TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2021) The Canadian government is donating 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses produced by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals through the COVAX facility, Minister of International Development Karina Gould said on Thursday.
"Today, I am pleased to announce that Canada will share up to 10 million doses of the Janssen vaccine for distribution to low- and middle-income countries," Gould said during a press briefing.
The donation will be made through the COVAX facility, Gould added.
The donation brings Canada's COVID-19 vaccine donation total to 40 million doses out of a 100 million doses pledged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Ottawa has also contributed $435.3 million in monetary support for COVAX, Global Affairs Canada said in a press release accompanying the announcement.
Despite an advance order of 38 million vaccine doses from the US pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare giant, no Janssen doses have been distributed to provinces, according to Government of Canada data.
Earlier this summer, Ottawa returned a shipment of 300,000 J&J vaccine doses to the manufacturer it was deemed inadmissible by public health officials. The doses originating from the East Baltimore facility, which had previously produced a faulty batch earmarked for the US vaccination regime, did not meet the country's regulatory requirements.
Canadian officials have expressed doubt about the vaccine's place in the vaccination regime of a country, where over 80 percent of residents have received their first dose and few more are expected to receive their first dose.
