Thread on vaccines. Lots of angst, anger, finger pointing about when vaccines can and should arrive in . Let's take a moment to consider the logistical challenges even in a "best case scenario" before we get too worked up about it... 1/

First. What we know: Canada has deals with Moderna , Pfizer, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi SA with GlaxoSmithKline , AstraZeneca, & Medicago, the only Canadian-based vaccine candidate which is at least 6mths from approval. 2/

Canada HAS ordered more COVID-19 vaccine doses per capita than any other country in the world – at least 194 million and up to 414 million doses for a population of 38 million. That is pretty amazing & no small feat even if they don't arrive imminently 3/

Because the US, UK & Germany have domestic manufacturing facilities, it is to be understandable that they will supply their own citizens first before exporting to others. Any country would do the same & who could fault them? 4/

Where does that leave us here in Canada? We expect 6 M doses of Pfizer, Moderna vaccines to arrive by end of March, 2021. That translates to 3 M Canadians, getting a shot in the arm. That's a decent number of LTC residents, staff and health care workers. 5/

While there is a delay in vaccines arriving, there is an opportunity for Health Canada to accelerate its approval process by reviewing the data provided to FDA regarding efficacy, safety. This should be ample time to "get it right" 6/

In a "best case" scenario, we are almost exclusively talking 2 doses given 3 wks apart. To get enough people vaccinated to arrive at a reasonable prospect of herd immunity, you are looking at at least 6 months of VERY well coordinated deployment 7/

The point is that a vaccine is going to be a SLOW, gradually impactful measure to turning this around and not the game-changer by itself so many believe. A lot of damage can be done in a few weeks, never mind a few months time before the needles hit 8/

Should this be cause for despair? NO! A well executed plan of PH restrictions can work. No vaccine in Australia, NZ, Taiwan, Vietnam, Uruguay. They are not all authoritarian regimes. They are not only surviving but thriving. Why can't we do the same? 9/

We are all tired. We are all fed up. We are all angry to some extent. It's understandable. It's ok. But we won't fix this by not changing our mindset & resetting our expectations. The virus hasn't and never will. We have to be smarter. Can we be? 10/

I will be that guy who says I'm still lucky enough to live in the best country in the world. I am fiercely proud to be a Canadian. I'm proud because we always care about WE more than ME. And we are not about to stop now! #TeamCanada #BeatCovid19 11/ End

@threadreaderapp please unroll