90 Million COVID Vaccines Making Their Way to Canada: Federal Records

Syringes and vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be administered at a drive-up vaccination site in Reno, Nev., on Dec. 17, 2020. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Over 90 million COVID-19 vaccines are making their way to Canada, federal records show.

“Under Canada’s advance purchase agreements there are currently 90.8 million remaining doses to be delivered in 2023 and 2024,” said a Department of Public Works report to the Commons public accounts committee (PACP), as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Prices were not disclosed, according to the media outlet. The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) estimated in a report last December that the average cost of one dose was approximately $30—meaning it will cost the country about $2.72 billion when the remaining doses eventually arrive.

“Agreements provide flexibility to procure the latest formulations and presentations of Covid-19 vaccines such as those to protect against mutations or variants of concern and vaccines developed for younger populations,” said the report, titled “Responses to Questions Taken On Notice.”

“Booster doses may be acquired under the 90.8 million doses to be delivered in 2023 and 2024.”

The remaining doses include 30 million from Pfizer Canada, 42.3 million from Novovax, and 18.5 million from Moderna Inc., a breakdown from the report shows.

The report said the Trudeau government from the outset of the pandemic made a “firm dose commitment” to seven manufacturers to purchase 237.22 million doses from them.

The commitment was to secure 85 million doses from Pfizer Canada, 52 million from Novovax, 44 million from Moderna Inc., 20 million each from AstraZeneca PLC and Medicago Inc., 9.98 million from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and 6.24 million from Sanofi S.A.

‘Wastage’

Contracts with Medicago and Sanofi, however, were terminated “by mutual consent.” No doses were delivered.

In a news release on Feb. 3, Medicago’s parent company Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation announced that the Canadian biopharmaceutical company would “cease all of its operations.”

The release cited changes to the COVID-19 vaccine landscape, global demand for the vaccines, and “Medicago’s challenges in transitioning to commercial-scale production.”

The “Responses to Questions” report said the Liberal cabinet “has committed over $9 billion to procure vaccines and therapeutics and to provide international support.”

It added that 189.7 million doses of COVID vaccines were delivered by the rest of the manufacturers to date.

Opposition MPs on the PACP have wanted to see the confidential terms detailed in the contracts with the seven vaccine manufacturers. The Liberals would only allow it if the MPs sign a non-disclosure agreement.

The OAG’s report noted that the Public Health Agency of Canada wasn’t successful in its efforts to minimize vaccine wastage.

“At the end of May 2022, there were 32.5 million doses in inventory, and using unclassified and public documentation, we estimated those doses to be worth about $1 billion,” the auditors wrote.

“The majority of those doses will expire by the end of 2022, resulting in more wastage if they are not used or donated soon.”

On Jan. 31, the federal government reported that 41.5 million vaccines were “deemed surplus.” They were donated to 36 countries including Mexico (3 million), Nigeria (2.65 million), Bangladesh (2.2 million), Uganda (1.9 million), and Rwanda (1.6 million).