Canada: "No supply disruption even if US restricts COVID vaccine exports... Vaccinations may start as early as next week"

Pfizer Vaccine Under Review by Health Authorities... Approval Expected This Week
"No Contract Issues with Pfizer Despite America First Vaccine Supply"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Canadian government has stated that there will be no disruption in vaccine supply despite the export restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines announced by U.S. President Donald Trump through an executive order. The Canadian government plans to begin vaccinations as early as next week after swiftly approving the Pfizer vaccine.

According to local media including Canada's CBC on the 8th, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's Minister of the Interior, said in an interview with CBC, "I am confident that Pfizer can fulfill its COVID-19 vaccine supply commitments," adding, "There is no reason to believe there will be any disruption in the supply of Pfizer vaccines in any way." He further emphasized, "The production facilities accessible under the contract are not located on just one continent."

This statement is interpreted as an emphasis that the vaccine supply will not be affected despite the U.S. Trump administration's export restrictions on vaccines. Earlier that day, President Trump announced at a White House briefing that he had signed an executive order requiring U.S. companies to guarantee priority vaccination for Americans before exporting vaccines overseas.

On the same day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also stated in a press briefing, "If health authorities approve this week, the first vaccinations will begin next week." Canada has agreed to receive 249,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this month and has also contracted to purchase 40 million doses of Moderna's vaccine, signaling its active efforts to secure vaccines.

CBC reported that while the Canadian government is reluctant to publicly disclose the production site of the Pfizer vaccines to be supplied to Canada, a government official said that most of the doses are expected to be shipped from a factory in Belgium. It was also reported that the government's rehearsals and training for large-scale vaccine delivery and distribution are being conducted on the assumption that Pfizer's first shipments will depart from Belgium. A Pfizer spokesperson also told CBC, "We respect the agreement made with Canada."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.