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. 

There are approximately 31 million Canadians over 16, and no vaccines are approved for anyone younger than 16. Health Canada is currently reviewing an application from Pfizer to lower the age for that vaccine to 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 65 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

Residents as young as 55 can now book an appointment for a Pfizer of Moderna vaccine.

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

People as young as 60 can begin booking vaccination appointments.

Individuals 40 years old and older with three or more select 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

Quebecers aged 45 and up are now eligible to book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine.

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

Over the next two weeks, 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.

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

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Ontario

Ontario is expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines across the province starting this week. 

All adults 18 and older living in 114 specific postal codes designated as virus hot spots can book their shots through the provincial portal as of 8 a.m. May 3. 

And bookings will be open to all residents 50 and older starting on Thursday (May 6), as well as those with high-risk health conditions such as obesity, developmental disabilities and treatments requiring immunosuppression. 

A group of employees who cannot work from home − including food manufacturing workers and foster care workers − also become eligible.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says the expansion is possible thanks to a more steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines.

The province has 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 50 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, over the coming months.

All front-line police officers and firefighters, regardless of age, qualify as well. 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 core areas of Winnipeg and Brandon.

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Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has opened up bookings for residents aged 37 and older. In the Far North, all adults are eligible.

All front-line workers over 18 can also get vaccinations. From Wednesday to Friday of this week, truck drivers and essential energy workers can get shots in Kenmare, N.D.

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.

There are drive-thru and walk-in vaccination clinics in communities across the province. Some pharmacies that are part of a pilot program are also providing shots.

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Alberta

Teachers and child-care workers are now included for priority vaccinations.

On April 30, the final two groups in Phase 2 become eligible. They include vulnerable Albertans and those who support them, workers at locations with potential for large outbreaks, those 50 and older, and all First Nations, Inuit and Metis people aged 35 and older.

Also included are front-line police officers and provincial sheriffs who interact with residents at shelters, correctional facilities and remand centres, border security staff and firefighters.

Albertans born in 2009 or earlier with high-risk underlying health conditions are eligible for shots.

Health-care workers can still book appointments: physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, their office staff, lab workers, practicum students in clinical areas, as well as health workers on First Nations reserves and Metis settlements.

Previously, shots have been available to front-line health workers, staff and residents in supportive living facilities.

For the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the province has 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 health 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.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro has said the province expects to offer all Albertans 18 and over a first dose by the end of June.

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British Columbia

With more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines arriving in May, British Columbia health officials say they are looking at whether they can reduce the 16-week wait time between first and second shots for most people.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the province expects to receive 1.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this month along with more shipments of the Moderna vaccine.

But Henry says it’s still too early to estimate the possible change in wait times.

About 1.87 million people have received a first vaccine dose and 91,731 have had their second shot.

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

Health authorities have also been targeting so-called hot spot communities that have been hardest hit by COVID-19 with dedicated clinics, which the provincial government says are using its “limited” supply of the Oxford-AstraZeneca 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.

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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 also providing vaccine to those 18 and older and had expected to finish its rollout by the end of April.

It is similarly offering shots to rotational workers and mine employees coming from southern Canada.

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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 4, 2021.

The Canadian Press