Canada health regulator approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.
TORONTO (AP) — Canada's health regulator on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, days ahead of possible approval in the United States.
Health Canada posted on it is website that the vaccine made by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech is authorized. The vaccine already has been approved by the United Kingdom and Bahrain and officials have said they expect U.S. approval within days.
“This is a critical milestone,” Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical advisor at Health Canada.
“Canadians can have confidence in our rigorous review process, and that the vaccine was only authorized only after a thorough assessment of the evidence demonstrated that it met Canada’s strict standards for safety, efficacy and quality.”
Health Canada said terms of the approval require the manufacturer to continue providing information on the safety, efficacy and quality of the vaccine.
Canada is set to receive up to 249,000 doses this month and Canadian officials expect to administer them within days.
Britain on Tuesday began vaccinations with the shot made by Pfizer and BioNTech.
U.S. regulators on Tuesday also released their first scientific evaluation of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and confirmed it offers strong protection. Vaccines are emerging from an all-out worldwide race and are reaching the market less than a year after the virus was even identified — a remarkable scientific achievement that shaved years off the usual process.
The encouraging developments come as the coronavirus continues surging across much of the world. The scourge has claimed more than 1.5 million lives, including over 285,000 in the U.S., the highest toll of any country. U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists are meeting on Thursday, when the agency’s independent advisers...
