RBC CEO says at least 4 million Canadians need vaccine before country can reopen—350,000 doses given so far

The CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada said on Monday that at least four million high-risk Canadians would need to receive the coronavirus vaccine before the country could begin reopening, CP24 reports.

Dave McKay made the comments in an interview, suggesting that the minimum number may be as high as 4.5 million.

Less than 350,000 vaccines have been distributed to Canadians so far, less than 10 percent of what McKay says is required, with the first vaccine doses arriving in mid-December. Nevertheless, McKay says that the country could reach the threshold required by the end of the year.

Both federal and provincial governments across Canada have been criticized for the slow rollout of the vaccine, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford admitting on Sunday that mass vaccinations of the general population probably will not arrive until April at the earliest.

McKay optimistically suggested, however, that the economy could quickly spring back into action once the country is able to reopen the economy, as many Canadians are sitting on large amounts of money that went unspent during the pandemic.

He also noted that some elements of the economy, such as the hospitality industry and small businesses, may require government support as the country reopens as they have been more negatively affected by the pandemic-related lockdowns than other areas of the economy.