Moderna Inc revealed on Tuesday it is planning to build a plant that will manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine in Canada.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said the facility is part of a deal made with the Canadian government.
The plant will be responsible for fulfilling Canada’s orders of the Covid vaccine, including boosters if they are approved by federal health authorities, and future vaccines made by Moderna for other respiratory viruses.
A location for the plant has yet to be decided but officials are hoping that construction will be completed by the end of 2024. It is unclear how much the plant will cost to build.
Moderna Inc is building a plant to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines and other shots in Canada as part of a deal with the government. Pictured: A medical worker holds a package of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, July 2021
A location for the plant has yet to be decided but officials are hoping that construction will be completed by the end of 2024 as the number of vaccinated Canadians continues to rise
‘We are excited to expand our presence and continue our long-term collaboration with Canada,’ said Patricia Gauthier, Moderna’s head of Canadian operations, in a statement.
‘With our industry-leading mRNA technology platform and rapid drug development capabilities, we look forward to being an active participant in Canada’s robust life sciences ecosystem.’
The plant will be built and operated by Moderna and will be nearly the same size as the company’s factory in Norwood, Massachusetts, which produces most of the two-dose vaccines, according to Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel.
Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said during a news conference in Montreal on Tuesday that Moderna is planning to spend ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ on the plant.
Champagne added that Canada has ordered a large number of doses already from the company, but did not provide additional details.
‘We didn’t choose the time of the pandemic, and it’s obvious we won’t choose the time of the next one, ‘ he said, according to Bloomberg.
‘But there’s one thing we can choose. That’s being better prepared and more resilient.’
Bancel said Modena is also discussing the idea of building plants elsewhere, particularly with countries in Europe and Asia.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, about 20 percent of Canadians have gotten the Moderna vaccine, which is second only to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
About 10 percent of Canadians have received at least one dose of the Moderna vaccine and eight percent are fully vaccinated.
The facility will be built and operated by Moderna and will be nearly the same size as the company’s factory in Norwood, Massachusetts. Pictured: A worker is seen in the preclinical manufacturing area at the Moderna facility in Norwood, May 2021
About 20% of all Canadians have been given the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, second only to the Pfizer vaccine
Canada’s reliance on Moderna and Pfizer for inoculating its population against COVID-19 has risen over the summer.
In June, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization said people who got the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as their first dose should get the Pfizer or Moderna shot for their second.
When the pandemic began, Canada did not have the capability to mass produce vaccines and was, therefore, relying on shots from other counties.
Because of this, The Great White North’s vaccine rollout was slow, but it has since picked up the pace.
As of Tuesday, 71.1 percent of the total population has received at least one dose and 59 percent are fully vaccinated.
Comparatively, 58.9 percent of the total U.S. population has received at least one shot and 50.3 percent have completed their vaccine series.
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