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Canada signs deals with Pfizer, Moderna to get doses of COVID-19 vaccines

Earlier in July both Pfizer and Moderna reported positive results from smaller trials
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FILE - This March 16, 2020 file photo shows vials used by pharmacists to prepare syringes used on the first day of a first-stage safety study clinical trial of the potential vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine test got underway Monday, July 27 with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers. The experimental vaccine is made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., and it’s one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Canada is signing deals with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and U.S.-based biotech firm Moderna to procure millions of doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccines.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand is announcing the deals this morning in Toronto, which will see Canada get access to the vaccines if they prove to be both safe and effective.

Both companies began Phase 3 clinical trials of their vaccine candidates in the last week, large-scale tests to determine how well the vaccines work.

Earlier in July both Pfizer and Moderna reported positive results from smaller trials.

The Phase 3 trials will both test the vaccines on 30,000 people, and results are expected in the fall.

Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam warned Tuesday about expecting a vaccine to provide a quick end to the pandemic, saying they provide hope but likely no silver bullet for the novel coronavirus.

READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccine efforts provide hope but no silver bullet to stop pandemic, Tam says

READ MORE: 30% of British Columbians would ‘wait and see’ before taking COVID vaccine, poll suggests

The Canadian Press


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