COVID-19 Manitoba

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Or maybe it has nothing to do with healthcare cuts and its a simple matter of the logistics and strategy of the government? This comparison of vaccination rates at a point in time is as ludicrous as was comparison in cases at a point in time. Two months ago people on this board were berating the province governments response to wave two, someone commending Doug Ford. Would we rather be Ontario now? This criticism of the government by looking at stats for single period in time super early into vaccination period is nonsensical.

The Ford government should be criticized for their handling of the COVID crisis. They waited too long to institute greater restrictions when it was apparent long ago what they had instituted was not working. Waiting until after Christmas to enforce stricter measures was laughable.

As for the Pallister government, criticism extends beyond the vaccination rates. They had all summer to get their house in order, but still testing rates remained among the lowest of the provinces which really affected their abilities to effectively trace sources of infection. They waited too long to enforce stricter restrictions back in October when cases skyrocketed to 200+cases per day. I guess Pallister thought telling people to "smarten up" would do the trick.

Instead he waited over a month, until mid-November to enforce further restrictions in Winnipeg, when cases were pushing over 500 per day and hospitals and ICU units were inexorably heading towards severe cases beyond their capabilities without further intervention. Over two months later and we still have the same restrictions probably causing irrevocable damage to many small businesses in the province.

By taking initiative back in October with further restrictions instead of sticking his head in the stand, we would have experienced a much shorter period of business closures as we would have peaked at a much lower level and taken a significantly smaller period of time to bring hospitalizations and ICU cases down to manageable levels. We didn't do that and it's a damn shame as it has caused this province dozens (or hundreds?) of additional deaths and likely resulted in the deaths of more businesses.

There is a reason Pallister is last or second-last among premiers in approval ratings and it's primarily because of his inept handling of the pandemic.

[1ajs]

lynn lake now has a curfew 8pm to 6am i see

and our hospital has an outbreak now ontop of things

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...BkyjqZbYuXtP98


it sure went off with a bang as i figured it would when it finally got here... only took a year

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

The Ford government should be criticized for their handling of the COVID crisis. They waited too long to institute greater restrictions when it was apparent long ago what they had instituted was not working. Waiting until after Christmas to enforce stricter measures was laughable.

As for the Pallister government, criticism extends beyond the vaccination rates. They had all summer to get their house in order, but still testing rates remained among the lowest of the provinces which really affected their abilities to effectively trace sources of infection. They waited too long to enforce stricter restrictions back in October when cases skyrocketed to 200+cases per day. I guess Pallister thought telling people to "smarten up" would do the trick.

Instead he waited over a month, until mid-November to enforce further restrictions in Winnipeg, when cases were pushing over 500 per day and hospitals and ICU units were inexorably heading towards severe cases beyond their capabilities without further intervention. Over two months later and we still have the same restrictions probably causing irrevocable damage to many small businesses in the province.

By taking initiative back in October with further restrictions instead of sticking his head in the stand, we would have experienced a much shorter period of business closures as we would have peaked at a much lower level and taken a significantly smaller period of time to bring hospitalizations and ICU cases down to manageable levels. We didn't do that and it's a damn shame as it has caused this province dozens (or hundreds?) of additional deaths and likely resulted in the deaths of more businesses.

There is a reason Pallister is last or second-last among premiers in approval ratings and it's primarily because of his inept handling of the pandemic.

I think his approval has pretty much nothing to do with the actual handling of the pandemic. His approval was lowest in Canada in the spring when Manitoba was the envy of Canada. I have relatives in QC who were completely bewildered that Legault's approval was one of the best and Pallister was the worst despite the case counts in each province being polar opposites. Pallister's approval everything to do with his personality and not policy imo.

[EdwardTH]

Don't forget they also made the bonehead move to open up travel to western Canada and drop the 2-week isolation period. Which made no sense and had no reasonable justification, AB had the highest case counts in the country at the time. Somehow their big brains thought it made sense to drop the quarantine for the places with the highest infection rates which of course resulted in people travelling to AB for funerals which almost single-handedly jump-started our 2nd wave. Instead of doing what was smart they prioritized their little marketing campaign getting to tell everyone things were re-opening and going back to normal and now we're 2 months into code red because conservatives are notoriously short-sighted.

[cheswick]

Northern region continues to drive Manitoba numbers. Over 100 cases in the north today, would be equivalent to 1000 cases in a day in Winnipeg.


Restrictions slightly lifted starting Saturday. Only difference to what was proposed earlier this week is a change from 2 people allowed over to it becoming 2 designated people allowed over. Others were 5 people allowed over for outdoor gatherings, barber shops /beauty salon opening and non-essential retail opening.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by EdwardTH

Don't forget they also made the bonehead move to open up travel to western Canada and drop the 2-week isolation period. Which made no sense and had no reasonable justification, AB had the highest case counts in the country at the time. Somehow their big brains thought it made sense to drop the quarantine for the places with the highest infection rates which of course resulted in people travelling to AB for funerals which almost single-handedly jump-started our 2nd wave. Instead of doing what was smart they prioritized their little marketing campaign getting to tell everyone things were re-opening and going back to normal and now we're 2 months into code red because conservatives are notoriously short-sighted.

No argument with the comment above. Stupid is Ottawa still allowing international travel with the emergence of Covid variants that may be more deadly and which the current vaccines may not be as effective on.

[optimusREIM]

I love how you can apparently tell who's doing better by their political stripes now.

[Luisito]

Pallisters approval did dip a bit among some conservatives. Some people feel his restrictions were too tough. Specially in the southern health region. The irony is the provincial government were probably hesitant to put restrctions into place for a long time as not piss them off. There is ample evidence of this. Manitoba at one point had the most disasterous covid rates in the country. We have seen cases go down. Had the cons implemented mask rules and resctrictions earlies we probably could have avoided so many cases. Its not just the governemtns fault though, too many donkeys disregarded the safety guidelines and many continue to do so.

[cheswick]

Downward trend continues.

Full two dose vaccinations is now at 1% of adult population in MB (second in the country for those who seem to put a lot of weight on such rankings). So at given pace we should get to the 70% goal in a decade or so.

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Downward trend continues.

Full two dose vaccinations is now at 1% of adult population in MB (second in the country for those who seem to put a lot of weight on such rankings). So at given pace we should get to the 70% goal in a decade or so.

We are at 1.87% for at least one dose of the vaccination which is one of the lowest in the country right now. Most provinces are in the 2-3% range. The only province I saw which was significantly lower was NS at 0.85%

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by Jammon

We are at 1.87% for at least one dose of the vaccination which is one of the lowest in the country right now. Most provinces are in the 2-3% range. The only province I saw which was significantly lower was NS at 0.85%

Well yeah if you give more second doses, you'll have less vaccine to give as a first dose.... The vaccination task force in Manitoba has made it a goal to vaccinate all second doses within manufacturers recommended time frame. Other provinces are taking a different tact.

Manitoba is only behind the territories and PEI in terms of all doses administered (as of yesterday). Not that I put any stock in this point in time numbers, someone was complaining about cuts to health care a few weeks back being the cause of Manitoba at that time ranking last in this metric. When weeks prior to that they were second, now again they're close to the top.

[rrskylar]

Read this in the Canada thread and it's excellent,

A few months ago Trudeau was bragging about how Canada would donate it's extra vaccines to poorer countries...maybe he got it backwards?

[esquire]

Interesting provincial news release... sounds like this is still a long way from happening but it still counts as good news, right?

MANITOBA SUPPORTS MADE-IN-CANADA COVID-19 VACCINE TO PROTECT MANITOBANS
– – –
Province Agrees to Purchase Two Million Doses of a New, mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine, First 200,000 Doses Going to Manitobans: Pallister

The Manitoba government has agreed to purchase two million doses of a new, Canadian-researched and Manitoba-produced mRNA COVID-19 vaccine currently undergoing clinical trials to ensure Manitobans and Canadians have access to a secure supply of a promising new vaccine to protect them against current and future variants of the virus, Premier Brian Pallister announced today.

“The number one limiting factor in administering life-saving immunizations to Canadians is the lack of a secure domestic vaccine supply made here in Canada,” said Pallister. “Today, we are reliant on the federal government buying vaccines from pharmaceutical companies located offshore. The result has been Canadians receiving needed COVID-19 vaccines slower than almost 50 other countries, with weekly disruptions in supply.”

Alberta-based Providence Therapeutics is developing an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which is similar to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. These types of vaccines are more adaptable to variants of the COVID-19 virus. The first clinical trials are underway, with the second round anticipated to begin this spring. Health Canada approval of the new vaccine is expected later this year.

Manitoba’s agreement with Providence Therapeutics, called a term sheet, will ensure Manitoba receives the first 200,000 doses of their new vaccine as soon as it is approved for sale in Canada. It includes a best-price guarantee that will be no higher than any other government receives. In total, Manitoba will receive two million doses, more than enough to vaccinate every Manitoban who wants one.

“This is great news for Manitobans and Canadians. We welcome the initiative demonstrated by the Manitoba government as this means that we are now on course to manufacture and deliver a COVID-19 vaccine in Canada in 2021,” said Brad Sorenson, CEO of Providence Therapeutics.

The drug product manufacturing and filling of vials with vaccine is planned to be done by Emergent BioSolutions, at its manufacturing facility in Winnipeg.

The premier noted the term sheet agreement between Manitoba and Providence Therapeutics specifically supports the development of a national supply of COVID-19 vaccine production.

“Manitobans are Canadians first. We are investing not just for ourselves, but for all Canadians,” said Pallister. “Building a secure, made-in-Canada vaccine supply will put Canadians at the head of the line to get a COVID vaccine, where we belong.”

Pallister said he has written to the prime minister and every premier today, inviting them to join this initiative on behalf of every Canadian.

“Acting now is the best way to prepare for the virus’ variants to come,” said Pallister. “Investing in Canadian know-how and can-do is the best insurance policy against COVID we can make.”

- 30 -

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by esquire

Interesting provincial news release... sounds like this is still a long way from happening but it still counts as good news, right?

I think it's a goddam joke. This is just lip service because by the time it comes online we should easily have more of the other vaccines than we know what to do with.

Little late to the party. I hate these political charades and I'm done with this drunk-on-power government.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

I think it's a goddam joke. This is just lip service because by the time it comes online we should easily have more of the other vaccines than we know what to do with.

Little late to the party. I hate these political charades and I'm done with this drunk-on-power government.

This agreement is based on 2021 delivery. We'll easily have more than enough? Based on what? The federal government has banned cruise ships to Feb 2022 for safety of Canadians. Doesn't sound like a government that's confident that they'll easily have enough vaccine by years end. I think you and Trudeau are the only two people confident we'll have more vaccines than we know what to do with by years end.

I mean clearly there's some aspect of political theatre here. A middle finger to Trudeau and his government for screwing the pooch so far in terms of vaccine delivery. Canada now dropping to 40th worldwide in terms of vaccination.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by cheswick

This agreement is based on 2021 delivery. We'll easily have more than enough? Based on what? The federal government has banned cruise ships to Feb 2022 for safety of Canadians. Doesn't sound like a government that's confident that they'll easily have enough vaccine by years end. I think you and Trudeau are the only two people confident we'll have more vaccines than we know what to do with by years end.

I mean clearly there's some aspect of political theatre here. A middle finger to Trudeau and his government for screwing the pooch so far in terms of vaccine delivery. Canada now dropping to 40th worldwide in terms of vaccination.

Remember when Justin said, the budget will balance itself? I guess it's the same wishful thinking when it came to acquiring Covid vaccines!

Sooner or later even the dumbest of left wingers will realize that we truly have an incompetent leading the country!

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Remember when Justin said, the budget will balance itself? I guess it's the same wishful thinking when it came to acquiring Covid vaccines!

Sooner or later even the dumbest of left wingers will realize that we truly have an incompetent leading the country!

COVID has really brought out the incompetence of government at all levels. The only provinces that truly got it right were the Atlantic provinces. Keep it within their own territories, restrict access to everywhere else and the second cases started rising, they shut down all the borders- even within their bubble.

[Festivus]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Read this in the Canada thread and it's excellent,

A few months ago Trudeau was bragging about how Canada would donate it's extra vaccines to poorer countries...maybe he got it backwards?

So, a few things:

1. Canada will, in the end, be donating/funding a large number of vaccines for developing nations (probably somewhere in the 2x-10x range of what we use)
2. The fund that Canada paid into for poorer nations was also designed for us to use. That was the whole point. Any nation can pay into this fund, take their share, and then the rest of the money pays for other nations' use.
3. Many other developed nations are using this fund in the same way Canada is, it's not just us.
4. Canada is on-track to vaccinate the entire population by end of Q3 2021. Shipments look like they will be ramping up massively in March.

Could Canada have handled it better? Sure, there is always room for improvement. But we will be in the top 10% of nations to finish vaccinations (on the same timeline as Germany, France, etc). Unfortunately, because Canada does not have a domestic vaccine industry, there is no way we could have produced large amounts here. In fact, Canada asked all the major vaccine manufacturers to produce them here, and all said that we simply don't have the supply chain needed. There was nothing the government could do to create that in the 1-2 years needed, and it's a result of cuts made as far back as the Mulroney era (and not repaired since).

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by Festivus

So, a few things:

1. Canada will, in the end, be donating/funding a large number of vaccines for developing nations (probably somewhere in the 2x-10x range of what we use)
2. The fund that Canada paid into for poorer nations was also designed for us to use. That was the whole point. Any nation can pay into this fund, take their share, and then the rest of the money pays for other nations' use.
3. Many other developed nations are using this fund in the same way Canada is, it's not just us.
4. Canada is on-track to vaccinate the entire population by end of Q3 2021. Shipments look like they will be ramping up massively in March.

Could Canada have handled it better? Sure, there is always room for improvement. But we will be in the top 10% of nations to finish vaccinations (on the same timeline as Germany, France, etc). Unfortunately, because Canada does not have a domestic vaccine industry, there is no way we could have produced large amounts here. In fact, Canada asked all the major vaccine manufacturers to produce them here, and all said that we simply don't have the supply chain needed. There was nothing the government could do to create that in the 1-2 years needed, and it's a result of cuts made as far back as the Mulroney era (and not repaired since).

There is no guarantee of any of this, anyone can read the Liberal playbook and post it here!

the old saying is;

'The Proof Is in the Pudding'

And seriously, does anyone actually believe anything JT has to say, he mostly over promises and under delivers, and has since day one!

[rrskylar]

From the Washington Post: enlightening


By now, there has been ample documentation as to why this is, and the roads lead back to specific and flawed decisions made by the Trudeau government at critical moments. An ambitious early deal with Chinese vaccine producer CanSino fell through when the Chinese government vetoed the shipment, likely for political reasons that were hardly impossible to anticipate given the gloomy state of Canada-China relations. The government likewise negotiated slowly and poorly with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, accepting an excessively pessimistic premise that large quantities of vaccine would neither be ready nor deliverable before April, leaving Ottawa startled when injection season wound up kicking off in December. In what seems destined to be yet another iconic Trudeau moment of halo-slipping, his government has been blasted for dipping into a vaccine stockpile intended for the developing world to supplement the deficient supply it obtained on its own.
Some of the reactions to all of this have been classically Canadian. There has long been a fantasy that Canada could be some sort of self-sustaining autarky if only its leaders were more patriotic. Recent rhetoric has accordingly claimed the country’s embarrassing vaccine rollout just proves Canada needs its own domestic vaccine industry, in the way previous generations were told Canada needs its own airplane or car industry, or should spend more time building oil refineries and lumberyards. Trudeau himself has partially conceded to this crowd, approving a deal earlier this month that will see the Novavax vaccine produced at a yet-to-be-built facility in Montreal (though it’s possibly too late to matter).
But looking around the world, there’s really no indication that impressive vaccination rates correlate with this sort of muscular economic nationalism. Places like Chile and Israel simply seem to have inked earlier, better deals with the international pharma giants than Canada, with national governments that prioritized gaining access to adequate quantities of vaccines sooner, rather than gigantic amounts later. Many smaller nations of the European Union, similarly, are clearly benefiting from a supranational vaccine regime in which they have less sovereignty, rather than more — overall challenges notwithstanding.