Two-dose August possible with vaccine shipments

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise of a two-dose fall is looking a lot more like it will become a two-dose August.

Trudeau says Canada is on track now to have 68 million doses delivered by the end of July, which is more than enough to fully vaccinate all 33.2 million Canadians over the age of 12.

NEW: Canada will receive a total of over 50M doses by the end of June, and more than 68M doses by the end of July.

That means more first doses, more second doses, and more Canadians getting protected from COVID-19. 🇨🇦https://t.co/ZUon7G70Ll

— Liberal Party (@liberal_party) June 18, 2021

Previously Canada expected enough to fully vaccinate 75 per cent of all eligible people before August, but Moderna has now scheduled another 11 million doses to be delivered in late June and early July.

Three in four eligible Canadians now have their first dose, and just under one in five are now fully vaccinated.

Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there are some signs uptake in first doses is slowing now and efforts are starting to shift from mass vaccination clinics to more targeted operations for people who have struggled to access a vaccine or are hesitant to get one.

She reiterated that Canadians who get one or two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are very well protected against COVID-19, despite new guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization Thursday that all Canadians should only get mRNA vaccines from now on.