Feds expect Pfizer to start ramping up vaccine deliveries to Canada this week

The federal government is preparing for a ramp up in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says it expects more than 335,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be delivered this week.

The company says the figure will be closer to 400,000.

The health agency’s number is based on five doses per vial, even though the federal government recently agreed with Pfizer’s request to have six doses administered per vial.

The expected delivery will be the single largest shipment to Canada since the start of the pandemic.

Vaccination in Canada slowed to a crawl as Pfizer slowed down production while it expanded a plant in Belgium.

The new deliveries will be welcomed by provinces and territories, which have administered the vast majority of the vaccines that they have received.

As of 8 p.m. on Saturday, Ontario has administered 467,626 total doses of vaccines. There are 174,643 people who have received both required doses and are fully vaccinated.