Health Canada approves 4th COVID-19 vaccine as Pfizer agrees to accelerate deliveries

Canada's national campaign to inoculate people against the novel coronavirus got good news on two frontstoday:one vaccine makernowplans to accelerate its deliveries andfederal regulators havecleared a fourth COVID-19 vaccine for use in this country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that, afternegotiations with the federal government,vaccine manufacturer Pfizer has agreed to move up delivery of 3.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine originally scheduled to arrive in the summer to the next three months.

The company will deliver an additional 1.5 million dosesin March, one million more doses in April and another million inMay, Trudeau said, bringing the total number of doses of all approved vaccines expected to arrive by the end of this month to 8 million.

The announcementcame just hours afterHealth Canada approved the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in Canada,providing provinces and territories with another vaccine in addition to those previously approved fromPfizer-BioNTech, Moderna andAstraZeneca-Oxford.

A second version of theAstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine that is biologicallyidentical but manufactured under different conditions by the Serum Institute of India under the brand name "Covishield" has also been authorized.

WATCH |Trudeau announces more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are heading to Canada

Trudeau announces more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are heading to Canada

3 years ago

Duration 1:00

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Pfizer will be delivering an additional 1.5 million doses to Canada in March.

TheJohnson & Johnsonvaccine,producedby the U.S. health care giant's pharmaceutical subsidiary, Janssen Inc.,is widely seen as one of theeasiest to distribute because it requires only one dose and can be stored for long periods of time at regular refrigeratortemperatures of 2 C to 8 C.

"As long as it takes, we'll be there with what people need to get through this pandemic. That means we're sending more and more vaccines to the provinces and territories in the coming weeks and months," Trudeau told a press conference today.

The new Pfizer delivery schedule and theJohnson & Johnson approval are expected toaccelerate Canada's vaccine rollout,which has so far lagged behind dozens of other countries thathave vaccinatedmore peopleper capita.

Watch: Doctor who helped create the Johnson & Johnson vaccine talks about its efficacy:

Doctor who helped create the Johnson & Johnson vaccine talks about its efficacy

3 years ago

Duration 5:11

Dr. Dan Barouch, director, Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, says the Johnson & Johnson vaccine he helped to create is highly effective against COVID-19 and new variants of concern.

Johnson & Johnson safe and effective: Health Canada

In approving the Johnson & Johnsonvaccine,Health Canada's chief medical adviser said a review ofdata from a clinical trial involving more than 44,000 participants found the shot issafe and effective.

"As with all COVID-19 vaccines,Health Canada authorized the Janssen one after an independent and thorough scientific review for safety, efficacy and quality," said Dr. Supriya Sharma.

"After assessing all the data, we concluded there was strong evidence that showed the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the potential risks."

WATCH |Public health officials announce the approval of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in Canada

Public health officials announce the approval of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in Canada

3 years ago

Duration 1:51

Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada's chief medical adviser, announces the approval of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in Canada.

Health Canada concluded the vaccine has an efficacy rate of 66.9per cent in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 illness,and hasauthorized it for use foradults aged 18 and older.

While the vaccine is less effective than previously approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna both of which had efficacy rates of 90 per cent and above Sharma said the shot offers strong protection against the threats thatmattermost: serious illness, hospitalizations and death.

"The efficacy rate does not mean that following vaccination with a vaccine with66 per centefficacy, that you will have a 34 per centchance of contracting COVID-19," said Sharma.

"While each of the vaccines Health Canada has authorized has different efficacy numbers, the reality is that you will have a greatly reduced chance of getting COVID-19 with any of the ... vaccines that have been authorized."

Sharma said the shot remained effective against the coronavirus variantsfirst identified in South Africa and Brazil, as well as the dominant strains circulating in the U.S. and Canada.

Clinical trials are also underway for other vaccines to see how safe they are for children between the ages of 12 and 17, but Sharma suggested it will be months yet before they're able to get theshots.

Delivery schedule firming up

Canada has ordered 10 million doses from Johnson & Johnson, with options for up to 28 million more.

While there is no timeline for their delivery just yet,Trudeau saidthe president of Janssen Canada,Jorge Bartolome,assured him this morning that the company isworking to set up its global supply chains and plans to meet its delivery commitments.

Health Canada has provided authorizations for manufacturing at twofacilities one in the U.S. and one in Europe but it's unclear right now from where Canada's doses will be shipped.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand said that the Johnson & Johnson doses aren't expected to begin arriving until April, although the full order of 10 million should be delivered by September.

WATCH| Dr. Sharma addresses vaccine hesitancy

Sharma addresses vaccine hesitancy

3 years ago

Duration 1:50

Health Canada's Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma says the process to approve vaccines in Canada "is based solely on science and evidence and grounded by regulation."

Canada nowexpects to receive36.5 milliondoses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna,AstraZeneca-Oxford and the Covishieldvaccines by the end of June.By the end of September, Canada will have received 117.9million doses.

The June number will grow once delivery schedules for the20 million doses on order fromAstraZenecaand the10 million fromJohnson and Johnsonare confirmed, Anand said.

"Because of our diversified procurement,we are able to see an acceleration in doses coming to Canada from multiple suppliers," said Anand.

Pfizer's accelerated delivery schedule comes after major delaysin January and February,when the company upgraded itsproduction lines at a major factory in Belgium.

Production problems also slowed the initial rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S. after that country approved it in February.The country was supposedto receive10 million doses as soon as the vaccine was approved, butonly four million doses wereshipped out March 1.

The U.S. expects to get another 16 million doses by the end of March and 100 million total by the end of June.

Only one vaccine is stillunder review by Health Canada theNovavax product.Sharma said a decision on whether it can be used in Canada is weeks or months away.

Watch:Health Canada approves Johnson & Johnson vaccine:

Health Canada approves Johnson & Johnson vaccine

3 years ago

Duration 2:04

On the question of who the Janssen vaccine would be best suited for, Health Canada's Chief Medical Adviser, Dr. Supriya Sharma says it's ultimately up to the provinces and territories to decide, how this vaccine fits into their overall vaccine supply.