By Fran Yanor / Legislative Reporter
The first of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived Sunday evening in Montreal’s Mirabel International Airport, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s twitter feed.
The vaccine will be distributed across the provinces this week, with B.C. receiving 3,900 doses to be administered at two undisclosed healthcare facilities in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Coastal health authorities.
Canada has ordered seven different vaccines, each of which will arrive at staggered times over the coming months. Nearly 400,000 people are expected to be vaccinated in B.C. by April.
Vaccinations will be available in nine locations across the province by early January, according to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
The territories will receive shipments of the Moderna vaccine, expected to arrive in Canada in the next few weeks.
The Pfizer vaccine has more stringent transportation and storage requirements, including the need to remain frozen at -70C. Whereas, the Moderna vaccine has more typical vaccine storage requirements of just below zero and is more transportable across the geography of the territories.
Fran Yanor / Local Journalism Initiative / [email protected]
