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 adult who wants one.

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 says up to 37 million doses of vaccine could be shipped in May and June, but only 20.3 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 1.04 million doses of Moderna are confirmed. The remaining 11.3 million doses of Moderna, and another four million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca from various sources are still tentative. 

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. 

Provinces have yet to move the threshold quite that low, however. 

Health Canada, meanwhile, approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 12 and older on May 5.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says almost 50 per cent of eligible adults in Canada have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine.

He says by the summer, Canada will have enough vaccines so that every eligible resident will have gotten their first dose, and by September, it will have enough doses for everyone to be fully vaccinated.

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

As of May 11, people aged 40 and older can book appointments for the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at clinics across the province.

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.

As of May 9, 366,089 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered, with 37,699 people having received a booster shot.

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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 has been 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

People as young as 25 can now book appointments for COVID-19 vaccines.

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. 

The province says it administered 61,051 additional doses on May 10; more than 43 per cent of Quebecers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19

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Ontario

Ontario says it will stop giving out first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for now due to an increased risk of a rare blood-clotting syndrome linked to the shot.

The province’s top doctor says the decision was made out of “an abundance of caution.”

Dr. David Williams says Ontario is preparing guidance for people who already received a first dose of AstraZeneca on what to do next.

He stressed that AstraZeneca recipients made the right decision, based on the advice available at the time, to get that vaccine.

Meanwhile, the provincial government is expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Ontario is expected to lower the age of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to 40 across the province this week as it continues to expand its rollout.

The province is also due to begin vaccinating people with health conditions deemed “at risk.”

They include people with heart disease, diabetes, most types of cancer and dementia.

Half of vaccine supply is being diverted to COVID-19 hot spots this week, based on the recommendation of the province’s scientific advisers.

Starting next week, vaccines are set to be distributed per capita once again.

The province also said it is adding health-care workers to a list of high-risk employees prioritized for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Health-care workers were among the first groups to be prioritized for a first dose of the shot. 

However, the province later extended dosing intervals for COVID-19 vaccines from 21 days to four months, which means many workers are still waiting for the second dose.

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

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Manitoba

Manitoba is using the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for all Indigenous people aged 18 and up and others aged 24 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.

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Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan residents aged 26 and older are now eligible to book their first COVID-19 vaccine appointment.

That age threshold will lower to 23 on Friday.

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

Seventy-one per cent of Saskatchewan residents over the age of 40 have now received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which puts the province one step closer to its target conditions for the first step in its reopening roadmap.

The province says step one will take place three weeks after 70 per cent of people aged 40 and above have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and vaccine eligibility is open to all adults province-wide.

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

Every Albertan aged 12 and older is now eligible for a vaccine.

For the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the province lowered the minimum age to 30. They are, however, reserving the remaining supply for second doses when people are eligible. Officials say the second dose will be given 12 weeks after the first.

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, transplant recipients and anyone being treated with an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody such as Rituximab are able to book a second dose 21 to 28 days after their first.

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British Columbia

All British Columbia residents aged 40 and older are now able to book a COVID-19 vaccine .

All adults over the age of 18 are eligible to register for vaccines through the province’s Get Vaccinated program.

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.

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. 

More than 2.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, 110,516 of which were second doses.

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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 is offering vaccinations against COVID-19 to young people between 12 and 17 as of 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 last week.

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.

Yukon said last week it will allow travellers into the territory starting May 25 if they can prove they’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2021.

The Canadian Press