Canada to receive 500,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in January
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada will receive 500,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in January 2021.
At a press conference on Friday, Trudeau said that the country expects to receive 125,000 doses each week next month.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate was approved by Health Canada on December 9. The first Canadians were immunized on December 14.
The vaccine is only available to those over the age of 16, as there is not enough data on how it affects younger people.
Following the first 30,000 doses of the vaccine delivered this week, Trudeau said an additional 200,000 are expected next week.
Earlier this week, Major-General Dany Fortin, the vice-president of logistics and operations at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said that the country was still in talks with Pfizer to finalize the 2021 delivery schedule of the vaccine.
Canada has deals with seven manufacturers, including Pfizer, to procure up to 194 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The option to purchase an additional 220 million is also available.
“We’re coming into the final miles of this crisis, and we can’t give up now,” Trudeau said. “So stay home, stay safe, and we will get through this together.”
“Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and mostly, Happy New Year.”
To date, Canada has seen 488,638 COVID-19 cases and 13,916 deaths.