E-Paper
AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, says Canadian PM Trudeau
Canada has so far imported 500,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine under the brand name of Covishield, manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asserted that AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is “both safe and effective”. His position on the vaccine’s safety comes even as several countries, including France, Germany and Italy, have suspended its use due to fears of blood clotting and similar side effects.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called upon governments around the world to continue vaccinating people with the Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs since, it insisted, it’s not yet proven that the vaccine indeed causes blood clots.
Canada has so far imported 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the brand name of Covishield, manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII).
Asked about the alarm in Europe during a media interaction in Montreal on Monday, Trudeau said, “Health Canada and our experts have spent an awful lot of time making sure every vaccine approved in Canada is both safe and effective.”
He also said that Canadian health authorities were monitoring developments related to a batch of AZ shots in Europe, but added that the “best vaccine for you to take is the very first one that is offered to you”.
That viewpoint was echoed by Canada’s chief public health Officer, Theresa Tam. In a statement released by her office, she said Health Canada was aware of the reports of adverse events in Europe following immunisation, but “would like to reassure Canadians that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks. At this time, there is no indication that the vaccine caused these events”.
“None of the batches of the vaccine under investigation in Europe were shipped to Canada,” she pointed out, adding the government was working with regulators in Europe, including the European Medicines Agency, “to determine whether there is any need to take action in Canada”.
The 500,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine available in Canada now had arrived in Toronto on March 3. A deal has been signed with Greater Toronto Area-based Verity Pharmaceuticals for a total shipment of two million doses.
The delivery of the Covishield jabs has already commenced in some parts of Canada.
While the national advisory committee on immunisation had originally advised against the use of the vaccine on those over 65 years of age, the news outlet CBC reported that those guidelines are likely to be updated on Tuesday and it will recommend the vaccine also be provided to those over that age.
