The Trudeau government will be disposing of over 50% of the national supply of Covid-19 AstraZeneca shots as doses reach their expiry date.
Efforts to ship AstraZeneca vaccines to other countries or even healthcare providers within Canada were unsuccessful as the federal government couldn’t find any takers.
A total of 13.6 million doses have reached their expiry date and will be tossed into the garbage.
Despite promising that it would distribute 18 million doses to developing nations, Canada has only sent out 9 million to 21 countries.
Health Canada has cited low demand for the product. Currently in Canada, the Pfizer vaccine is the preferred shot used to prevent Covid-19 infection.
Although AstraZeneca has been authorized for use, only 2,812,562 doses have been administered to Canadians. In comparison 55,087,934 doses of the Pfizer shot have made their way into people’s arms.
The rollout of AstraZeneca faced several hurdles including an initial warning from the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) advising against the shot’s use for those aged 65-years-old or older. In their ruling, NACI cited limited information on the efficacy of the vaccine, however the warning was later revised and the vaccine found safe for that age group.
As exclusively reported by True North last year, multiple legacy media outlets refused to disclose the AstraZeneca funding of a University of Toronto professor despite citing him as an expert source promoting Covid-19 vaccination.
AstraZeneca Professor of Organic Chemistry Mark Lautens had his op-eds published in the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail without disclosing his association with the vaccine manufacturer.
“The return to vaccine shopping, linked to the arrival of millions of doses of Moderna and ever-changing advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) on AstraZeneca, sheds light on what happens when confused citizens start treating vaccines like shopping for your favourite luxury brand at Holt Renfrew,” Lautens wrote in a June 2021 op-ed.
“I would encourage shopping to help support businesses, not for vaccines. Please. For your sake. For the sake of others.”
