According to an announcement made on September 16, Health Canada is slated to change the names of AstraZeneca Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines used in the country. The said renaming of the vaccines followed after the expiration of the Interim Order that approved them.
The top health agency recently granted complete approval to Moderna and Pfizer vaccines administered to individuals 12 years of age and up. While the review of the vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca will still be maintained, the COVISHIELD version will not be included any longer.
Based on Health Canada’s announcement, AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine will now be known as Vaxzevria, the one from Moderna will be referred to as Spikevax, and Pfizer’s is now called Comirnaty. This is because the top health agency’s full approval of the vaccines was realized after an exhaustive review of the clinical data provided by the pharmaceutical providers.
Moderna’s chief executive officer, Stéphane Bancel, expressed his gratitude for the approval of his company’s vaccine and related that it was an “important milestone” for the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
Vaccines lead at Pfizer Canada, Fabien Paquette, shared that Health Canada’s decision to grant full approval is an affirmation of “the efficacy and safety profile of our vaccine at a time when it is urgently needed.”
Expressing a similar sentiment, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, added that his company is working hard to “be prepared for potential emerging escape variants.”
