Canada to donate almost 18 million surplus AstraZeneca doses to low- and middle-income countries

Canada is donating17.7 milliondoses of the AstraZeneca coronavirusvaccine to help inoculate people in low- and middle-income countries, federal ministers announced Monday.

International Development Minister Karina Gould and Procurement Minister Anita Anand said the doses area part of the federal government's advance purchase agreement with the company and would be distributed through COVAX.

COVAX is a global vaccine-sharing initiative jointly co-ordinated by the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.

The program pools funds from wealthier countries to buy vaccines for those countries and ensure that low- and middle-income countries have access to vaccines as well. This new donation is on top of the $440 million the federal government alreadyhas committed to COVAX.

"This donation is a result of our proactive approach to securing hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines in our initial contracts. With close to 55 million vaccines in Canada, and with the demands of the provinces and territories for this vaccine being met, we are now in a position to donate these excess doses," Anand said.

The federal government also announced it's partnering with UNICEF ona donation-matching fundraising campaign to encourage Canadians to donatevaccine doses by contributing $10.

All donations by Canadians will be matched by the federal government, up to a maximum of $10 million. The campaign runs until Sept. 6 and people can donate via UNICEF or by texting VACCINES to 45678.

Anand and Gould said thatif the UNICEF campaign is maxed out, it will provide enough money to vaccinate four million people in countries where inoculation campaigns are struggling to meet demand.

Canadians well stocked with vaccine: Anand

Anand said 79 per cent of eligible Canadians have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 55 per cent are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

She said the federal government is alsoholding a reserve of three millions doses of thePfizer and Modernavaccines,which she said the provinces have asked the federal government to hang on to until they'reready to take delivery.

WATCH | Canada to donate nearly 18 million AstraZeneca vaccines:

Canada donating 17.7 million AstraZeneca vaccines

3 years ago

Duration 2:02

Canada will donate 17.7 million surplus doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to countries in need and announced a partnership with UNICEF to encourage Canadians to donate money to buy vaccines, which will be matched by the federal government.

Anand said the provinces toldthe Public Health Agency of Canadathat they have all theAstraZenecathey need,which allowedthe federal government to make the donation.

The ministers said that the AstraZeneca doses are coming from the advance purchase agreement the government struck with the company and that these doses, which will be manufactured in the United States, will start being delivered to COVAX in the coming weeks.

Conservative MP Garnett Genuissaid the federal government should not be exporting vaccines that "it does not recommend for Canadians."

Sending AstraZeneca abroad

"The government needs to clarify how they view the AstraZeneca vaccine, whether they believe that it is as effective as other brands, and why they are choosing to transfer this brand as opposed to others," Genuis said in a media statement.

The Public Health Agency of Canada and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization have both said thatmRNA vaccines such as Moderna or Pfizer are "preferable" toAstraZeneca's product, although all three are approved for usein Canada.

The two agencies saidmRNA vaccines arepreferable in response toevidence suggesting that, in rare cases, the AstraZeneca vaccine could cause potentially fatal blood clots in some people.

Health Canada says theAstraZeneca vaccineis 81.6 per cent effective two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine when those doses were administered 12 weeks apart.

Gould addressed the suggestion that Canada was only giving away vaccines it does not want, saying theAstraZenecaproduct isan effective vaccinethat remains in high demand.

"Pretty much every area of the developing world is seeing an increase in COVID-19 and so they are looking to get as many effective, approved vaccines as possible to administer to deal with this new wave of COVID-19," Gould said.

UNICEF Canada's president and CEO David Morley said that because AstraZeneca can be stored in aregular refrigerator whilemRNA vaccines must be kept in extra-cold conditions AstraZenecais easier to administerin the developing world.

WATCH |Which country will receive Canada's donation of 17.7 million vaccines:

Which country will receive Canada's donation of 17.7 million vaccines, and when will it get there?

3 years ago

Duration 3:42

International Development Minister Karina Gould joins Power & Politics to discuss the government's decision to donate nearly 18M AstraZeneca vaccine doses to the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative.

Last month, at the close of the G7 summit in Cornwall, England,G7 leaders announced a collective agreement to provide more than two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the developing world. Canada's share of that commitment was 100 million doses.

Gould told reporters in Ottawa Monday that the 17.7 million AstraZeneca doses being donated through COVAX will be in addition to that 100 million dose commitment.