Canada signs deal with AstraZeneca to secure 20 M more COVID-19 vaccine doses

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Ottawa, Sep 25 (Canadian-Media): Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today during a news conference in Ottawa Sep 25 that a deal has been signed with AstraZeneca on access to a vaccine prospect now being developed at Oxford University to secure another 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Covid-19 Vaccine. Image credit: Pixaby

The federal government already has reached vaccine agreements with Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, Pfizer and Moderna, for a total of 282 million doses.

"We've been guided by science since the very beginning and right now, both the COVID-19 vaccine task force and the immunity task force are doing important work to help us identify the most promising vaccine options and strategies," Trudeau said during a news conference.

There is no approved vaccine yet for COVID-19, though there are many in clinical trials and in development.  

The global market is "intense and unpredictable,"said Anita Anand, Public Services and Procurement Minister during the news conference and added, "When a vaccine is ready, Canada will be ready." 

Equipment and supplies needed for vaccine manufacturing and packaging, including immunization equipment such as syringes, needles and alcohol swabs is also being procured by the  government of Canada.

Evidence on safety, efficacy and manufacturing quality of each individual vaccine would be reviewed by Health Canada to before they are made available to Canadians.