Canada has contracts for up to 100 million Pfizer, Moderna doses in 2022
Published January 11, 2022 at 5:19 pm
OTTAWA — Federal COVID-19 vaccine contracts mean Canada should get enough doses to give two or three more mRNA shots to every Canadian, every year until at least 2024.
But even as the National Advisory Committee on Immunization is now suggesting some Canadians get in line for the fourth dose of vaccine, the World Health Organization is warning “repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition” are not a sustainable plan to end the pandemic.
The WHO’s vaccine technical committee today says vaccines need to become more effective at keeping up with emerging variants.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday there will be third and fourth booster doses available in this country if or when they’re needed.
Contracts signed last year provide for delivery of up to 65 million doses from Pfizer and 35 million from Moderna this year, followed by 60 million Pfizer and 35 million Moderna in each of the next two years.
More than three in four Canadians already have their first two doses, and more than one in four already have a booster shot as Canadian health authorities try to cut off the Omicron variant which is breaking through the original vaccines but mostly not causing serious illness even in those with just the first two doses.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2021.
The Canadian Press
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