“Canadians can feel confident that the review process was rigorous and that we have strong monitoring systems in place,” said Health Canada in a statement, adding that it will monitor the safety of the vaccine as it’s distributed.
Canada has made a deal with Pfizer for up to 76 million doses, with plans to receive 249,000 doses by the end of the month and four million by March.
The vaccines (which require two doses for each person) will be delivered by the company directly to over a dozen distribution centers, and will be doled out to jurisdictions on a per-capita basis as part of what Trudeau has described as “the largest mobilization of vaccines in Canada’s history.”
As is the case with the U.S., Canada will be prioritizing the elderly residents and staff of long-term care facilities, retirement homes and chronic care hospitals.
Next in line are Canadians over the age of 80, another group most at-risk to develop severe symptoms from the virus.
The vaccine’s emergency use approval comes at a time when cases and deaths are on the rise in Canada: the country has seen a 27% increase in cases in the past two weeks compared to the two weeks prior (the 7-day average is 6,510) and a 23% surge in deaths during that same period (the 7-day average is 94).
Health Canada is also reviewing three other vaccine candidates, including one from Moderna.
The U.K. approved the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for emergency use on Dec. 3, and began its mass vaccination campaign on Tuesday. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration is meeting on Thursday to review the vaccine maker’s application for Emergency Use Authorization, after which the Trump administration has said it’ll be ready to immediately begin sending out doses. A briefing document released by the FDA prior to the meeting confirmed Pfizer’s earlier claims that the vaccine is 95% effective at preventing Covid-19 infection.
