Canada has deal to get Moderna COVID-19 vaccine within 48 hours of approval

OTTAWA, - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will announce on Tuesday that the government has reached an agreement with Moderna Inc to receive the first deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine within 48 hours of regulatory approval, the CBC said.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp gave no further details.

Moderna's vaccine is currently under review by Canada's drug regulator. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine received regulatory approval last week and Canada began inoculations on Monday.


Canada became just the third nation in the world to administer the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and Germany's BioNTech SE. The United States also began a massive inoculation program on Monday, less than a week after the UK became the first to administer the shots outside of clinical trials.

Canada expects to get 249,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the end of the year. But because that vaccine must be stored at super-cold temperatures, Moderna's has been earmarked for distribution in the country's more remote communities and in long-term care homes with less access to specialized freezers.

Supriya Sharma, senior medical adviser at Health Canada, said on Sunday review of the Moderna vaccine was ongoing and that important data was expected later this week.

Canada expects to receive 4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and 2 million of the Moderna vaccine by the end of March 2021. The population is about 38 million.

Both vaccines require two doses given three weeks apart.