Liberals threw away nearly 53 million COVID vaccines at a cost of $1.59 billion

As of late November 2023, Canada's government had thrown away almost 53 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines at a cost of $1.59 billion. The number did not include vaccine doses donated to charities and sent out of the country.

“As additional vaccines were authorized for use in Canada, manufacturers increased production capacity and demand from Canadians decreased,” read a briefing note directed to Health Minister Mark Holland, as reported by Blacklock's Reporter. “Overall wastage increased. Additionally as new formulations have been authorized for use to address variants of concern, wastage of older formulations has increased.”

In 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government signed an agreement with vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer, securing millions of doses of COVID vaccines in a deal that concludes in 2024. 

The vaccine orders amount to four booster shots for the 21.8 million Canadians who are already fully vaccinated.

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The Pfizer deal included options for 30 million additional vaccines in 2022 and 2023, and an option for 60 million in 2024, The Canadian Press reported at the time. According to a 2022 Auditor General report, each vaccine cost about $30 per shot.

“The Public Health Agency does not intend to procure additional Covid-19 vaccines once firm contractual deliveries under existing Advance Purchase Agreements are completed at the end of the calendar year 2024 for messenger RiboNucleic Acid vaccines and in 2024 for non-mRNA vaccines,” the briefing note said, per Blacklock's.

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“Canadians expect us to be ready for whatever happens, and there is certainly a hope that booster shots might not be necessary,” Trudeau said in a 2021 televised address. “But we are much better off to ensure that we are prepared in case they are.”

As uptake started to wane, Health Canada pivoted away from the term “booster” and towards “up to date” in June 2022. “We will never be fully vaccinated against Covid-19,” said then-health minister Jean-Yves Duclos. “Like the virus, our immunity also evolves.”

Duclos was adamant that being “up to date” on vaccinations meant receiving a fresh jab every nine months.

Last fall, with health officials raising concerns over another wave of COVID-19, just 15% of Canadians aged five and up received an “updated” dose of a vaccine. That number included half of older, higher-risk individuals who declined to seek another injection.