(OTTAWA) Canada’s chief public health officer says negotiations are underway to secure more monkeypox vaccines to reduce outbreaks, as the toll of confirmed cases reaches 278 nationwide. countries, including 202 in Quebec.
Posted at 4:11 p.m.
Theresa Tam said on Thursday that “discussions and contract negotiations were underway” to obtain doses from Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic, maker of a smallpox vaccine that is also approved to fight monkeypox.
Dr. Tam said current doses in Canada come from the national emergency strategic stockpile, for targeted use in high-risk areas.
These target regions include Quebec, where more than 7,000 people have received vaccines, but also Ontario, where Dr. Tam estimates that approximately 5,000 people have been vaccinated against this monkeypox.
The chief medical officer of health says provinces have the supplies they need right now, but federal officials are keeping a close eye on areas that would start to see their supplies run low.
Dr. Tam says as of Wednesday, 202 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported in Quebec, 67 in Ontario, five in Alberta and four in British Columbia.
The majority of confirmed cases are men between the ages of 20 and 69, and the majority of them have had sex with other men, although the risk of monkeypox is not exclusive to any group, behavior or background. .
Dr Tam reminded that anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, could be infected if they are in close contact with an infected person or if they come into contact with personal objects belonging to a person. infected, including towels or sheets.
Pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic said earlier this month that the Public Health Agency of Canada had signed a five-year, US$56 million contract to purchase its Imvamune vaccine. Deliveries were to begin in 2023.
Dr. Tam would not specify the quantity of doses that remain in the reserves of Canada, but she assures that the provinces which currently carry out vaccinations “have what they need”.
“We have had very close bilateral discussions with the provinces in terms of procurement, as they begin to draw on the supply allocated to them,” she said Thursday. Of course, discussions and contract negotiations continue with Bavarian Nordic, the manufacturer, to receive more. »