Government has hired five Canadian companies to deliver big quantities of dry ice to keep COVID-19 vaccines cold: Anita Anand

Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand says the government has hired five Canadian companies to deliver tens of thousands of kilograms of dry ice each week to keep COVID-19 vaccines cold.

She says provincial governments will be able to order dry ice on demand to make sure vaccines that have to be kept at low temperatures stay usable.

Anand says federal government has also ordered more than 400 freezers of various sizes and temperature capabilities.

Canada is still finalizing how many doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will arrive

Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada is still finalizing how many doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Canada and when.

She says she's expecting about 30,000 doses to arrive this week and another shipment next week.

The government has said just under 250,000 doses will arrive by the end of the year, which would mean a big boost in the supply arriving in the last week of December.

The Pfizer vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine approved in Canada so far.

Anand says every country is fighting for the same shots and she hopes to give a solid update within a few days.