Canada Approves Pfizer and BioNtech Vaccine

In what is the second of what is expected to be several approvals, the Pfizer and BioNtech’s COVID-19 vaccine was approved in Canada today for emergency use authorization. The country’s organization responsible for health policy, Health Canada, made the announcement.

“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on public health. There is no vaccine authorized for the prevention of COVID-19 in Canada,” the Health Canada website stated. “The availability of a safe and effective vaccine will reduce the spread and severity of COVID-19 disease and reduce its social and economic consequences.”

Shipping and distribution is expected to begin this week. Just last Wednesday, the United Kingdom approved the same vaccine.

“Today’s Emergency Use Authorization in the UK marks a historic moment in the fight against COVID-19,” Pfizer’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Albert Bourla, remarked at the time. “This authorization is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win, and we applaud the MHRA for their ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the UK.”

The 2 companies’ vaccine, BNT162b2, is a mRNA vaccine platform, and has shown 95% efficacy in clinical trials.

Tomorrow the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biologic Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will meet to consider an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer and BioNtech vaccine.

Approval for the vaccine could come as early as this week in the United States.