Canada Is Giving 10 Million Vaccine Doses To Poorer Countries & Here's Why
These "excess" doses won't be needed in Canada, the Feds say.
The federal government announced on August 12 that they will be donating up to 10 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to other countries in need around the world.
According to a government news release, the donation is because of an "excess" in vaccine doses purchased that won't be needed in Canada.
The vaccines will be distributed through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility Dose Sharing mechanism, which will speed up the delivery of vaccines to countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and other poorer countries.
In total, Canada has committed $2.5 billion in response to the global COVID-19 crisis since the start of the pandemic.
Last December, a report from Amnesty International said that Canada had more doses than other countries and that it played a notable part in limiting those other countries from receiving vaccines.