Vaccines are here and the end may be in sight
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/03/2021 (810 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
I plan to be the last 59-year-old in Winnipeg North to be vaccinated to fight the coronavirus.
In short, I will only agree to get my shots after every person my age and older has been given the opportunity. I do not want anyone to think or believe that I am getting special treatment.
Delaying my COVID-19 vaccination isn’t about vaccine-hesitancy. It’s about respect. I will wait my turn out of consideration for others – for the essential workers putting their own safety on the line every day, and for those who need the protection most.
This might mean I have to wait a little longer to be close with family and friends again, but so be it. This is a small price to pay to keep my neighbours and my community healthy.
Every day I speak with people who are concerned and have questions about the vaccine rollout. Many people are anxious about when they’ll be able to get their shots, while others are confused and even frightened after reading misinformation online.
We all have questions, and that’s understandable when the world is changing so quickly. At the same time, we need to access reliable information from trusted scientists and doctors.
You can visit Canada.ca/coronavirus for the latest information about COVID-19, including details of the science behind the vaccines and the support programs available to help you.
The latest news is good. We’re going to blow past our first-quarter target for vaccine shipments. Instead of the six million doses promised, Canada will be receiving eight million doses by the end of the month.
Health Canada has now approved four different vaccines for use. They are safe and will, among other things, save lives. Each one has a different design and indications, so we can effectively help everyone from seniors in big cities to remote Indigenous communities. This is why we built one of the most diverse vaccine portfolios in the world, instead of trusting any one corporation.
Canada’s population is 37 million people and by the time we get to the end of June I believe we could have close to 30 million doses.
We crossed some difficult bridges in the beginning because Canada does not have the capacity to mass-produce a vaccine like this. That’s why we’ve invested over $1 billion to support made-in-Canada solutions, including a major vaccine manufacturing facility. We expect to be producing our own vaccines by the end of the year.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, but vaccines aren’t the whole story. Economists recognize that Canada is in a good position to spring into recovery because of all the supports we’ve put in place to help people and small businesses.
The emergency wage subsidy has protected 165,000 jobs, while CERB helped over 275,000 people here in Manitoba. We will be ready to build a better, stronger economy on the other side of this. In the meantime, we’re going to keep doing whatever it takes to protect your health and support our people.
For now we all still need to be cautious and do all we can to stay safe and minimize the negative impact of the coronavirus.
Kevin Lamoureux
Winnipeg North constituency report
Kevin Lamoureux is the Liberal Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North.