Prime Minister Justin Trudeau provided a COVID-19 update to the nation as cases continue to rise.
Trudeau said the federal government is signing new agreement to establish a guaranteed supply of potential COVID-19 vaccines.
The prime minister announced an agreement with AstraZeneca to procure up to 20 million doses of its COVID‑19 vaccine candida.
The agreement announced today adds to those already reached with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, Pfizer, and Moderna With these agreements in place, the government has now secured access for Canadians to six leading vaccine candidates.
The Prime Minister also announced Canada’s participation in the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, a global procurement mechanism that the federal government says will help deliver fair, equitable, and timely access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The Government of Canada is committing approximately $220 million to the Facility to procure up to 15 million vaccine doses for Canadians. An additional $220 million will be channeled through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to purchase doses for low- and middle-income countries.