15.71°C Vancouver 15.71°C Vancouver
Dec 10, 2020 1:07 AM -
Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, paving the way for vaccinations to begin countrywide next week. Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser to Health Canada, says the authorization follows a science and evidence-based review.
Sharma says there's no significant evidence of severe adverse reactions to the shot.
Dr. Sharma says she and other health officials are amazed at the accomplishment in such a short time.
Supriya Sharma says they are making the approval process as open and transparent as possible by publishing the technical information for each vaccine on the government's main COVID-19 website.
The first shipment of vaccine is set to arrive next week.
It requires people to receive two doses each.
