The GNCC believes that the best and most sustainable way for our society and economy to return to normal while preserving the health of the public will be the rapid vaccination of the Canadian population.

We are concerned that the Government of Canada chose not to exercise an option to acquire an additional 16 million doses of the Moderna vaccine (which is easier to ship and store than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine). We hope that the government will explain this decision and, if made in error, their plans to correct it.

With the pandemic out of control in the province of Ontario, vaccines need to be administered at the greatest possible speed. Delays in inoculation should not be tolerated.

Canada has vaccinated roughly 0.85% of its population. The UK has vaccinated 1.9%, the USA and Denmark have vaccinated 2%, and an astonishing 21% of Israelis have been vaccinated to date. We do not believe there is a compelling explanation found in Canada’s institutions, infrastructure, or level of development which leads us to have a vaccination rate markedly lower than that of Israel, the USA, the UK, Denmark, Iceland, or Italy over the same period. There is clearly a need for increased supply and distribution. We urge governments at the provincial and federal levels to come forward with their plans to increase the speed of vaccination and correct this slow start.