KITCHENER -- More than half of Canadians want to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, a new study shows.
The Angus Reid Institute poll found 60 per cent of Canadians want to get the vaccine as quickly as they can, an increase of 12 per cent from last month.
But, the vaccine rollout has been under strain recently. Public health officials have been criticized for struggling to give out the vaccine quickly and efficiently. Some health units in Ontario reported running out of doses last week and officials in Waterloo Region said they'll need more soon to keep up with demand.
Kelly Grindrod, a professor in the Ontario College of Pharmacists at the University of Waterloo, said the vaccine administration is a complex undertaking.
"What's coming next is the hard part, which is finding people, getting them in, getting the vaccine in their arm and getting them back three weeks later or four weeks later to get that second dose in," Grindrod said. "That's the part that's taking a bit longer to figure out."
However, while the rollout is slow, the creation and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine was fast, according to Grindrod.
"This is the first time in history that human technology has been able to respond this quickly and end a pandemic, hopefully, in the time it will be able to," she said.
She's hopeful Canada will be able to reach its goal of vaccinating everyone who wants one by the end of the year.
