A vaccine tracker created by a student at the University of Saskatchewan also shows that the average daily first dose of vaccine has dropped from about 96,000 a month ago to less than 40,000.

It is expected to decline because 80% of the eligible population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, and nearly 60% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Canada’s vaccination rate and vaccination rate are still the highest in the world-France vaccinates 0.92% of its population every day, compared with 0.34% in the UK.

Concerns about the spread of mutation

But Kelly Grindelrod, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Waterloo, said the slowdown is worrying, and the spread of new variants means that more Canadians need to be adequately protected to mitigate future outbreaks.

Grindelrod pointed out that countries with high vaccination rates, including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, are experiencing a new wave of infections, mainly targeting people who have not been vaccinated.

“We are in a very difficult stage of indifference, and people don’t think they are in danger,” Grindelwald said. “But… what’s really worrying is that if you wait until the number of people rise to get the vaccine, it’s too late.”

Watch | Experts say Canada needs to increase COVID-19 vaccination:

Some Canadians are cautious about Moderna, mixed doses

Grindrod said that some of the slowdown may be related to people delaying the second dosing when offering Moderna injections, rather than waiting for Pfizer-BioNTech.

Grindrod said that even waiting a few days will delay protection, because the immune system needs two weeks after the second dose to build the optimal level of antibodies. Anyone who is still waiting for the first injection will have to wait another four weeks to get the second injection, which puts himself at a greater disadvantage.

She said that concerns about mixing Pfizer and Moderna vaccines seemed to have caused some hesitation. Although experts have repeatedly stated that the two mRNA jabs are interchangeable, there is still confusion.

Last month, mixed mRNA vaccines became more common in Canada, when Pfizer’s delayed shipment coincided with the influx of Moderna doses.

Kyro Maseh, a Toronto pharmacist, said that it is difficult for him and his colleagues to transfer the Moderna vaccine, and he is worried that a preference for Pfizer will lead to a lot of waste.

“I want to throw away 350 doses of Moderna,” he said. “The other country is happy to take it away from us.”

Maseh said that part of the problem is that each Moderna vial contains 14 doses, while Pfizer only has 6 doses. Once the vial is punctured, its contents need to be used within 24 hours. The vial thawed from the freezing temperature needs to be used within one month.

He said that the problem is not that Canada is now receiving too many doses, but that the information transmission about the mixed vaccine has encountered obstacles in recent days.

Last week, an official from the World Health Organization warned that individuals are looking for a different vaccine for the third or fourth dose. This sentence out of context implies that mixed doses are not recommended.

Grindelrod said colleagues told about seeing people read and share this story with others as they lined up at a large-scale vaccine clinic in Cambridge, Ontario—and then went out.

Concerns about international travel

Travel issues may also be a factor.

Grindelrod said that last week’s report that Barbados did not recognize Canada’s mixed-dose strategy caused more hesitation, even though the Caribbean country quickly changed its policy.

Norwegian Cruise Line stated on its website that ships disembarking in US ports will not receive mixed vaccination, but ships from non-US ports will.

“People don’t need too much time to postpone (their second dose), this is a real problem,” Grindelwald said. “People have long-term thinking about the future of travel. This is another way of saying that they don’t believe they are in danger right now.”

Celia Du, a science communication expert in Toronto, said that once people’s negative perceptions of mixed doses become deeply ingrained, it is difficult to debunk them.

She said that experts may fall into the quagmire of scientific language and lose people’s attention, so people tend to remember fast and simple headlines-even if they are misleading.

“It’s always a good strategy to find a way to make the truth short and sweet,” she said.

Maseh said people who are now postponing vaccination, as restrictions are lifted and travel resumes, are at risk of vulnerability when COVID-19 may rise quickly.

He also said that the lack of vaccine supplies in other parts of the world is worrying. Although Canada is now doing a good job of stopping COVID-19, Maseh said the threat of the development and spread of new variants may cause trouble.

“By taking very good vaccines and throwing them in the trash can, you shoot yourself on the road.”