Justin Trudeau says that Canada will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for everyone by the end of September

Two vaccines have so far been approved for use in Canada, from manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna. Both require two doses per person.

The government’s agreements with the two companies mean that the country will be receiving 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of September, enough for every Canadian adult who wants a vaccine.

The news comes as some of the larger provinces have been urging Ottawa to get vaccines to them faster.

Federal Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand said in Ottawa Tuesday that vaccine manufacturers have expressed concern that the provinces are not using the vaccines that they do have as soon as possible.

“They’re…concerned when they see that vaccines are not being utilized, vaccines that have been delivered are in freezers,”Anand said.

She said she’s also heard concerns from the manufacturers regarding some provinces’ plans to not follow the two-dose schedule as specified by the companies and approved by Health Canada.

Pfizer says its vaccine requires a second dose to be given 21 days after the first for maximum protection against COVID-19, and Moderna says its vaccine requires a second dose one month after the first.

Quebec, for example, proposed further delaying the provision of the second Pfizer dose in order to vaccinate as many people as possible.

“At the current time, what I am hearing from (the manufacturers) is the importance of sticking to this recommended schedule and the greater the provinces and territories do that, the stronger position that I have at the negotiating table in pushing for earlier and earlier deliveries,” Anand said.

“In our negotiations with the vaccine manufacturers, they of course are concerned when the recommended doses based on their clinical trials are not being followed,” she said.

“So these are the two points that have come up in my discussions with them: One, they would like see all jurisdictions following the recommendations based on the science, and two, they would like to see doses used as soon as possible.”

A Pfizer Canada spokesperson did not confirm that the company has expressed concerns to the federal government over vaccine delays, saying in a statement:

“We’re all in agreement that nobody wants vaccines sitting in freezers and not being used unless it’s part of the roll out plan for the second doses within the recommended schedule. Pfizer’s primary concern remains with respecting the dosing interval authorized by Health Canada (two doses administered 21 days apart).”

The company said it recognized that recommendations “on alternative dosing intervals reside with health authorities and may include adapting public health recommendations in reaction to evolving circumstances during a pandemic,” but that it’s “important to us that the dosing interval authorized by Health Canada is followed.”

Moderna did not return the Star’s request for comment Tuesday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford repeated his warning last week that health authorities in the province are running out of vaccines and called on Health Canada to approve a vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca that is making its way through the regulatory process at Health Canada.

Ford and several other premiers including Alberta’s Jason Kenney and Quebec’s François Legault have accused Ottawa of being too slow in supplying them with vaccines.

The federal government recently published a schedule showing how many vaccines each province and territory can expect to receive weekly until the end of February.

Anand said in Ottawa Tuesday that the federal government continues to negotiate for earlier deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines from the manufacturers.

As one example, she pointed out that Canada is now expected to receive an additional 2 million Pfizer doses in the second quarter of 2021 that were originally scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter.

With files from Alex Ballingall