Canada's first Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines arrive this week

Canada is set to receive 1.9 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this week, including its first installment of Johnson & Johnson shots.

Approximately 300,000 Johnson & Johnson doses will arrive later this week and be distributed starting early next week, Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand said on Twitter.

Canada will also receive 1 million more Pfizer shots and 650,000 Moderna doses.

🇨🇦 is scheduled to receive another 1.9M doses this week.

1️⃣1M – Pfizer
2️⃣650K – Moderna starting mid week
3️⃣300K – J&J later this week with distribution next week

🇨🇦 is 3rd in G20 with 13.8M doses received & 12M administered. We will continue to accelerate vaccine deliveries. pic.twitter.com/lc9kiKMl3D

— Anita Anand (@AnitaOakville) April 26, 2021

The Janssen Johnson & Johnson shot is an adenovirus vector vaccine that Health Canada has approved for use on anyone 18 and over. It’s the first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to come on the market.

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The US temporarily paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine earlier this month while health authorities investigated reports of extremely rare blood clots following vaccination. The US Food and Drug Administration and Centre for Disease Control both declared it safe and recommended re-starting its use last week.

Canada will not be receiving any more AstraZeneca doses this week.

Health officials have encouraged Canadians to take the first vaccine offered to them, saying it’s too dangerous to risk getting infected with COVID-19 while waiting for a preferred shot.