By Caribbean News Global 
OTTAWA, Canada – Karina Gould, minister of international development, on Wednesday, announced that the government of Canada will share over 82,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Trinidad and Tobago via a bilateral agreement. These are doses that had already arrived in Canada, but are in excess of our domestic needs. Trinidad and Tobago was selected to receive these doses based on need and the country’s capacity to deploy them immediately, minimizing wastage, and maximizing the public health impact.
“Vaccinating the world against COVID-19 continues to be the best strategy to end the pandemic. By redirecting excess doses we do not need here in Canada, we are supporting global efforts to fight this virus, and ensuring vaccines get to those in need. Canadians know that no one is safe until everyone is safe,” said minister Gould.
These excess doses will be delivered to Trinidad and Tobago in the coming days, and the government of Trinidad and Tobago will manage the administration of the vaccines in accordance with manufacturing guidelines and public health best practices.
Vaccinating the world against COVID-19 is our best chance of ending the acute phase of the pandemic, because no one is safe until we are all safe. Canada is committed to doing its part to support equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines around the world, including supporting our regional partners in the Caribbean that have felt the impacts of the pandemic acutely, says Global Affairs Canada.
As announced by the prime minister at the G7 Summit on June 13, 2021, Canada’s $1.3 billion contribution to the ACT Accelerator, as part of the $2.5 billion that we have contributed to the global fight against the virus, is helping to provide 87 million vaccine doses to developing countries.
Contributions for regional partners
On July 12, 2021, Canada announced that it would be sharing an additional 17.7 million doses. These doses, distributed via the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), will help accelerate deliveries to low and lower-middle-income countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, while also helping priority countries in other regions.
“Canada will continue to prioritize the delivery of any potential excess doses through the COVAX AMC, as well as exploring other dose sharing options, as needed, to ensure vaccines get to those in need. Canada is also matching, dollar for dollar, donations made by individual Canadians to UNICEF Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination fundraising campaign, up to a maximum of $10 million,” stated Global Affairs Canada.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve worked to ensure every Canadian who wants a vaccine can get one. While we continue our vaccine rollout, we must also make sure the rest of the world has access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. Today’s donation to Trinidad and Tobago will provide excess doses to those most in need, protecting communities around the world,” said Patty Hajdu, minister of health.
