Coronavirus vaccine to arrive in Canada in 'a few days', says PM Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that first doses of coronavirus vaccine will arrive in the country in a matter of days. He was speaking with reporters. His comments came just a day after Canada's health regulators granted emergency approval Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. 30,000 doses will arrive in Canada in the beginning.

"The first 30,000 doses are expected to arrive on Canadian soil in just a few days," said Trudeau.

He said that the federal government will cover the cost of the vaccine. He also said that his government will create a federal vaccine support program to address the unintended adverse effects of vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

Canada is expected to receive up to 249,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech before the end of December, which will allow up to 124,500 Canadians to be vaccinated before the end of the year, Trudeau said on Monday.

Public health officials say the plan is to vaccinate 40 to 50 percent of Canadians by next summer and complete the COVID-19 immunization program by September 30, 2021. As of Tuesday, Canadian authorities have reported over 440,000 coronavirus cases and more than 13,000 virus-related fatalities.

(With Reuters inputs)