A summer of backyard barbecues and picnics in the park?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s possible if people keep rolling up their sleeves and don’t ease COVID-19 public-health restrictions until cases are down.
“We can have that summer, we can have a one-dose summer … And a one-dose summer sets us up for a two-dose fall when we’ll be able to talk about going back to school back to work and back to more normality,” he says.
“That’s what the coming months could look like. That’s what I’m excited about.”
Canada hit a major milestone on the road to COVID-19 herd immunity Tuesday, with 40 per cent of Canadians — 15.2 million people — now vaccinated with at least their first dose.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said 75 per cent is the target for first doses so lifting restrictions doesn’t result in a fourth wave.
The news comes even as Ontario and Alberta announce they will no longer be giving first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Supply of that vaccine has been tight of late and there have been concerns about the risk of blood clots that come with that type of shot.