Trudeau says news on coronavirus vaccine is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’

By David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc’s announcement that its investigational COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective is “very encouraging” and Canada is seeking more doses of it, Canadian Prime Minister Justin said on Monday Trudeau.

“We hope that a vaccine will arrive early next year. We see a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said at a press conference. Canada has reached an agreement with Pfizer for a minimum of 20 million doses.

The doses could be distributed in the first quarter of next year to high priority groups, Trudeau said. Canada could receive the vaccine after the United States and Britain, but around the same time as the European Union and others, a government source said.

Although Trudeau said other vaccine candidates should work well, he said Canada is seeking more doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE.

“As for Pfizer, I know we got several million doses… and obviously if that works, we’ll buy more when they become available,” he said. Trudeau added that there were logistical problems with the distribution of the vaccine, as it had to be stored at very low temperatures.

“We do not have the infrastructure in place currently to store the vaccine, but I am confident it will be in place by January,” said the government source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. . “We won’t be able to get supplies to all pharmacies, certainly not immediately.”

As is the case in many countries, a second wave of the novel coronavirus is sweeping across Canada, setting daily records for new infections. Canada has so far recorded 264,113 cases and 10,522 deaths, forcing some provinces to reimpose restrictions on gatherings and travel.

“We have to hang in there – the next few months are crucial,” Trudeau said. Canada has entered into agreements with a number of large companies to access up to 358 million doses of their vaccine candidates.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and Grant McCool)