Health Canada has approved the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, CBC News has learned.
Health officials will announce the approval at a media briefing today at 10 a.m. ET, multiple sources with knowledge of the approval confirmed.
The U.S. health-care giant’s vaccine is the fourth to be approved in Canada.
The approval is expected to provide a significant boost to Canada’s vaccine rollout. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is widely seen as one of the easiest to administer because it requires only one dose and can be stored for long periods of time at regular refrigerator temperatures.
Canada has ordered 10 million doses from Johnson & Johnson with options for up to 28 million more. Most of those shots are expected to arrive by the end of September.
Regulatory approval in this country follows similar approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday.
The FDA said Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine offers strong protection against serious illness, hospitalizations and death. One dose proved to be 85 per cent protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness in a global clinical trial spanning three continents.
More to come.