OTTAWA – Canada files agreements with pharmaceutical company Pfizer and U.S. biotechnology company Moderna to acquire millions of doses of its experimental coVID-19 vaccines.
Supply Minister Anita Anand announces the agreements this morning in Toronto, which will allow Canada access to vaccines if effective.
Both companies began phase 3 clinical trials of their candidate vaccines during the following week, large-scale testing on how vaccines work.
In early July, Pfizer and Moderna reported the effects of smaller trials.
Phase 3 trials will test vaccines in another 30,000 people and effects are expected in the fall.
Canada’s Director of Public Health, Dr. Theresa Tam, warned Tuesday that she hopes a vaccine will quickly end the pandemic, saying it provides hope, but that there is no quick fix for the new coronavirus.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 5, 2020.