Canada recommends AstraZeneca vaccine despite U.S. criticism of trial data

OTTAWA - Canada on Tuesday said the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe and will continue to be recommended for use despite criticism from U.S. health officials of the drugmaker's analysis of the shot's efficacy, health officials said.

"The message is that the efficacy and the safety of the vaccine have been shown," senior Health Canada official Marc Berthiaume told reporters. "It continues to be beneficial for Canadians to prevent COVID-19." Deliveries of coronavirus vaccines are ramping up in Canada, with some 2 million doses of the Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc vaccines coming in this week. The United States has said it is sharing 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with Canada as early as this week.