Two million COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in Canada this week and every week through May and June.
Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk says this week's shipment will include 1-million vaccines from Pfizer, 650,000 from Moderna and an initial shipment of 300,000 single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Kusmierczyk says 45 to 50 million doses of vaccine are projected to arrive by June 30 — enough to ensure every Canadian can receive their first dose.
"There's still a road in front of us and we have to work together, all levels of government, but we're seeing tremendous progress here," Kusmierczyk says.
More than 400,000 of the Pfizer vaccines are destined for Ontario this week, according to Kusmierczyk.
He says that means more vaccines should be available in Windsor-Essex.
"We've got about 700,000 vaccines that are still in the freezers at the moment," he says. "We're working closely with the province to make sure we get those vaccines out of the freezers and down Hwy. 401 and into the arms of residents here."
He says Pfizer will be the key to ensuring Canada receives millions of doses in the coming months.
"At the beginning of the year their factory went through a revamp to make sure that they're able to ramp up as soon as possible," he says. "Obviously we had some delays early in the year because of that, but ever since the factory has ramped back up and retooled, we've been getting deliveries like clockwork."
Kusmierczyk says the government has exceeded its projections for vaccine procurement to this point and will be able to continue to increase its vaccination rate.
The government has distributed 13.7 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines to the provinces and territories, including 5.2 million to Ontario.