Pending Health Canada approval, COVID-19 vaccine will arrive within 24h

Canada’s provinces and territories are preparing to receive, store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech, which is due to be approved by Health Canada this week and subsequently delivered within 24 hours. A limited quantity of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to arrive at sites across Canada, and as the U.K. has done in recent days, rehearsals are underway to ensure the safe handling of the materials, which have to be stored in special freezers at sub-zero temperatures.

In an interview with CBC, Sean Marett (BioNTech’s chief business and chief commercial officer) said that the unprecedented nature of this project makes the distribution plan the “biological equivalent of a moon landing.” The rollout has gone ahead smoothly in the U.K., with vaccines expected to be administered as soon as tomorrow.

Health Canada is also in the midst of evaluating COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen.

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