Windsor Regional Hospital has applied for 75,000 vaccines from the U.S.

Windsor Regional Hospital has put in an application for 75,000 Pfizer vaccines from the state of Michigan. The application was submitted on Monday through Health Canada's Special Access Program. 

"The offer is being made, we just need to find a way to get them here. That's why we put forward this application," said Dr. Wassim Saad, Windsor Regional Hospital's chief of staff.

The Special Access Program (SAP) is designed to allow health professionals to apply for a drug that is either not yet available in Canada or is currently on back order. 

Windsor Regional Hospital submitted the application to Health Canada. The approval process will take approximately 48 hours. 

According to Saad, Michigan has offered 600,000 doses to the region.  

"Michigan wants to send it to us. We want it," Saad said. 

Saad said the decision to apply for the program was made due to the slow pace of Canada's vaccine rollout as well as growing concerns over variants in the region. 

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"Trying to acquire vaccines from Michigan would make sense and fits within the mandate of this SAP," he said. "It would be a terrible shame to see doses go to waste. "

U.S. demand down

At the Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., 600,000 Pfizer vaccines are close to expiring.

According to Saad, demand for the vaccines in the U.S. is low, therefore the vaccines will not be used. 

"Best case scenario is we get a lump sum delivered and then we can redistribute what was already provided to the rest of the region," Saad said.

 "The whole point of this is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible." 

If the application is approved, the doses would be shared across the province.