Windsor's mayor saw it coming but is nonetheless disappointed that unused Michigan COVID-19 vaccines won't be brought to Canadians.
Mayor Drew Dilkens confirmed reports published on Thursday that the Canadian government had rejected an idea to issue COVID-19 vaccines in the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel. The plan was for Canada to take surplus vaccines out of the hands of the U.S. government and distribute them into the arms of Canadians.
While he is pleased to see that the need for vaccines is starting to dwindle along with COVID-19 case rates, Dilkens told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that Ottawa blew a chance to do some real good in Windsor.
"Obviously getting down into the middle of the tunnel and getting vaccines is not required anymore," said Dilkens. "Unfortunately, we missed an opportunity, and it was something that we could've done certainly to help accelerate the full vaccination of the population who was looking for it."
ABC News, citing a report from the Detroit Free Press, said the mayor sent off a letter to the Canada Border Services Agency, saying that Windsor was ready to proceed with the vaccinations in the tunnel. The CBSA then told Dilkens that the move was not practical and would raise concerns about security and traffic flow.
The Public Health Agency of Canada had also expressed worries about the possibility of the people reaching over the tunnel's white line to give out a vaccine, saying that vaccines can't be imported from other countries without the permission of Health Canada.
"At the end of the day, we made an effort that was fair and reasonable," said Dilkens. "It would have been a great show of solidarity between the United States and Canada that, instead of throwing Pfizer vaccines in the garbage in Michigan, we were going to take them and put them in the arms of waiting Canadians a mile-and-a-half away."
ABC reported that Michigan had over 500,000 extra vaccines that would have expired in early August, according to the state's Department of Health.
---with files from Adelle Loiselle
