Health Canada approves Johnson and Johnson vaccine

OTTAWA – Health Canada is to announce approval of the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson and Johnson this morning, according to multiple sources aware of the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The federal regulator has found the evidence shows the vaccine is both safe and effective against the virus that causes COVID-19.

It is the fourth vaccine to be approved in Canada and the first and only one Canada has purchased that requires just a single dose.

The drug “can be transported at refrigerated temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius for at least three months, giving greater flexibility in how it can be distributed across Canada,” explained Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada.

The shot is approved for adults 18 and older.
Health Canada has found the Johnson and Johnson vaccine meets Canada’s stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements #cdnpoli

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) March 5, 2021

While the efficacy is a bit lower than the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca shots, experts say the Johnson & Johnson drug still provides a large amount of protection against the virus and will help get more people fully vaccinated quicker.

“In clinical trials, it was shown to be 66 per cent effective overall in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19. This exceeds the efficacy standards issued by Health Canada, the World Health Organization, and other major regulators, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” Sharma said, Friday.

Studies have also looked at the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s efficacy against some variants of concern currently circulating around the world. Sharma says resulting data has shown that, while “some minor differences were identified, the Janssen vaccine provided acceptable levels of efficacy in all regions against all variants tested.”

She notes Health Canada continues to work with manufacturers of all approved vaccines to assess the efficacy of their shots against variants.

Canada has pre-purchased 10 million doses of the vaccine, with the option to buy 28 million more.

Health Canada last week approved the AstraZeneca vaccine as well as a shot developed in India, which was produced in partnership with the aforementioned pharmaceutical company. Health Canada technically considers them two separate vaccines, which is why officials have been referring to the Johnson & Johnson shot as the fifth approved in Canada so far.

Canada has pre-purchased 10 million doses, with options to buy another 28 million.

Joelle Paquette, the director-general for vaccines at Public Services and Procurement Canada says any will flow of the vaccine to the country won’t come until at least April.

Alberta’s Health Minister was asked when that province can expect to receive the Johnson and Johnson doses.

“We’ve been provided with no information about shipments or amounts,” said Tyler Shandro. “We look forward to getting that information from the federal government so we can plan accordingly and understand how many more vaccines we will be able to provide to Albertans.”

-With files from Cormac Mac Sweeney