The deal, announced Tuesday by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is the first of several being developed as Canada says it plans to repatriate vaccine production for decades.
“What we are very clear about is that Canada will develop domestic manufacturing, so no matter what may happen in the future, our domestic production will sign above and beyond all our partnerships and contracts with businesses around the world,” Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa Tuesday.
He added that it was important for Canada to be ‘self-sufficient’ in vaccine production.
Novavax is still conducting clinical trials on the vaccine, but submitted more information to Health Canada on Friday. Canada has an agreement to buy 52 million doses of Novavax when and if the candidate for the vaccine receives Canadian approval.
Approval is not expected for weeks and any domestic production of vaccines will only take place on the fall.
This leaves Canada still in the short term with a significant shortage of vaccines. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are the only vaccines approved so far for use in Canada.
Both vaccine suppliers have significantly delayed delivery to Canada following a combination of delays in manufacturing and demands from Europe, where Canada obtains the doses, to restrict vaccine exports subject to EU approval.
Canada has not attempted to purchase any vaccine doses from the US after the Trump administration indicated it was not possible to export any vaccines.
According to public health data from the provinces and the federal government, just over 2% of Canada’s population received at least 1 dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
Provinces in Canada, which are responsible for the distribution of vaccines, are getting frustrated because mass vaccination sites are ready, but in many cases they are sitting ’empty’ waiting to be vaccinated.
“They have the ability to have a few thousand a day, and the ability to rush past them, so that all of us are a little disappointed, a little frustrated, and that we want to do more to get the vaccines with us. to get, “said retiree. General Rick Hillier, now the leader of Ontario’s vaccination task force.
He added that he had lost confidence in the Pfizer supply chain as doses promised to Canada were not delivered.