Health Canada Approves AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine - Statement

Health Canada Approves AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine - Statement

Canada's health regulatory agency announced on Friday that it has approved the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine along with the Serum Institute of India's version of the vaccine

TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2021) Canada's health regulatory agency announced on Friday that it has approved the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine along with the Serum Institute of India's version of the vaccine.

"Today, Health Canada authorized two vaccines; the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, and developed in partnership with Oxford University, and, the Serum Institute of India's version of the AstraZeneca vaccine," the regulators said in a statement.

The AstraZeneca vaccine and its Serum Institute version are the third and fourth vaccines to be approved by Health Canada and the first viral vector vaccines; the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines - both based on mRNA experimental technology - were authorized in mid-December.

Health Canada added that the vaccines meet the country's safety, efficacy and quality requirements, but placed numerous terms and conditions on the vaccine by requiring that manufacturers to continue to provide rolling data.

The vaccine is authorized for use in individuals over the age of 18 and can be stored in temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius for at least six months, the statement said.

Canada currently ranks 59th in the world for total vaccine doses administered per 100 people, according to Our World in Data.