GATINEAU, QC, Oct. 21, 2021 /CNW/ - Throughout the pandemic, the Government of Canada has worked closely with vaccine manufacturers to negotiate the delivery of vaccines to Canada as quickly as possible.

On October 18, 2021, Pfizer submitted an application to Health Canada for regulatory review of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine COMIRNATY for children aged 5-11. This is an important step toward providing additional protection for our young Canadians.

The Government of Canada and Pfizer have agreed to an accelerated delivery schedule of this vaccine, pending regulatory authorization. Specifically, Pfizer and BioNTech have shared that deliveries of 2.9 million doses will begin shortly after regulatory authorization so that Canada receives enough doses to administer a first shot for all eligible children.

The Government of Canada will continue to closely monitor the evolution of COVID-19 vaccines and work with vaccine suppliers to access new formulations as quickly as possible, so we can finish the fight against COVID-19.

Quick facts

• In April 2021, the Government of Canada signed an agreement with Pfizer for future supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The agreement provides flexibility to procure future COVID-19 vaccine formulations from Pfizer, such as those to protect against variants of concern and vaccines developed for children.
• To date, Canada has received a total of more than 74 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
• More than 81% of eligible Canadians 12 years and older are now fully vaccinated, and more than 87% have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
• According to StatsCan data, as of July 1, 2021, there are 2,879,112 children age 5-11 in Canada.

Associated links

• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Canada's response
• Procuring vaccines for COVID-19
• Canada's vaccine agreements: A strategy to cover all bases
• Drug and vaccine authorizations for COVID-19: List of applications received

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SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada

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