Canada To Return J&J COVID-19 Vaccines As Federal Gov't, Provinces Mull Campaign's Future

(@FahadShabbir)

Canada to Return J&J COVID-19 Vaccines as Federal Gov't, Provinces Mull Campaign's Future

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2021) Canada will return a shipment of coronavirus vaccine doses produced by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals to the company after it was deemed inadmissible by public health officials, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said on Tuesday.

On Friday, Canadian health officials determined that the vaccine doses from the East Baltimore facility, which had previously produced a faulty batch earmarked for the US vaccination regime, did not meet the country's regulatory requirements and decided not to authorize the doses for use in the country.

"It will be given back to the company," Tam told reporters when asked what would happen to the inadmissible shipment, adding that the decision concerning the subsequent use of the doses would be made by the company.

Canadian officials stress that J&J will have to compensate Ottawa for the faulty batch.

However, according to Tam, it is now unclear how the J&J vaccine fits into Canada's vaccination regime. Canada, where over 75 percent of residents have received their first dose, is running low on individuals who are expected to receive their first dose, Tam said, noting that the country has an abundant supply of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Canada's chief medical officer added that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is engaged in talks with the provinces concerning their interest in accepting J&J vaccine doses.

Canada received its first shipment of 300,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses - manufactured at the same East Baltimore Emergent BioSolutions facility currently under investigation - at the end of April.