Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have been granted full approval for anyone 12 years of age or older.
Pfizer was the first shot to be authorized in Canada on December 9, 2020, after clinical data showed it did in fact protect against COVID-19.
With this approval comes a renaming of both the vaccines, though they will still have the same formulation and be considered interchangeable by Health Canada.
Pfizer will now be referred to as Comirnaty and Moderna will be called Spikevax.
“Based on the longer-term follow-up data that we submitted, today’s decision by Health Canada affirms the efficacy and safety profile of our vaccine at a time when it is urgently needed,” said Fabien Paquette, Pfizer Canada’s Vaccine Lead. “While a significant number of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated, there is still much work to be done as infection and hospitalization rates continue to rise across the country, primarily among unvaccinated populations.”
BioNTech has shipped more than 1.4-billion vaccines worldwide.
84.1 per cent of the Canadian population 12 and up have received at last one dose of Health Canada approved vaccine.
