HEALTH CANADA APPROVES ASTRAZENECA'S COVID-19 VACCINE
Feb 26, 2021
By Bob Komsic
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AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine becomes the third to be approved for use in Canada.
Health Canada’s authorized it for use in all adults 18 and older.
The regulator’s senior medical advisor Dr. Supriya Sharma says there’s no immediate safety concerns for those 65 and older despite limited clinical trial data because of promising experience in regions where it’s been deployed.
”When we do the authorization a question is ‘for somebody 65-years-of-age and older would the benefits of getting the vaccine versus not getting the vaccine, would the benefits outweigh the risk?’ And the answer to that was yes, based on all the information that we have,” explained Dr. Sharma.
She adds it’ll be up the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to decide which age groups should get each type of vaccine.
Canada’s secured 2-million doses through a deal with Mississauga-based Verity Pharmaceuticals and the Serum Institute of India.
Procurement Minister Anita Anand says 500,000 will be delivered in the coming weeks, and the remainder by mid-May.
That’s in addition to the 20-million doses already secured in an earlier deal with AstraZeneca.