'I don't agree with the math': Yukon premier questions feds over vaccine delays

Yukon Premier Sandy Silver says he's been in a spat with Ottawa over cuts to the shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to the territory, suggesting Yukon is seeing an unreasonable reduction.

"I don't agree with the math, " Silver said on Thursday, at the territorial government's weekly COVID-19 update.

 "I don't agree, and I'll continue to push for us to receive expedited and bulk shipments into the Yukon." 

Silver confirmed Thursday the vaccination clinics planned for the general public next week in Whitehorse will be postponed, because of slowdown in the delivery of Moderna vaccine doses.

"At this time, we simply do not have enough vaccines to do so [vaccinate the general public in Whitehorse]," Silver said.

"This is not what anybody wants to hear, and I know it's not the news I want to deliver either. But we do not control the supply of vaccines." 

In a statement earlier this week, Silver and Health Minister Pauline Frost said that Yukon's next shipment of Moderna vaccines — its third — would include 4,500 doses instead of the anticipated 7,200. Another shipment later this month will likely see a similar reduction, Silver said on Thursday.

It follows an announcement last week from the manufacturer to the federal government that the shipments for the week of Feb. 1 would be reduced by 20 to 25 per cent.

Yukon's next shipment of doses is being cut by 37 per cent.

Silver said he's been in discussion with federal officials including the prime minister, deputy prime minister and "anyone who will listen" about Yukon's supply. 

Hanley said he's also been talking to federal officials, and puzzling over how they calculated the reduced shipments.

"It came from a completely different angle from what we anticipated," Hanley said.

"There is a certain logic to it, especially from Ottawa's point of view. We disagreed with that, but that's where it stands."

2nd doses for priority groups

Other vaccine clinics in Yukon have so far been going ahead as planned, including those in some rural communities this week, and for people in Whitehorse aged 60 and up.

Territorial officials say their priority now is to ensure that anyone who has received an initial dose of vaccine will also receive their necessary second dose. That includes long term care home staff and residents, who will begin receiving their second doses next week.

"Those [second] doses are here, they're in the fridge, and they're waiting for you," Silver said.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Hanley later corrected Silver with a chuckle, saying those doses were in the freezer, not the fridge.

Silver also said the territory is still expecting all of its promised doses to arrive by the end of March. He says the current slowdown in supply is believed to be temporary.

"What we are experiencing, by all accounts, is a blip and not a trend," he said. 

As of Wednesday, 9,931 vaccinations had been administered in Yukon. 

'Variants and vaccines'

Also as of Tuesday, Yukon was the only province or territory without any active cases of COVID-19. The territory has seen 70 cases in total, with 69 people recovered. One person has died.

Health officials said it's good news that Yukon has gone several weeks now without a new case — but they also warned that the risk is not gone. 

Hanley acknowledged that things were looking up just a few weeks ago, as vaccine clinics were getting underway. He said that's changed somewhat, as new variants of the virus emerge elsewhere, including British Columbia.

"There's no doubt the rise in the variants has tempered the enthusiasm," Hanley said.

"Yes, there is reason to be concerned ... we are likely to see more emerge."

That makes it hard to predict what the months ahead look like, he said.

"We need to prepare ourselves to continue to face challenges through 2021 ...  It's difficult to say with any certainty when [public health] measures will be alleviated," Hanley said.

"Variants and vaccines — that's the dynamic ahead of us for the next few months at least."