Canada's Coronavirus Vaccine Trials Delayed Due to Chinese Reluctance

Strategic Insights -

Canada's hopes for having one of the earliest coronavirus vaccines available have been significantly delayed due to China's reluctance to approve the shipment of a candidate vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics, Inc. Dr. Scott Halperin, director of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, had been optimistic about the potential of the vaccine, which had already shown promising results in China and was set to be tested at the CCfV. However, with strained diplomatic relations between Canada and China, the Chinese government has withheld approval for CanSino to ship the vaccine samples to Canada, effectively setting back the country's vaccine trials by several months.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University in Halifax was set to conduct clinical trials on a coronavirus vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics, Inc., but due to China's reluctance to approve the shipment of the vaccine samples, the trials have been delayed by several months.
  • Dr. Scott Halperin, director of the CCfV, had been collaborating with CanSino and was optimistic about the potential of the vaccine, which had already shown promising results in China and was a candidate for being one of the first available for use in Canada.
  • The National Research Council (NRC) had a partnership with CanSino to develop the vaccine, but has now decided to move on to more likely candidates, effectively ending the collaboration with CanSino.
  • The NRC will now focus on working with two other promising vaccine candidates, one from VBI Vaccines in Massachusetts and the other from the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre.
  • Dr. Halperin emphasized that the delay is frustrating but not catastrophic, as other vaccine candidates are still being studied and could potentially be part of the coronavirus solution.

Statistics:

  • The delays in the vaccine trials have set back Canada's availability of a coronavirus vaccine by several months.
  • The Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University was set to conduct clinical trials on the vaccine, which could have been one of the first available for use in Canada.
  • The National Research Council has decided to move on to more promising vaccine candidates from other manufacturers.
  • The NRC will now focus on working with two other vaccine candidates, one from VBI Vaccines and the other from the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre.

Sources:

  • The Canadian Press
  • Dr. Scott Halperin, Director of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University in Halifax.