TORONTO — Ontario wasted 38 per cent of COVID\u002D19 vaccine doses between February and June because it overestimated demand for boosters, said the province’s…
Auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said in her annual report Wednesday that overall COVID-19 vaccine wastage is nine per cent, or 3.4 million doses. About half of that could have been avoided with better forecasting of demand.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Ontario is at about the middle of the pack when compared to COVID-19 vaccination rates in other provinces and territories.“It was disorganized, inconsistent and lacking detail about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, suggesting that Ontarians may not have been as well informed as possible in their decision-making,” Lysyk wrote.
“The continued absence of a centralized booking system increases the likelihood of unnecessary wastage continuing into the future since such no-show appointments can result in more wasted doses of vaccine.”Article content Physicians were paid between $170 and $220 an hour by the government to work at vaccination sites operated by a public health unit or a hospital, while doctors were paid just $13 per dose to vaccinate in their own offices.As well, Lysyk found that physicians at clinics were paid much higher rates to administer shots than nurses, who were paid between $32 and $49 an hour, and pharmacists, who were paid between $30 and $57 per hour.
The government has amassed a stockpile to deal with a viral surge, but if that doesn’t occur, the stockpile will exceed 100 million units, worth over $81 million, Lysyk’s report said. “Vendors were paid a guaranteed minimum daily payment to cover overhead costs even if a minimum number of COVID-19 tests were not performed,” Lysyk wrote in the report.Article content
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