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his*marty

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In Quebec : (80+) can get their 2nd dose sooner. They’re allowed to move up their appointment for a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine ; indeed they’re eligible to do so starting this Monday, through the online booking system.

(French) :
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1798473/intervalle-doses-vaccin-quebec-covid-19-huit-semaines

(English): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/covid-19-in-quebec-need-to-know-june-5-6-1.6054780
Currently in Manitoba:
  • Anyone who received their first dose of vaccine on or before April 25, 2021 can now book their second dose appointment - NEW June 4
That date will likely be updated today. So, I should be able to get my 2nd dose in about the next 3 weeks. That means between my 2 doses will be about 5 weeks, not the 4 months they were originally saying.
 
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his*marty

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Does anyone think that Canada will be closed off to unvaccinated people in the near future? For example, only vaccinated people can enter the country? I'm probably just being paranoid, but I keep worrying about it. I plan on moving back to Canada at the beginning of July, and my husband (PA) will go to Canada at the end of July. We're in Japan now, and there's no way that we'll be able to get vaccinated anytime soon.
If you're a Canadian, you will never be denied entry. The most that would happen is that you will be required to do mandatory quarantine.
 
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armoured

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I find the stats when provided nationally so different than what we are given provincially. As of June 5, our province is reporting 72.6% first doses and 13% second. The first dose is much higher according to MB stats as compared to what Trevor Tombe has provided... and it wouldn't jump that much since he reported.
The Freepers is giving figures for % of eligible population, which can differ (definition-wise) by province plus just data available. Tombe has rough-estimated some of his where consistent/sufficiently detailed local info is not available (eg by saying over-12 pop, but I think he's using national over-12 average, not by province) or where can't provide comparable by province.

So yep, you'll see differences like this when local sources have more detailed info. Personally for Canada I prefer just the raw % of population rather than age-adjusted and all that, but partly just laziness on my part.
 
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his*marty

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Also, many more people are coming in by land border than by flight. People coming by land border aren't required to go to hotel quarantine, so how much is it actually protecting Canadians? Yes, more variants are coming through by air (about 2/3), but they are coming in by land as well.

From the period of May 3 - May 30:

By air: 110,980
By land: 803,943
By land if you remove commercial truck drivers: 351,044

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/testing-screening-contact-tracing/summary-data-travellers.html#a42
 

armoured

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The prof whose vaccination info/graphs/updates is easier to read (updated regularly) on this page:
https://trevortombe.github.io/covidgraphs/

All moving along apace - interesting that most recent is that 38% of doses delivered (last day? don't know) are second shots.

So basically our kerfuffle here about 'why is Canada not doing the second shots?' was maybe a week off. Or to summarize: Canada prioritized first shots, and would have to switch to second shot strategy just by sheer numbers - and that has now happened.

There's other interesting info in there as well.

Separately: there are reports that the government is looking seriously at changing the quarantine requirements for those that are vaccinated - or at least announcing some pending changes.

I'm going to warn: my guess is that it's highly likely any relaxation will have quite specific documentation requirements - and probably at first only accept the documents from certain countries (USA will be the priority just on sheer economic basis, UK and EU coordination likely - other countries - don't count on it at first).

But sure, for those who are waiting to see and vaccinated, it may be worth waiting several days.
 

canuck78

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Still only for US border and likely limited to people with US status not visitors in the US who want to enter Canada. There will also be issues with what vaccine people have received. This isn’t an issue in the US but there are less effective vaccines being used in other countries. Would assume it is likely you will need to be vaccinated by one of the approved vaccination in Canada. We’ll all need to wait and see.
 

his*marty

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Still only for US border and likely limited to people with US status not visitors in the US who want to enter Canada. There will also be issues with what vaccine people have received. This isn’t an issue in the US but there are less effective vaccines being used in other countries. Would assume it is likely you will need to be vaccinated by one of the approved vaccination in Canada. We’ll all need to wait and see.
This is part of my concern for the future of our families. A lot of us with spouses in developing countries don't have access to pfizer or moderna...but sinovac and sputnik... I wonder how this will be dealt with. I know my husband's uncle was able to get a pfizer vaccine, so I'm hoping that he will be able to get one too...but I don't know yet where or how.

You're right about the border, it's a positive step, but I'm hoping that part of the discussion about decreasing quarantine time for vaccinated travelers will be more global - even if it's just for Canadians traveling abroad. If the quarantine is reduced by half and the hotel eliminated then I can comfortably say that I don't have a great barrier to seeing my spouse.
 

canuck78

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This is part of my concern for the future of our families. A lot of us with spouses in developing countries don't have access to pfizer or moderna...but sinovac and sputnik... I wonder how this will be dealt with. I know my husband's uncle was able to get a pfizer vaccine, so I'm hoping that he will be able to get one too...but I don't know yet where or how.

You're right about the border, it's a positive step, but I'm hoping that part of the discussion about decreasing quarantine time for vaccinated travelers will be more global - even if it's just for Canadians traveling abroad. If the quarantine is reduced by half and the hotel eliminated then I can comfortably say that I don't have a great barrier to seeing my spouse.
Sputnik seems to have better results but sinovac doesn’t seem to have great protection. Can only imagine that not accepting people who have received Sinovac will also hve diplomatic implications although most in China would refuse to take a Chinese made vaccine.
 

armoured

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Still only for US border and likely limited to people with US status not visitors in the US who want to enter Canada. There will also be issues with what vaccine people have received. This isn’t an issue in the US but there are less effective vaccines being used in other countries. Would assume it is likely you will need to be vaccinated by one of the approved vaccination in Canada. We’ll all need to wait and see.
From what I've read, I think the issue is going to be much more about the documentation of the vaccine administration - this is the approach the EU has taken. And as we've seen, people are willing to attempt to fake the PCR tests, that will be a concern with the vaccines as well.

Which I mean as more of warning that even access to the Pfizer/other 'Western' vaccines is far from a guarantee that it will apply - it more likely is going to be where one got the vaccine and how good their systems/documentation are.

(Personally I think the Sputnik one is demonstrated to be effective, haven't followed the Sinovac discussions, but whether it's a 'vaccine passport' or some other document, that's most likely to be the issue. I think)
 
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canuck78

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From what I've read, I think the issue is going to be much more about the documentation of the vaccine administration - this is the approach the EU has taken. And as we've seen, people are willing to attempt to fake the PCR tests, that will be a concern with the vaccines as well.

Which I mean as more of warning that even access to the Pfizer/other 'Western' vaccines is far from a guarantee that it will apply - it more likely is going to be where one got the vaccine and how good their systems/documentation are.

(Personally I think the Sputnik one is demonstrated to be effective, haven't followed the Sinovac discussions, but whether it's a 'vaccine passport' or some other document, that's most likely to be the issue. I think)
Yes proof that you have actually had a vaccine like a vaccine passport will also be a big issue. Many in the US will only have piece of paper with date of vaccination, brand of vaccine and lot number which can easily be falsified. Canada is working on a vaccine passport as well. Assume vaccine passports will. be required for a lot of international travel so assume there are ongoing discussions between many countries about the process. Some countries like Israel already have a digital vaccine passport.
 
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his*marty

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Sputnik seems to have better results but sinovac doesn’t seem to have great protection. Can only imagine that not accepting people who have received Sinovac will also hve diplomatic implications although most in China would refuse to take a Chinese made vaccine.
This is my concern. How can you deny people that don't have access to the Canadian approved vaccines?
 

his*marty

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Yes proof that you have actually had a vaccine like a vaccine passport will also be a big issue. Many in the US will only have piece of paper with date of vaccination, brand of vaccine and lot number which can easily be falsified. Canada is working on a vaccine passport as well. Assume vaccine passports will. be required for a lot of international travel so assume there are ongoing discussions between many countries about the process. Some countries like Israel already have a digital vaccine passport.
To me, it makes sense to have a global QR code - a standard.
 

armoured

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This is my concern. How can you deny people that don't have access to the Canadian approved vaccines?
Again, though, they're not 'denying people' because they don't have access. They're imposing different health measures. Those are very different things.

(Note only on basis of what news reports/rumours have hinted at so far. Of course depends what you mena by 'denying people' - I mean, they are right now denying entry based on a variety of different factors, including where they are coming from and what they are doing)