Canada pledged new money on Thursday to develop and eventually mass-produce vaccines in its fight against the coronavirus.
Canada’s 10 provinces have closed non-essential businesses and urged people to stay at home since mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that Ottawa would spend C$1.1 billion ($782 million) to bolster vaccine research, clinical trials and national testing.
The plan has three components:
$115 million for research into vaccines and treatments being developed in hospitals and universities.
$662 million for clinical trials in Canada.
$350 million to expand national testing and modelling for COVID-19.
“Once we’ve developed a vaccine, whether it be in Canada or elsewhere around the world, we’re going to need to produce it,” Trudeau said.
Noting a competitive global scramble to obtain personal protective equipment (PPE), Trudeau said: “Part of the investment we’re making … is to establish the capacity of developing vaccines and mass-producing vaccines here in Canada.”
A supplier of chemicals needed to test for coronavirus, France’s Biomérieux, has given its proprietary formula to Ottawa for free so its national lab can try to manufacture test kits.
Canada’s total coronavirus deaths rose to 2,028 on Thursday, up 8% from a day earlier, official data showed.
