Canadian government announces deal with two leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates

OTTAWA — The federal government has purchased early access to two of the leading candidates for a COVID-19 vaccine.

The government announced Wednesday it had placed orders with Pfizer and Moderna, two companies with candidates in the third and final stage of trials for vaccines for the virus, which could be ready by the end of the year.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand said she was pleased to have reached deals that will give Canadians access to the vaccines, provided they are successful, in 2021.

“We are extremely pleased to be among the first countries to establish these agreements,” she said.

Anand said the government has secured millions of doses, but didn’t specify exactly how many, what they would cost, or when in 2021 they would be delivered.

Anand said the government will eventually make those details public, but can’t for now, because of ongoing negotiations with other suppliers.

“Canada is pursuing agreements with a number of international and domestic companies to guarantee a supply base of potential vaccine,” she said. “We owe it to Canadians to explore every option for vaccines and that is what we are going to continue to do.”

She said the government is negotiating with several companies to secure orders with options for more doses.

Moderna and Pfizer both have vaccines that are in the third and final stage of clinical trials. Assuming those trials are successful, Pfizer said it can produce up to 100 million doses of its vaccine this year, and another 1.3 billion in 2021.

Moderna has also entered into a series of partnerships to enable it to manufacture one billion doses of its vaccine per year.

More to come …