Health Canada completed a full independent review of the data on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by Canada’s health agency and the first Canadians could start receiving it next week.<\/p>\n
In announcing the approval on Wednesday, Health Canada said it had completed a full independent review of the data on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, The New York Times<\/em> reported. Britain approved the vaccine earlier, but it was an emergency approval largely based on the Pfizer analysis.<\/p>\n Canada has ordered 6 million doses from Pfizer, and the first 249,000 doses are expected to arrive at 14 Canadian distribution centers next week, The Times<\/em> reported. The Health Canada approval of the vaccine — which requires two doses — is limited to people older than 16 years. The health agency wants more data from Pfizer before approving the vaccine for children.<\/p>\n Canada’s first shipment of the vaccine will come from plants in the United States and Belgium. Canadians could start receiving injections of the vaccine from U.S.-based Pfizer before Americans, The Times<\/em> reported. <\/p>\n