Canada admitted losing out to other rich countries getting early COVID-19 vaccines, showing how fierce the competition is

• Canada said it faces tough competition from other countries to secure COVID-19 vaccines, meaning it will not be able to roll them out as fast as the UK and US.
• Anita Anand, a Canadian minister, said "we are dealing with an incredibly competitive global environment."
• Campaigners have warned that rich countries' outsize ability to buy vaccines means poorer countries will be left to struggle.

Canada admitted that is has been losing out to other rich countries in trying to swiftly secure COVID-19 vaccines, showing how fierce the international competition is.

Anita Anand, Canada's minister of public services and procurement, defended a slower-than-hoped rollout by noting that "we are dealing with an incredibly competitive global environment," The Associated Press reported.

CNN reported that officials in Canada noted that the country's first vaccine rollout would not be as widespread as that in the US and the UK because those nations got ahead in the race to have doses shipped early on.

Anand noted: "It's very much the long game here."

Canada has ultimately secured enough vaccines to covers its whole population four times over. But the question is how quickly it gets them.

The first people in Canada to be given a vaccine were injected with the Pfizer/BioNTech shot on Monday, but the number of doses available for Canada this year is relatively few.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the first shots were "a big step forward in our fight against the virus, but we're not out of the woods yet."

As The New York Times noted, manufacturers are facing a host of struggles to try and make.the vaccines quickly.

More than 472,000 people have been infected in Canada, and more than 13,750 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

While wealthy, well-resourced nations like Canada are having some problems getting vaccines, the issue is far more acute in poorer nations.

Campaigners have already spoken out against the outside influence that richer countries have in securing access to vaccines.

The People's Vaccine Alliance, a network made up of charities such as Amnesty International and Oxfam, was critical of richer countries reserving more doses than their populations need.

It estimated last week that around 70 poorer countries combined would be able to vaccinate just one in 10 of their people next year without help, while richer nations had reserved excess doses.

Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International's head of economic and social justice, described that strategy as "hoarding."

"The hoarding of vaccines actively undermines global efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere can be protected from COVID-19," he said in a press release.

"Rich countries have clear human-rights obligations not only to refrain from actions that could harm access to vaccines elsewhere but also to cooperate and provide assistance to countries that need it."

Other experts previously warned that some low-income countries could have to wait years before they could get enough vaccines for most of their populations, with one estimate suggesting 2024.

Britain has claimed 357 million doses across several types of vaccine, with options to buy 152 million more.

The European Union has secured 1.3 billion doses, with the option to get another 660 million.

There are some programs in place to try to ensure more equal access to vaccines.

Canada says that it will eventually donate its excess supply of vaccines to impoverished countries, the AP reported.