Alberta ordered by Health Canada to destroy COVID-19 vaccines
CTV
A spokesperson for Alberta Health says that as of Aug. 31, all old-strain COVID-19 vaccines are no longer available, but neither is the new formula.
A spokesperson for Alberta Health says that as of Aug. 31, all old-strain COVID-19 vaccines are no longer available, but neither is the new formula.
“To assist with the implementation of the newest COVID-19 vaccine formulation (KP.2) for the fall, the provinces and territories were directed by Health Canada to remove and destroy all current COVID-19 vaccine formulation(XBB) from all sites across their jurisdictions on August 31, 2024,” an Alberta Health statement said Wednesday.
Health Canada says their directive to provinces is that the swap should have happened so there is uninterrupted access to vaccines.
“The withdrawal of currently available COVID-19 XBB vaccines should be timed to align with authorization decisions of the new formulation vaccines to ensure Canadians have uninterrupted access to COVID-19 vaccines,” a Health Canada statement said.
The agency says it is reviewing submissions from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax for updated COVID-19 vaccines on an expedited basis.
There is no timeline on when the new vaccines will be rolled out here.
Alberta isn't the only province to begin removal of the vaccines, as Ontario's Ministry of Health revealed it was also ordered to take the COVID-19 XBB vaccines off the market.
