(Ottawa) New Minister of Public Services and Procurement Filomena Tassi has made her first purchases: oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19, of which Canada has obtained approximately 1.5 million doses, in addition to having secured an option for 500,000 additional tablets.
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Melanie Marquis Press
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The federal government has entered into agreements with the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer (1 million doses) and Merck (500,000 tablets, with the possibility of getting their hands on 500,000 additional doses). In doing so, Canada is endowing itself with “another important tool in its toolbox,” said Minister Tassi at a press conference on Friday.
Filomena Tassi, Minister of Public Services and Supply, and Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health
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The two treatments have not yet obtained the seal of approval from Health Canada, but “as soon as they are approved”, they will be shipped to the provinces and territories, said with him the Minister of Health, Jean- Yves Duclos, who had given notice to his provincial and territorial partners last Tuesday evening.
This does not change the fact that vaccination is “decisive” in the fight against COVID-19, but it remains “vital that everyone in Canada have access to potential treatments”, pleaded the minister.
Minister Jean-Yves Duclos explained that these oral treatments were more practical than the other drugs available, administered intravenously.
“There are antiviral drugs that exist at the moment, but these are intravenous treatments, which must be given in a hospital context, and that is complicated for the patient, it is also complicated for the hospital – we know the difficult conditions in which nurses and doctors work, ”he said.
Reduced risk of hospitalization
Merck filed an application for authorization for its product, molnupiravir, on August 13 with Health Canada. As for the manufacturer Pfizer, it presented its dossier for its tablets (a combination of paxlovid and ritonavir) on 1is last december. In both cases, several doses should be taken over a few days.
According to the results of clinical trials currently under study, these pills significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization for people who contract COVID-19, whether they are vaccinated or not, because they lessen the severity of the disease.
In the United States, last Tuesday, a committee of experts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light to Merck’s treatment, but narrowly, by 13 votes to 10. The drugs will not, however, end up on tablets prior to FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approval.
The UK authorized it urgently for adults about a month ago, however, becoming the first country to do so.
Merck plans to produce 10 million treatments by the end of 2021, and at least 20 million in 2022.
“My department is working with manufacturers to procure more tests. And I can confirm that the existing contracts give us the flexibility to ensure that we can cope with any increase in demand, ”she said.
–
–
Melanie Marquis
Press
–
The federal government has entered into agreements with the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer (1 million doses) and Merck (500,000 tablets, with the possibility of getting their hands on 500,000 additional doses). In doing so, Canada is endowing itself with “another important tool in its toolbox,” said Minister Tassi at a press conference on Friday.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Filomena Tassi, Minister of Public Services and Supply, and Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health
–
The two treatments have not yet obtained the seal of approval from Health Canada, but “as soon as they are approved”, they will be shipped to the provinces and territories, said with him the Minister of Health, Jean- Yves Duclos, who had given notice to his provincial and territorial partners last Tuesday evening.
This does not change the fact that vaccination is “decisive” in the fight against COVID-19, but it remains “vital that everyone in Canada have access to potential treatments”, pleaded the minister.
Minister Jean-Yves Duclos explained that these oral treatments were more practical than the other drugs available, administered intravenously.
“There are antiviral drugs that exist at the moment, but these are intravenous treatments, which must be given in a hospital context, and that is complicated for the patient, it is also complicated for the hospital – we know the difficult conditions in which nurses and doctors work, ”he said.
Reduced risk of hospitalization
Merck filed an application for authorization for its product, molnupiravir, on August 13 with Health Canada. As for the manufacturer Pfizer, it presented its dossier for its tablets (a combination of paxlovid and ritonavir) on 1is last december. In both cases, several doses should be taken over a few days.
According to the results of clinical trials currently under study, these pills significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization for people who contract COVID-19, whether they are vaccinated or not, because they lessen the severity of the disease.
In the United States, last Tuesday, a committee of experts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light to Merck’s treatment, but narrowly, by 13 votes to 10. The drugs will not, however, end up on tablets prior to FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approval.
The UK authorized it urgently for adults about a month ago, however, becoming the first country to do so.
Merck plans to produce 10 million treatments by the end of 2021, and at least 20 million in 2022.
More tests
While, on the other hill, the Minister of Health of Quebec, Christian Dubé, communicated a little earlier the intention of the government to distributing 10 million rapid screening tests by the holiday season, Minister Tassi assured that the federal government continued to keep an eye on the supply of tests.
“My department is working with manufacturers to procure more tests. And I can confirm that the existing contracts give us the flexibility to ensure that we can cope with any increase in demand, ”she said.
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