Health Canada has approved Moderna’s newly updated COVID-19 vaccine — and for the first time, the vaccines will be “made in Canada.”
The company says having the vaccine available from domestic manufacturers and suppliers creates a critical piece of health resilience to “ensure Canada is ready, not just reactive.”
“With this approval, for the first time ever, mRNA COVID-19 vaccine doses for Canadians will be made in Canada. That’s a remarkable milestone,” Stefan Raos, general manager at Moderna, says in an emailed statement sent to Global News.
“This matters for Canadians because COVID taught us that while viruses don’t respect borders, our ability to respond can often be impacted by them.”
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Moderna announced the federal regulator authorized its mRNA vaccine known as Spikevax, which the pharmaceutical company says targets the SARS-CoV-2 LP.8.1 variant circulating for fall vaccination.
Moderna also says the updated vaccine is on track to be available starting in time for the upcoming vaccination season.
These vaccines will be made in Canada via facilities in Cambridge, Ont., and Laval, Que.
“This year, all our pre-filled syringe COVID-19 vaccine doses for Canada are on track to be produced entirely within the country, starting at our new mRNA manufacturing facility in Laval, Quebec, and completed at our fill-finish partner in Cambridge, Ontario,” Raos says.
“This end-to-end domestic supply chain enables fast delivery, greater self-reliance, and a more agile response to evolving public health threats.”
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