The federal government has signed agreements with two companies to secure millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand announced Wednesday that Ottawa has entered into agreements with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and biotech company Moderna.
Anand said this puts Canada among the first countries in the world to establish these agreements.
“These agreements are indicative of our aggressive approach to secure access to vaccine candidates now so that Canadians are at the front of the line when a vaccine becomes available,” said Anand.
All potential vaccines would require Health Canada regulatory approval before they could be used to vaccinate Canadians.
Anand said Pfizer is evaluating at least four experimental vaccine candidates and is currently undergoing clinical trials.
“These trials are occurring in various countries including Germany and the United States and are already exhibiting promising results,” said Anand.
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published “encouraging” data from Moderna’s trials relating to its vaccine candidate, she said.
But despite the promising results of the vaccine candidates so far, Anand said there is more work to do before one is developed.
“Any potential vaccine candidate will take time to develop, properly test, mass manufacture and distribute,” she said.
The federal government said it cannot disclose contract details at this time as active negotiations are taking place with other potential vaccine suppliers.
In the meantime, Anand said the government is also working to procure syringes, needles and alcohol swabs for when a vaccine is developed.
