UPDATE: Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says Canada is lagging behind other countries when it comes to booster dose uptake.
He is urging those who haven’t received a third dose to get one ahead of what may be a "challenging" fall.
"Over the next weeks as our children return to school, or we return to the office, making an appointment for a booster dose should be at the top of our to-do lists," Duclos adds.
780,000 doses of Moderna's new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive on Friday, with more than 10 million expected by the end of September.
The original article follows:
Health Canada has authorized the use of Moderna's Omicron-targeting bivalent COVID-19 vaccine in individuals aged 18 years and older.
The "Spikevax Bivalent" booster dose is an updated version Moderna's original mRNA vaccine, and targets both the original strain of COVID-19 as well as the Omicron variant.
The Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus has been widely circulating in Canada since November 2021.
A technical briefing with Public Health Agency of Canada officials will be followed by an announcement from Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos later today.
This is a breaking news story. More to come.
