Trudeau has "reasonable expectation" coronavirus vaccine could arrive in new year

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a “reasonable expectation” that a COVID-19 vaccination could arrive in Canada by the beginning of 2021.

In a press conference Friday, Trudeau was asked where Canada is at when it comes to securing a potential vaccine for the virus, and when that vaccine might be available for Canadians.

“We’ve worked extremely hard with companies around the world to secure Canadian access to vaccines,” said Trudeau. “In total, Canada has been able to secure agreements with six different companies around the world.”

At this point, he said, “Canada has an excellent portfolio of vaccine potentials, but we also know nobody’s got that vaccine yet.”

There are still trials going on, with “some companies closer than others, but we are waiting to ensure that they are effective and safe for Canadians,” said Trudeau. “Nothing will be distributed in Canada until Health Canada is absolutely certain that the safety of Canadians is being properly covered and taken care of.”

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When asked when Canadians might first see a vaccine ready for mass distribution, Trudeau responded “we are hopeful that the vaccines would arrive yesterday, but they won’t, and there are still a number of more months of work to do.”

As such, Trudeau said he thinks the “reasonable expectation is that vaccines could start to arrive sometime in the new year, but even then there will be smaller amounts of doses that will have to be distributed to priority populations – our most vulnerable and our frontline workers.”

Ultimately, said Trudeau, “we all want to get this COVID-19 crisis behind us a quickly as possible, and that’s why we’re working on vaccines responsibly, safely, and quickly.”