Canada to receive early access to 168 thousand doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
GATINEAU, QC, Dec. 15, 2020 – Today, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, announced that following successful negotiations and contingent on Health Canada authorization of the vaccine, Canada will be able to access 168,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020.
These are part of the guaranteed 40 million doses, tand up to a total of 56 million doses, that Canada has secured through its existing agreement with Moderna. As with all COVID-19 vaccine candidates, the Moderna vaccine must be authorized by Health Canada before being administered to Canadians.
Also, unlike the Pfizer vaccine which is currently being administered in Canada, Moderna’s vaccine does require the same extreme cold-storage (-70c) temperature.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has millions of doses on order and its Food and Drug Administration said that a two-dose regimen of Moderna’s vaccine is highly effective in preventing confirmed cases of COVID-19. The FDA’s decision is expected soon after their advisory panel meets on Thursday but even if the FDA goes with the panel’s decision and approves the vaccine in the States, that doesn’t mean it will be rolled out in Canada just yet.
Once approved by Health Canada, the first delivery of the 168,000 vaccine doses, which could arrive later this month, will be to Canada’s north. The feds say the logistical planning for the delivery of Moderna doses is complete, and shipments to Canada could begin within 48 hours of regulatory approval.
The Canadian government says the Moderna vaccine would be the first delivered through the end-to-end COVID-19 logistics services contract awarded to FedEx Express Canada and Innomar Strategies Inc.
In the meantime, the Government of Canada is continuing to conduct dry-run exercises to confirm ordering and shipping processes for additional vaccines as they become available. These dry-run exercises are important to ensure that the Provinces and Territories have the necessary infrastructure and equipment in place and are able to plan to effectively and efficiently administer COVID-19 vaccines as they roll-out.
Moderna submitted an application for regulatory review of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate under Health Canada’s interim order on October 12, 2020. Results of this review are expected soon. Health Canada will only authorize a vaccine once it has been shown to be safe, effective and of good quality.
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