It’s easy to use and gives you an estimate in seconds.
It’s the pandemic. Without much else to do, many people are sitting at home eagerly awaiting the availability of a coronavirus vaccine in Canada. For the majority, however, the chance to be inoculated isn’t just around the corner. Unfortunately, there is still a bunch of waiting to do. (Yes, still). And it can be hard to ascertain exactly how long this may take.
As in other countries, the rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine in Canada began in mid-December 2020. At the time of this writing, less than 1% of the population has gotten the shot. Nonetheless, things are moving along, but not at a breakneck speed. Health care workers, essential caregivers, people living in retirement and long term care homes and Indigenous populations comprise the first groups to get the vaccine. Adults over the age of 70 and other people living in group settings such as shelters, are to be addressed in phase two. And everyone else will get a chance to have a vaccine in phase three, should they choose to do so. But all of this is going to take a while.
Click Your Calculation
So, when will you get your turn? In order to help eliminate the suspense the pandemic has created, (and to perhaps, maybe, you know, safely make travel plans this summer), an online vaccine calculator has been created for Canadians. Is it accurate? Who knows. But it could be better than taking a stab at dates in the dark.
Canada’s vaccine calculator has an informed basis. It was created using information from the national guidelines priority list released by the Canadian government. The calculator is another mastermind completed by the developers at Omni Calculator.com, a Polish start-up website offering users quick calculations on a plethora of topics.
Related: Should You Get the Vaccine If You’ve Already Had COVID-19? Here’s What Experts Say
Want to try it? A word of warning: you may find out you have many more months to wait than you first thought. Yes, your results may seem daunting. (Most Canadians falling in stage three won’t get their vaccine until sometime in the summer of 2021). It’s easy to do, however, and only requires a few clicks.
The “Vaccine Queue Calculator for Canada” was created by Steven Wooding and Jasmine Mah. Go to it and enter your age, your type of work (if it applies), whether or not you are pregnant, and a few other pertinent bits of information. You’ll receive an estimate immediately.
So, for example, if you are 18 years old and you aren’t pregnant, or part of an Indigenous community, and you don’t live in an official group setting or work in healthcare or on the frontlines, you are told you can expect to receive your COVID-19 vaccine sometime between July and September of 2021. (It could be another year for camping in the backyard, but hey, why not? Home is the new Rome).
Differences in Regions
Does this summer seem like a long ways off? Remember, it could take longer. As Omni Calculator states on its site, their predictions are made assuming that all goes according to plan and the rollout of the vaccines in Canada will be problem-free.
Each province and territory in Canada is responsible for organizing their own distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, and so timing may differ slightly from place to place. And of course, kids aren’t even on the map yet. There is still no COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in children, although this will change with time as clinical studies involving these groups are finished.
For more information on vaccines in Canada and COVID-19 vaccines in particular, click here. Start your bets and keep the stakes friendly! Everyone who wants a vaccine will one day get their turn.
photo credits: ARMMY PICCA/Shutterstock.com
