Health Canada approves use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Health  Canada is responsible for the country's federal health policy, overseen by the minister of health 

"The data provided support favourably the efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as well as its safety," the department said in its report authorizing the use.

"The efficacy of the vaccine was established to be approximately 95 percent. The vaccine was well tolerated by participants and has no important safety concerns. The benefit-to-risk assessment for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is considered favourable."

Canada, the third country in the world to authorize the vaccine, after the United Kingdom and Bahrain, is expected to receive 249,000 doses of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine by year's end,  primarily earmarked for long-term care home residents and the staff working there, said Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer on Dec 8.

The safety of vaccine use in the United States (US) would be decided on Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"We expect vaccines to arrive as early as Monday," said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander leading vaccination logistics at the national operations centre, and added that some Canadians could get their shots by mid-week.

Calling the Pfizer-BioNTech approval a "big deal",  Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking in question period on Dec 8  and added,

"It's a good news day for Canadians but we are not through this yet. We have a tough winter to go through," said Trudeau but urged Canadians to respect public health measures even as shots start to arrive.

The limited initial quantity of about 30,000 expected doses on Monday should be reserved for vulnerable elderly residents of long-term care and assisted living facilities, retirement homes, and chronic care hospitals, and the staff who care for them said the national advisory committee on immunization (NACI) last week.

After their immunization is complete, NACI said the next priority group should be all Canadians over the age of 80. The premiers of the provinces are in agreement, said Trudeau that the NACI guidelines should be followed and the most vulnerable should be first in line.

Trudeau is meeting with premiers virtually on Thursday over vaccine distribution, health care funding, and improving long-term care facilities on the agenda. 

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)