million doses of Pfizer (20.2 million), Moderna (2.1 million) and Oxford-AstraZeneca (1.65 million) in May and June. Another six to eight million doses of Moderna are expected but the company hasn’t confirmed exactly what it can ship as it is plagued by ongoing production delays.

Provinces initially suspended giving AstraZeneca shots to people under the age of 55 based on an advisory committee’s advice, but their recommendation changed on April 23 to reflect that the shot is safe for anyone aged 30 and older. Some provinces moved to cut the age to 40, but none have gone younger than that.

Health Canada authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children between 12 and 15 on May 5, the first vaccine approved for kids that young. It had already been authorized for people at least 16 years old, while the other vaccines are all authorized for people at least 18 years old.

There are almost 33 million Canadians over the age of 12.

Here’s a list of the inoculation plans throughout Canada: 

Newfoundland and Labrador

Residents between the ages of 55 to 64 have access to the AstraZeneca vaccine. 

People 60 and older, Indigenous adults, people considered “clinically extremely vulnerable” and rotational workers, truck drivers and flight crew have access to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

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Nova Scotia

Appointments are now available for people aged 50 and older for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. 

Health officials said about 67,625 people are eligible for shots in the 50-to-54 age group. 

Appointments opened May 4 for the province’s first drive-thru vaccination clinic beginning May 10 at the Dartmouth General Hospital. 

The province has also expanded access to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to residents aged 40 to 54.

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Prince Edward Island

People in the province aged 40 to 59 can now book appointments for a COVID-19 vaccine. 

People 16 years and older who have certain underlying medical conditions, pregnant woman and eligible members of their household can also get a vaccine.

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New Brunswick

As of May 4, access to COVID-19 vaccines was expanded to people as young as 50.

Individuals 16 and older who have two or more chronic health conditions are also eligible.

Officials said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would be available to people aged 40 to 54 by April 30.

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Quebec

Quebec lowered the age of vaccine eligibility to 35 from 40 on May 6, and has promised to open appointments to all adults by mid-May.

The province previously announced that it is gradually widening vaccine access to the rest of the general population in descending order of age.

Appointments will open to Quebecers in descending order of age — dropping by five years every two or three days — until May 14, when they will be available to people aged 18 to 24.

The province’s health minister says Quebecers 12 to 17 years old will be offered a first dose of COVID-19 by the end of June and will be fully vaccinated by the time they return to school in September.

Quebec has also expanded AstraZeneca availability to people as young as 45. 

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Ontario

The Ontario government is expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines across the province.

It lowered vaccine eligibility for several groups on May 6 – residents aged 50 and older, those with high-risk health conditions and a number of employees who cannot work from home all became eligible.

The newly eligible workers include those in the education, child-care, food and manufacturing sectors.

People aged 18 and up can now book vaccine appointments if they live in hot-spot postal codes.

Peel Region, which has been hard-hit by the virus, is offering vaccines to all residents aged 18 and older – not just those in hot-spot neighbourhoods.

Ontario says it expects 65 per cent of adults to have their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May.

The province has also said that if the vaccine supply holds, it expects to make those 18 and older eligible for a shot at mass sites provincewide on the week of May 24.

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Manitoba

Manitoba is using the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for all Indigenous people aged 18 and up and others aged 45 and up. These are available through a few channels including so-called supersites in larger communities. Health officials plan to continue reducing the age minimum, bit by bit, down to age 12 by May 21.

All front-line police officers and firefighters, regardless of age, are already eligible. All adults who are pregnant, who receive community living disability services or who work in any health-care setting — including outpatient locations and the province’s vaccine warehouse — can book an appointment as well

The province is also allowing anyone 40 and over to get an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through pharmacies and medical clinics, subject to availability. People 30-39 can get a shot if they have certain underlying health conditions such as chronic liver failure or severe obesity.

The province is also vaccinating all adults in high-risk areas, including the north of the province and many neighbourhoods in Winnipeg and Brandon.

About 40 per cent of Manitoba adults have received at least one dose.

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Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan residents aged 32 and older are now eligible to book their first COVID-19 vaccine appointment.    

And that age threshold will lower to 29 on Monday May 10, to 26 on Wednesday May 12, and to 23 on Friday May 14.  

All adults in the Far North, as well as front-line workers with proof of employment, are also eligible. 

The province previously expanded its vaccine delivery plan for people in more vulnerable groups to include all pregnant women and 16- and 17-year-olds who are considered clinically extremely vulnerable.   

Saskatchewan also dropped the age at which people can receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to 40 from 55.   

The province says all Saskatchewan residents over the age of 12 will be eligible for vaccination by May 20.  

Officials say most Saskatchewan residents over the age of 18 can expect their first shot by the end of May.  

There are drive-thru and walk-in vaccination clinics in communities across the province. And there are plans to expand the province’s pharmacy vaccination pilot rollout as more doses become available.

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Alberta

Those born in 1991 are eligible for a vaccine. And starting Monday May 10, those born in 2009 or earlier can get a shot.

Teachers and child-care workers have also recently become eligible.

They join vulnerable Albertans and those who support them, workers at locations with potential for large outbreaks, and all First Nations, Inuit and Metis people 35 and older.

Front-line police officers and provincial sheriffs who interact with residents at shelters, correctional facilities and remand centres, border security staff and firefighters can also book vaccinations, as can health-care workers.

For the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the province lowered the minimum age to 40 from 55. For those living in the hot spots of Banff and Lake Louise as well as the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, the age for AstraZeneca is 30.

The Moderna vaccine is also available to Indigenous people in Wood Buffalo as young as 30.

More than 250 pharmacies are offering immunizations. Ten physicians clinics across the province are also providing shots as part of a pilot project.

About 15,000 workers at 136 meat-packing plants across the province can also get shots at on-site clinics, pharmacies and clinics.

Alberta has said it is extending the time between the first dose and the second to four months. But some cancer patients are able to book a second dose 21 to 28 days after their first.

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British Columbia

The province is joining other jurisdictions in Canada in possibly making the Pfizer vaccine available to 12- to 17-year-olds.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the government is looking at ways to immunize young people with their first dose by the end of June now that Health Canada has approved the Pfizer vaccine for those 12 and older.

British Columbia health officials are also looking at whether they can reduce the 16-week wait time between first and second shots for most people with more vaccines arriving this month.

The province expects to receive 1.1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine this month along with more shipments of the Moderna vaccine.

All adults over the age of 18 are eligible to register for vaccines through the province’s Get Vaccinated program, with people 40 and older being invited to book appointments as early as next week.

B.C. has lowered the age for those eligible to receive the AstraZeneca shot to 30, starting with those in ‘hot spot’ communities and adding appointments at pharmacies as supplies improve.

The Fraser Health region, where COVID-19 cases are the highest in the province, is offering all grocery workers 18 and over to get immunized with either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. It says the workers need to provide proof of their employment when they arrive for an appointment. 

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Nunavut

Nunavut has opened vaccinations to anyone 18 and older.

It is also offering shots to rotational workers coming from southern Canada.

The territory had expected to finish its vaccine rollout of first and second doses by the end of April.

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Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories said it would offer vaccinations against COVID-19 to young people between 12 and 17 starting Thursday, May 6.

The territory, which has only been using the Moderna vaccine, recently exchanged some of that for doses of the Pfizer product, which Health Canada has now approved for anyone as young as 12.

A news release from the government says just over 1,100 Pfizer doses arrived in the territory from British Columbia on Tuesday.

That means the Pfizer vaccine will be available through online bookings for 12- to 17-year-olds in the capital.

It will not be offered to adults in the territory, but the Moderna vaccine is still available.

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Yukon

More than 48,000 doses of Moderna vaccine have been administered in Yukon.

More than 70 per cent of Yukon residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 53 per cent of the population has now been fully vaccinated.

Health officials say that means they can reduce the hours of operation at the Whitehorse vaccine clinic.

Deputy health minister Stephen Samis says they’ll scale down operations and focus some efforts on other vaccinations, including pre-kindergarten and routine childhood vaccines.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021.

The Canadian Press