Canada's lagging COVID-19 vaccine campaign set to ramp up as virus variants spread

TORONTO/OTTAWA - Canada is expecting enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to double its supply by the end of next week to help ramp up a slow vaccination program as more contagious virus variants push the country toward a third wave of coronavirus infections.

Canada has lagged other rich countries in inoculations even though it ordered enough doses to vaccinate the population five times over late last year. Those procurement deals, however, guaranteed relatively few doses in the first quarter of 2021 with a sharp increase in the second quarter. Officials said on Friday that 6.8% of the population had received at least one shot of a vaccine. That compares with 24.5% of U.S. residents as of Monday.