COVID-19 Update for December 15 2020 – 12:15PM

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a press conference to announce further plans for COVID-19 vaccines. Canada now has agreements to receive 417,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines before January 1st.

Moderna
The Prime Minister said that Canada has secured a second agreement for early doses from Moderna. He said that Canada could be getting up to 168,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before the end of December. Deliveries of the vaccine could begin within 48 hours of Health Canada approval, and the regulatory process is ongoing.

This is part of the 40 million doses that Canada has secured from Moderna.

Moderna is the better option to ship over long distances and to rural areas, therefore once approved, these doses will be sent to the North and other rural areas. Canada is working to ensure the travel logistics are ready, and medical-grade freezers have already been shipped north.

Pfizer
Next week Canada will receive 200,000 more of Canada’s total early doses and there will be 70 sites to administer these doses, 56 more than there are now.

Arch Biopartners
The Prime Minister also announced up to $6.7 million to Arch Biopartners to support their leading drug candidate to treat COVID-19.

International Assistance
The Prime Minister announced yesterday that Canada will be providing $485 million as part of a worldwide acceleration effort to fight COVID-19 in developing countries.