TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th March, 2021) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said he is actively monitoring the situation in Europe where a novel coronavirus vaccine shipment destined for Australia was blocked by Italy.
On Thursday, Italy, in coordination with the European Union, has held up a shipment of 250,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine bound for Australia following a spat with the manufacturer over delayed deliveries to the bloc.
"It is obviously a situation we are following very closely," Trudeau said during a press briefing in response to a question about the blocked shipment.
However, the Prime Minister stressed that he has received assurances from top EU brass, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, that deliveries to Canada would not be affected.
Trudeau emphasized that in the coming weeks Canada would receive Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna deliveries - producers not currently experiencing production and distribution issues. Canada is not expecting AstraZeneca vaccine doses from European manufacturing facilities in the coming months, Trudeau added.
