Pfizer will curtail deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine to Canada amid production restructuring at its European facility, Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand told reporters on Friday
TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2021) Pfizer will curtail deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine to Canada amid production restructuring at its European facility, Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand told reporters on Friday.
"Due to work to expand its European manufacturing capacity, production of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be impacted for a short period. This expansion work means Pfizer is temporarily reducing deliveries to all countries receiving vaccines manufactured at its European facility. And that includes Canada," Anand said.
Canada receives its vaccine supplies from Pfizer's European production facility after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prioritize domestic distribution of COVID-19 vaccines over their shipments to foreign countries.
However, Anand did assure reporters that the vaccine delivery slowdown will not impact Ottawa's goal of completing the vaccination campaign by September.
The news is a further blow to Canada's vaccination efforts, which have already been the subject of strong criticism, with the latest data showing that only 460,000 doses have been administered to date - far below other nations, including Israel, Russia and the United States.
On Thursday, the country's vaccine distribution czar Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin conceded that Canada will likely experience a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine doses through to the end of the first quarter of 2021.
Some jurisdictions, including the provinces of Alberta and Ontario, have expressed concern with dwindling vaccine stocks, and affected health care providers have begun canceling inoculation appointments.
