As Moderna seeks approval for COVID-19 vaccine, where does Canada stand?

TORONTO – Moderna’s application for emergency use authorization in the U.S. of its COVID-19 vaccine means Americans could be just weeks away from the beginning of immunizations against the virus.

But where does Canada stand in the queue? There’s been a lot of concern raised about that recently.

Moderna’s chairman told the CBC that Canada is a priority, and that the country is guaranteed to get some of the first batch of doses when the vaccine is approved as Canada was one of the first countries to pre-order with the company.

“Canada is not at the back of the line,” chairman Noubar Afeyan said. “But I can imagine, just like everywhere else, this is a topic that will constantly be the source of political debate.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that due to a lack of domestic production, Canada will have to depend on other countries for a vaccine, meaning we’ll likely receive doses weeks after some of our allies.

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He and his government have come under fire for the anticipated delay. The government has confirmed Canada is expecting six-million doses of vaccines from various manufacturers in the first quarter of 2021, saying the most vulnerable and frontline workers would receive shots first.

Under emergency orders, Health Canada has also said the country can start receiving and storing doses before they are approved for use here, in order to speed up distribution.

“Those vaccines would only be distributed and they would go through vaccination after Health Canada has authorized it,” explained Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical advisor to the deputy minister at Health Canada.

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The timeline for a full review of a vaccine normally can take up to a year, Sharma said. However, the urgent need for a vaccine to fight this coronavirus and the eventual signing of an interim order allowing for “more flexibility to expedite the review and authorization of drugs and vaccines for COVID-19” has sped up the process.

“Health Canada has a rigorous scientific review system in place to ensure vaccines are safe and effective in preventing the disease they target and we will only authorize a vaccine if its benefits clearly outweigh its risks,” Sharma said at the federal government’s first in a series of vaccine updates.

“Under usual circumstances, Health Canada reviews vaccine submissions after all clinical studies are completed and the full study results are available.”

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The new process still requires all necessary data is reviewed, Sharma added.

Moderna’s application for approval in the U.S. and Europe comes as the final trial data confirms its vaccine candidate is more than 94 per cent effective in preventing the virus, and 100 per cent effective in preventing serious cases of COVID-19.

Pfizer applied for emergency approval of its vaccine candidate just over a week ago.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have also begun “rolling” applications for approval with agencies around the world, including Canada.