(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday that Canada will buy 40 million doses of a vaccine being developed by Moderna over the next two years.
Mr Trudeau announced the agreement on his Twitter account.
The agreement could be extended until 2024, giving the federal government the opportunity to obtain a total of 65 million doses, if needed.
Earlier this week, the company signed a letter of understanding with the federal government to build a production plant and research and development center in an unselected Canadian city.
The financial contribution Canada has made to assist Moderna in the implementation of this project is unknown.
Canada has already purchased enough doses to vaccinate any eligible person in the country, but the vaccination campaign has faltered in recent weeks.
The federal government is urging everyone to get the appropriate vaccination against COVID-19. Canada’s chief public health official, Dr.Re Theresa Tam claimed that the fourth wave of the epidemic is already underway.
This wave is mainly rooted in the delta variant, which is much more contagious. considered dRe Tam argued that the vast majority of new cases end up in unvaccinated sections of the population.
“Nationally, we have more than 13,000 active cases, more than double what we had two weeks ago,” she lamented.
According to data from Health Canada and Canadian provinces, nearly 22 million doses have not been delivered in Canada. This includes a national reserve of nearly 10 million doses.
About 23.6 million Canadians – about 71.3 of the population aged 12 or older – have been adequately vaccinated.