Canada confident in vaccine deliveries even if US blocks exports

OTTAWA/TORONTO: Canada is confident there will be no disruption of COVID-19 vaccine supplies even if the United States blocks their export, because vaccines are manufactured in several countries, a minister said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump's executive order is intended to ensure priority access for COVID-19 vaccines procured by the US government, ahead of other nations, senior administration officials said on Monday.

Asked about the impact of any executive order on those deliveries, a Canadian minister said Canada's purchases are not tied to any one manufacturing site, and noted that Pfizer Inc is manufacturing in Europe as well as the United States.

"We're very confident that Pfizer and other vaccine makers that are contractually obligated to deliver vaccine doses to Canada will be able to meet those obligations," said Dominic LeBlanc, minister of intergovernmental affairs.

Canada has reported 423,000 infections and nearly 13,000 deaths from the pandemic, along with record-high cases this winter.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said up to 249,000 doses of the vaccine Pfizer developed with German partner BionNTech SE would arrive this month, and a further 3 million doses should be delivered at the start of 2021.

"We are committed to honoring our agreements with the Government of Canada," said Pfizer Canada spokeswoman Christina Antoniou, in response to a question about the executive order. "We are a global company that prioritizes patients all over the world."

Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be the first to secure regulatory approval in Canada, though the country has signed supply deals with seven manufacturers.

Britons on Tuesday become the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine outside of clinical trials.

Manitoba, the Canadian province that has the third-highest rate of active cases after Alberta and Saskatchewan, despite strict conditions such as no household visits, extended those measures to early January.