Vaccine update — based on what we know so far — at least 26.4 million more doses will arrive between April and June. 23 million from Moderna and Pfizer combined, 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses from the Serum Institute and 1.9 million AstraZeneca doses from COVAX.
With the Serum announcement today, Canada will have enough supply to fully vaccinate 3.25 million people by the end of March. (6 million Pfizer and Moderna doses combined, 500,000 Serum-made AstraZeneca.)
All told, the country is projected to have enough supply to fully vaccinate at least 16.45 million people by Canada Day.
The supply will grow once delivery schedules for the AstraZeneca doses are confirmed / if (when?) Johnson & Johnson is approved.
New — The Serum Institute of India, which is working with Mississauga, Ont.-based Verity Pharmaceuticals, will deliver 500,000 doses of its vaccine next Wednesday.
A further 1 million doses will arrive in April and 500,000 more in early May, the company says.
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Health Canada found the efficacy of the vaccine to be an estimated 62.1%. The regulator said the clinical trial results "were too limited to allow a reliable estimate of vaccine efficacy in individuals 65 years of age and older."
*But* HC says "efficacy in individuals 65 years of age and older is supported by immunogenicity data, emerging real world evidence and post-market experience in regions where the vaccine has been deployed."
So, the regulator says there's "a potential benefit" for people over 65.
A vaccine update — Pfizer and Moderna told Congress this week they will deliver (a combined) 140 million more doses to the U.S. market over the next five weeks.
If approved this weekend, J&J has said it will distribute at least 20 million single-dose shots by the end of March.
In total, with these three shots, the U.S. will have enough supply to fully vaccinate 90 million more people by April 1. 21.6 million people have already received both doses of either Pfizer or Moderna. At least 111.6 million with antibody protection by the end of the 1st quarter
Canada will have enough vaccines on hand to fully vaccinate 3 million people by the end of March, based on current approvals. J&J and AstraZeneca could get the green light any day now. But, clearly, Canada is lagging.
New — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced plan to produce millions of COVID-19 shots at a plant in Montreal starting this summer, securing a domestic supply of vaccines as the global market contends with delivery delays and protectionist measures.
The National Research Council-owned Royalmount facility will churn out tens of millions of doses of the product developed by Maryland-based Novavax, Trudeau said. That company submitted its vaccine to Health Canada for regulatory approval last Friday.
"This is a major step forward to get vaccines made in Canada, for Canadians ... we need as much domestic capacity for vaccine production as possible," Trudeau said. "We won't rest until every Canadian who wants a vaccine has received one."
New — Trudeau announces Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, and Air Transat are cancelling air service to all Caribbean destinations and Mexico starting this Sunday until April 30th.
"They will be making arrangements with their customers who are currently on a trip in these regions to organize their return flights," Trudeau says of the airlines.
"With the challenges we currently face with COVID-19, both here at home and abroad, we all agree that now is just not the time to be flying," Trudeau says.
The COVID-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is 66 per cent effective in preventing moderate to severe disease — although it was found to be 72 per cent effective in U.S. clinical trials. Canada has ordered 10 million doses — with options for an additional 28 million. #cdnpoli
The vaccine appears to be much less effective against the South African variant — J&J has reported a 57 per cent efficacy rate — which is troubling because that strain has spread to other countries, including the U.S.
The vaccine candidate was 85 per cent effective in preventing severe disease across all regions studied, 28 days after vaccination in all adults 18 years and older.
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin has detailed the delivery schedule for the next month:
0 doses this week
79K doses next week
70K doses week of Feb. 8
335K doses week of Feb. 15
395K doses week of Feb. 22
(These are Pfizer numbers alone - 230,400shots from Moderna are expected next week; 249,600
the week of Feb. 22.)
There's a great deal of confusion over whether it's 3.5M or 4M doses by the end of March — the general insists Pfizer has told Canada it will be 4M by the end of Q1 — and @anitaoakville is not at this press conference.