Canada could donate excess AstraZeneca COVID-19 doses to other countries, Anand suggests

Procurement Minister Anita Anand tells guest host of The West Block Mike Le Couteur that conversations are happening right now about what to do with millions more doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine set to arrive over the coming months. Those arrivals come as some provinces have paused the use of the vaccine over extremely rare blood clots that can occur in some individuals after getting the shot, but as global demand for vaccines remains high and cases continue to soar around the world. “We have committed to donating excess doses,” Anand said. “Our prime minister has mentioned this, I have, and [International Development Minister Karina] Gould and [Health Minister Patty] Hajdu are all on the same page in terms of the need to donate excess doses that Canadians aren’t using, so we are thinking of all of the options relating to any excess doses.”