TORONTO (AP) – The prime minister of the Canadian province of Ontario, Doug Ford, said Thursday that he does not believe the explanation provided by Pfizer as to why the drugmaker has delayed deliveries to Canada of its COVID vaccine. 19 planned for next week.
Ford noted that it was unacceptable that other countries are receiving the doses and Canada is not.
“This falls entirely on Pfizer for disappointing us,” said Ford, who spoke to the CEO of Pfizer’s Canadian division on Tuesday.
Last Friday, Pfizer announced a temporary reduction in its deliveries in order to increase production capacity at its Puurs, Belgium plant, which supplies all doses shipped outside the United States. Pfizer commented that any delay at this time will result in a huge leap forward in the coming months.
“I don’t believe any of that garbage,” Ford said. “In short, get us the vaccines. I don’t care what they are building, they can give me any excuse, I don’t believe them. We have sent an order, we have a contract, fulfill your contract obligations because lives are in danger if you continue to ruin this. “
Ford has been criticized for a slow distribution of the vaccine in Ontario, which is the most populous province in Canada, amid a second wave of infections. The province’s prime minister said they had to close a mass vaccination clinic in Toronto.
A Pfizer spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ford’s statement.
The delay, which the US pharmaceutical company said would last a few weeks, not only affects the number of people who can be vaccinated during that period, but also alters the plans that governments made so that the elderly and caregivers receive the two necessary doses within a strict period of several weeks.
“Every day we lose is a day we have lost in war, and it’s a death,” Ford said.
