The deal, announced on Tuesday by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is the first of several to be developed while Canada says it plans to repatriate vaccine production in the coming decades.
“We are very clear is that Canada will develop national manufacturing, so, regardless of what may happen in the future, we will have national production on top of all our partnerships and contracts signed with companies around the world,” said Trudeau during a news conference. in Ottawa on Tuesday.
He added that it is important for Canada to be “self-sufficient” in vaccine production.
Novavax is still conducting clinical trials of its vaccine, but submitted more data to Health Canada for review on Friday. Canada has an agreement to buy 52 million doses of Novavax when and if its vaccine candidate receives Canadian approval.
Approval is not expected within weeks and any domestic vaccine production will not take place until autumn, at the very least.
This still leaves Canada with a significant shortage of vaccines in the short term. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are the only vaccines approved so far for use in Canada.
Both vaccine suppliers have significantly reduced deliveries to Canada after a combination of manufacturing delays and demands from Europe, where Canada acquires its doses, to restrict vaccine exports subject to EU approval.
Canada did not attempt to obtain any doses of vaccine from the U.S. after the Trump administration indicated that it would not allow the export of any vaccines.
According to public health data from the provinces and the federal government, just over 2% of Canada’s population received at least 1 dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Canada’s provinces, which are responsible for delivering the vaccine, are getting frustrated because the mass vaccination sites are ready, but in many cases they are “empty” awaiting doses of the vaccine.
“They have the capacity for several thousand each day and the possibility of overcoming that, so we are all a little disappointed, a little frustrated and eager to do more and get the vaccines to us,” said retired general Rick Hillier, now leading the Ontario vaccine task force
He added that he lost confidence in Pfizer’s supply chain because the doses promised to Canada were not delivered.