MORE VACCINE SUPPLY FEARS, AS EUROPE WARNS IT MAY LIMIT EXPORTS.

OTTAWA • New potential threats are coming to Canada’s already limited vaccine supply, as European countries consider limiting exports, as production from some pharmaceutical companies is failing to meet expectations.

Canada is receiving zero vaccines this week after drug giant Pfizer cut shipments from its plant in Belgium so the facility can undergo upgrades to ultimately produce more vaccines this year.

Pfizer’s shortfall has angered many European leaders, as has news from AstraZeneca that it will not be able to fulfil its commitments to the trade bloc. Some European leaders are now suggesting they will push for export restrictions.

“Europe invested billions to help develop the world’s first COVID-19 vaccines. To create a truly global common good,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum

“And now, the companies must deliver. They must honour their obligations,” the head of the EU executive added.

Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, supported EU proposals to introduce restrictions on COVID-19 vaccine exports, saying Europe should have its “fair share.”

“I can understand that there are production problems but then it must affect everyone in the same way,” Spahn told ZDF television.

The European Commission will finalize a proposal by the end of the week to require pharmaceutical firms to register their vaccine exports from the EU, and says it has no plans to impose an export ban.

EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the aim was merely to increase transparency.

In the face of new threats to vaccine supplies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he remains confident Canada will receive what it ordered and remains on track to vaccinate everyone who wants a vaccine by September.

“I’ve spoken with executives at both Pfizer and Moderna who assured me that we are very much continuing to be on track for receiving our full doses of vaccines,” he said. “It was very clear that the Canadian contracts that have been signed and the delivery schedule laid out will be respected.”

He said the Pfizer reductions were disappointing, but he has been assured they will be temporary.

“I can tell you that as of February 15, we will be back in the hundreds of thousands of Pfizer doses every single week,” he said.

Canada has yet to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine, but Trudeau said shipments will not be coming from Europe when they are approved.

Conservative Health Critic Michelle Rempel Garner said the Liberals should be transparent about what all of Canada’s vaccine contracts dictate.

“What I’m hearing from provincial colleagues, from health experts is the Liberals just need to be a bit more transparent with what’s actually going on,” she said. “I think the opaqueness is because we have not negotiated anything that is remotely resembling a good contract or a good deal for Canadians.”

In addition to the threat of export restrictions, some European countries have threatened to sue Pfizer or AstraZeneca for failing to deliver on time.

She said she wonders if Canada simply doesn’t have strong enough contracts.

“The federal Liberals here have not done that, so to me, that suggests that we did not negotiate favourable terms.”

Last week, the government pledged all Canadians would be vaccinated by September with a forecast that included only the currently approved Pfizer and Moderna candidates.

It also pledged the government could vaccinate much faster if some of the unapproved vaccines are green lit, with a forecast of 23 million people vaccinated by June and enough doses for 73 million people vaccinated by September.

The government declined to detail what went into that rosier prediction other than saying it included all of the candidates the government had ordered.

In a statement Public Services and Procurement Canada, said the more optimistic timeline was based on “our current knowledge of the status of ongoing clinical trials and notional delivery schedules of the approved Moderna and Pfizer vaccines as well as additional vaccine candidates.”

The department said that included AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which have started their review process with Health Canada, as well as Novavax, and Medicago, which have not.

“Precise details on delivery schedules are subject to change based on ongoing engagement with suppliers, the progress of clinical trials and regulatory reviews, as well as the scaling up of supply chains.”

OLIVIER MATTHYS / AP PHOTO Canada is receiving zero vaccines this week after drug giant Pfizer cut shipments from its plant in Belgium, pictured, so the facility can undergo upgrades to ultimately produce more vaccines this year.