Canada's vaccine reserve exceeds 4 million doses, prompting calls for better tracking of donations

The federal government's central COVID-19 vaccine inventory has far exceeded its target of four million doses in recent months — at times holding more than triple that amount, according to a CBC analysis.

Global vaccine equity advocates say the figures show that Canada was keeping extra doses in reserve at a time when the demand for booster shots wasn't yet there and while several lower-income countries struggled to get vaccines.

As Canada's vaccination drive kicked into gear over the summer, the federal government said it would maintain a reserve of about four million shots for Canadians to access, and any inventory flagged as excess would be donated to other countries.

But an analysis of the federal government's online archives using the Wayback Machine shows that central vaccine inventory data hasn't dipped toward the four-million-dose mark since that pledge was made by then Procurement Minister Anita Anand on Aug. 12.

At its lowest, the reserve was at 6.5 million doses around mid-November. At its highest, it was at more than 13 million doses, according to federal data.

As of Thursday, the federal reserve sat at around 6.5 million doses.

The federal reserve figures do not include any excess vaccines in provincial or territorial reserves. There are currently 16 million doses in the federal and provincial reserves combined, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Wednesday.

The figures highlight that Canada "absolutely could be doing a lot more" to follow through on its pledge to support the developing world, said Adam Houston, medical policy and advocacy officer for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.

"It's been very troubling at a time of a very serious global vaccine inequity," said Houston. "I think it also underscores the fact that Canada did take more than it needed."

As the Omicron variant spreads throughout Canada and the world, numerous Canadian doctors and advocates have said that getting the world vaccinated is key to stopping further spread and mutation of the coronavirus. 

With booster shots now rolling out to more Canadians, Houston and other advocates say the federal government needs to be more transparent moving forward about its plans for excess doses and donations to lower-income countries.

In announcing a donation of 10 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine to low and middle-income countries last August, Anand pledged that the federal government would continue to support the developing world. 

"Going forward, our government will maintain a reserve of vaccines of approximately four million doses that will be managed by Minister [Patty] Hajdu and the [Public Health Agency of Canada], in co-ordination with the provinces and territories," she said.

"The purpose of the reserve is to ensure that vaccines are on hand for Canadians when they are needed while, at the same time, ensuring that doses are available for other countries."