AstraZeneca’s 1.5M COVID-19 shots from Baltimore plant are safe: Health Canada

Health Canada says that AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines produced in Baltimore plant — which was placed under investigation by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this month — are all safe and of “high quality.”

In a statement Sunday, the country’s health agency said that the 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines imported to Canada from Emergent BioSolutions’ Baltimore facility met quality specifications and were safe to use.

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The statement comes after AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines from the facility were halted by the FDA earlier this month in order to investigate an error that led to millions of doses of J&J’s vaccine being ruined in March.

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“Canadians can be assured that Health Canada is taking all necessary steps to ensure that any products coming from this facility will only be used if they are safe and effective,” read the statement.

Health Canada also verified that the 300,000 doses of the J&J vaccine, which are expected to come into Canada next week, do not come from the Baltimore facility.