Question Period Note: Canada's Participation in the Covax Facility

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Canada remains a strong supporter of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, a global procurement mechanism that helps deliver fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Key Facts
• Canada announced its participation in the COVAX Facility in September 2020. Canada invested in COVAX to provide COVID-19 doses around the world, for people in Canada, and for people in middle- and low-income countries.
• Canada began donating its surplus COVID-19 vaccines, through COVAX and bilaterally, in late summer 2021.
• Including both COVAX donations and bilateral donations, 28.8 million of Canada’s donated doses have been delivered to 36 recipient countries.
If pressed on the breakdown of donated doses:
• Canada has donated at least 41.5 million doses deemed surplus from Canada’s domestic supply to COVAX. This includes:
o At least 10 million Moderna doses
o 9.8 million Janssen doses
o 21.7 million AstraZeneca doses, which includes approximately:
 17.7 million doses from our bilateral APA
 4.1 million doses from our COVAX APA
• Additionally, Canada has shared more than 3.76 million doses through direct, bilateral agreements with countries. This includes:
o 0.7 million AstraZeneca
o 3 million Pfizer doses
If pressed on the updated 41.5 million donation number:
• In 2021, Canada made contracted Novavax doses that were not required for future domestic use available to COVAX for donation. Recent developments in the contractual relationship between COVAX and Novavax may impact this donation.
• To prioritize transparency, Canada has adjusted the total surplus doses donated to COVAX to reflect this development.
If pressed on how many doses have been declared surplus:
• Canada has made available at least 41.5 million surplus doses to COVAX. Additionally, Canada has shared 3.7 million surplus doses directly with recipient countries through bilateral agreements.
If pressed on why doses delivered to COVAX were not delivered to recipient countries:
• In some instances, COVAX accepted doses for donation from Canada that the Facility was unable to allocate at country-level due to a number of factors. This led to the eventual expiry of these doses.
• We have and continue to work closely with COVAX and manufacturers to minimize wastage. This includes ensuring the longest possible shelf life on doses and reinforcing country health system capacity to deliver vaccines.
• In a pandemic some wastage is inevitable. This is due to complex factors like epidemiology, public health factors, and product requirements that are constantly evolving.
If pressed on expired doses offered to COVAX:
• Due to limited demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine and recipient country challenges with distribution and absorption of more than 21.7 million AstraZeneca doses offered to COVAX, only 8.2 million were accepted for donation, and 13.6 million doses could not be used and expired offshore.
• The 13.6 million doses that expired were offered to COVAX with full shelf life, and in some cases, before they were even manufactured. However, demand for the product diminished drastically as the doses were made available by the manufacturer and were consequently not accepted for donation by recipient countries.

Canada has committed close to $3.5 billion in international assistance in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic. This includes over $1.2 billion to the Access to COVID‑19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator vaccine pillar. Canada also committed to donate the equivalent of 200 million doses by the end of 2022. To date, Canada has donated the equivalent of 196 million doses. Canada is committed to sharing its surplus vaccine supply through the COVAX Facility to ensure an equitable and efficient allocation to the countries that need them most. In some circumstances, we also shared doses directly with recipient countries through bilateral agreements.
The COVAX Facility is a global pooled procurement mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines designed to foster equitable global vaccine access to help end the acute phase of the pandemic. It is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Canada has also provided $50 million CAD to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to support efforts to facilitate access to COVID-19 vaccines for those living in situations of vulnerability across the Caribbean and Latin America. Portions of this grant are being used to procure vaccine doses for countries through PAHO, which are in addition to Canada’s commitment to COVAX.
On June 22, 2022, Canada announced $200 million in funding for a new signature initiative. Canada's Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity (CanGIVE) is designed to support vaccine delivery and distribution, as well as health systems strengthening in 12 countries, most of them in Africa. On January 13, 2023, the Minister of International Development announced additional allocations to CanGIVE, bringing the total value of the program to $275 million. Through CanGIVE, Canada is partnering with UNICEF, the WHO, PAHO and Medicines Patent Pool.
In November 2022, Canada announced $15 million CAD to PAHO for Improving Manufacturing Capacities for Vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a larger CanGIVE funding envelope.

• Canada announced its participation in the COVAX Facility in September 2020. Canada invested in COVAX to provide COVID-19 doses around the world, for people in Canada, and for people in middle- and low-income countries.
• Canada began donating its surplus COVID-19 vaccines, through COVAX and bilaterally, in late summer 2021.
• Including both COVAX donations and bilateral donations, 28.8 million of Canada’s donated doses have been delivered to 36 recipient countries.