Health Canada to soon announce approval of anti-viral COVID treatments
Posted January 12, 2022 3:39 pm.
Last Updated January 12, 2022 5:08 pm.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says he’s expecting an announcement from Health Canada very soon on the approval of anti-viral treatments for COVID-19.
The government has signed up for an initial one million courses of anti-viral treatment from Pfizer once Health Canada endorses the pill’s safety and efficacy.
Speaking on Wednesday, Duclos confirmed he’s been in talks with the provinces and territories.
“I have had several discussions with my provincial and territorial health colleagues over the last few weeks to make sure when and if the treatment by Pfizer is approved, we’ll be able to move swiftly to get that treatment out across Canada,” Duclos said.
In early December, it was revealed that the country had purchased up to 1.5 million courses of oral anti-viral treatments for COVID-19 in anticipation of them being approved by Health Canada.
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Canada has also purchased 500,000 courses of Merck’s oral anti-viral treatment for COVID-19, with the option to acquire another 500,000 once Health Canada approves the drug. Behind an investigational COVID-19 anti-viral medication, Merck has signed a deal to make its drug in Canada.
Dr. Alon Vaisman, infectious disease and infection control physician with the University Health Network (UHN), said anti-virals could be used to treat a condition before getting it, in the early stages, or when a patient needs to be hospitalized.
On Dec. 22, health regulators in the U.S. authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster, cheaper way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be minimal.
U.S. health experts say Pfizer’s drug is likely to be the preferred option because of its mild side effects and superior effectiveness, including a nearly 90 per cent reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get a severe disease.
The pills from both Pfizer and Merck are expected to be effective against Omicron because they don’t target the spike protein where most of the variant’s worrisome mutations reside.
Health experts agree that vaccination remains the best way to protect against COVID-19.
With files from Dilshad Burman of CityNews and The Associated Press
