e-3871 (Health)

The Government of Canada’s priority is to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Canada’s vaccine procurement strategy has been based on negotiating a broad and diverse COVID-19 vaccine portfolio to ensure sufficient supply for everyone in the country, while mitigating risks of supply disruptions. Vaccine development is a complex process, requiring vigorous research and testing in order to develop a safe and effective product. When the pandemic started, it was not known which vaccines would ultimately be effective against the virus, or when they would be available. Experts therefore advised the Government of Canada to secure many different types of vaccines to ensure the best chance for success. This includes protein sub-unit, virus-like particle and viral vector based vaccines, in addition to mRNA vaccines.

Canada’s vaccine portfolio has proven to be a success in terms of assuring a range of mRNA and non-mRNA options, which were made available to provinces and territories on a per-capita allocation basis as they became available. Vaccination remains the most important tool in preventing serious illness from COVID-19 infection. In addition to the vaccines, Health Canada prioritized the authorization of several COVID-19 treatments such as monoclonal antibodies and antivirals. All drugs require Health Canada authorization before they are used to vaccinate or treat anyone in Canada, and undergo a rigorous regulatory process to ensure their efficacy and safety. Health Canada reviews all drug applications, including those for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, through an independent process and authorizes products based on scientific rigour and medical evidence. All COVID-19 submissions were reviewed on a priority basis by a dedicated scientific team. Information on all of the authorized vaccines and treatments can be found on the COVID-19 vaccines and treatments portal: https://vaccin-covid.canada.ca/. In addition to the authorized products, Health Canada is currently reviewing a number of applications and working with sponsors to ensure that products are available to meet evolving needs such as new variants. Information on COVID-19 products under review can be found here: Drug and vaccine authorizations for COVID-19: Applications received - Canada.ca.

Post-market surveillance is an essential part of the Government of Canada's ongoing monitoring to ensure the continued quality, safety, and effectiveness of all vaccines and other health products that are in use in Canada. Following authorization, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) collaborate closely to monitor reports of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with all vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, in Canada. AEFI information is part of the Canada Vigilance Program, and is published weekly on the Government of Canada website (COVID-19 vaccine safety: Biweekly report on side effects following immunization - Canada.ca).

Recommendations in terms of the usage of vaccines are made by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), an external advisory body that provides independent, expert advice to PHAC. Provinces and territories ultimately decide how to use vaccines in their jurisdictions.

The Government of Canada manages vendor relationships through advanced purchase agreements to maintain access to a diverse mix of COVID-19 products to meet the evolving needs in Canada. These agreements provide flexibility and access to new formulations that may be developed. The government maintains an arms-length relationship with manufacturers in terms of which technology platforms that they use.

Although vaccines and other public health measures remain the best defense against becoming infected, there are increasingly other options available to Canadians. The Government of Canada has pursued a robust COVID-19 therapeutics procurement strategy as an additional tool to fight COVID-19. PHAC had made over 2.6 million treatment courses available to provincial and territorial health care systems so people across Canada have access to safe and effective treatments.