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Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine became the second jab to be approved by regulatory agency Health Canada on Wednesday, December 23. The vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94.5 per cent and can be administered among people above 18 years of age.
In an official statement, the health agency announced that US-based biotechnology firm Moderna had submitted the review of its COVID jab on October 12, 2020. Following an independent review on efficacy and quality requirements of the doses, the agency cleared the vaccine for public administration. The set of detailed documents summarizing the findings and “full clinical trial data package” will be released in the coming weeks, added Health Canada.
@Kalkine Image 2020
Canada has already rolled out Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine and an inoculation drive is currently underway across the country.
Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine, which needs to be stored in specialized freezers, Moderna vaccine can be stored at -20 degrees Celsius and shipped at temperatures between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (home freezer). Moreover, the doses can stay at room temperature for nearly a month.
The easy handling requirements of Moderna vaccine will allow its distribution to “isolated and remote communities, including the territories”, said the agency.
Once released in the market, both Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada will monitor the effectiveness of the vaccine and its safety closely.
As per preliminary details, Canada is expecting delivery of at least 168,000 doses of Moderna vaccines. These are likely to be rolled out by the end of this month.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine can be injected among adults of 18 years of age. Studies for administration among children aged 12 or above are currently underway.
Moderna aims to deliver 100 million and 125 million vaccine doses by first quarter of 2021.
Canada has reported a 521,509 COVID cases till date, including 93 deaths. A total of 6,195 cases were reported on December 22.
