First COVID-19 Vaccine Dose in Canada Administered to Healthcare Worker in Toronto

Toronto, December 14: A healthcare worker in Canada was administered with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccination was carried out in Toronto, under the supervision of Ontario's provincial government. The person given the first jab was identified as a caregiver at a private nursing home in the city.

The Canadian press identified the vaccinated individual as Anita Quidangen, a personal support worker employed at the Rekai Centre -- a hospital based in the capital. She was among the group of COVID-19 frontline workers selected for the first phase of immunisation programme by the University Health Network. First COVID-19 Vaccine Administered in US, Tweets Donald Trump Days After Pfizer-BioNTech Approval.

Quidangen is working as a nurse at the Rekai Centre since 1988, the provincial government said, adding that she was working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic despite her age which is nearing the seniority mark.

Update by AFP

While Toronto is the first to begin vaccination, Quebec City and Montreal are expected to begin the immunisation programme hours later. Around 2,000 people are selected to be vaccinated in both the cities today.

In the province of Ontario, which houses the largest population in Canada, a total of 6,000 vaccine doses arrived on Sunday. They can be administered to 3,000 persons - as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine needs to be provided in two doses.

Canada was the third country after the United Kingdom and Bahrain to approve the mRNA-based vaccine. The candidate of Pfizer-BioNTech later received approval from the United States as well, where the vaccination programme began today.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 14, 2020 11:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).