QUEBEC –
The federal government has signed a new agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for flu vaccines.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos today announced the contract in Quebec City, a four-year pact to produce and deliver national pandemic flu vaccines with five one-year options to follow.
Canada has had an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for influenza vaccines since 2001.
Duclos says the deal includes an option to procure 80 million doses of flu vaccine in the event of a pandemic and a minimum of four million doses per year for use in publicly funded vaccination programs.
Historically, influenza pandemics have occurred every 11 to 40 years, the most recent being the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.
The first deliveries of flu vaccines for 2022 are scheduled for September and October.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 15, 2022.