Canada to donate 17.7 mln AstraZeneca vaccine doses under COVAX scheme
TORONTO, July 12 (Reuters) - Canada will donate 17.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries through COVAX, the global vaccine sharing system, the country's procurement minister said on Monday.
Canada, which reserved enough doses to vaccinate its population of 38 million five times over, had secured the AstraZeneca doses under an advance purchase agreement but no longer needs them after administering millions of other vaccines, mainly doses from Pfizer and Moderna that shipped first.
The federal government has distributed more than 50 million vaccine doses to its residents, and millions more are expected to be donated this month.
Nearly 70% of the country has received at least one dose.
COVAX was planned as a joint buying program that would ensure vaccines go to the people who needed them the most all over the world. But it struggled to secure early deliveries as rich countries like Canada signed large procurement deals with many different vaccine makers, and so far has shipped only about 106 million doses, after aiming to deliver 2 billion this year.
"This contribution is possible because of the government's proactive approach to secure a supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses, meeting Canada's needs," said the release.
Canada also said it would match up to C$10 million ($8.04 million) in donations made by individual Canadians to a UNICEF Canada vaccination fundraising campaign, to fund the delivery of vaccines in lower income countries. ($1 = 1.2440 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Allison Martell Editing by Marguerita Choy)
