Canada approves AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Canada’s drug regulator authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine on Friday for adults aged 18 and older.

Health Canada announced that it has authorized two versions of the vaccine, one that the company made in partnership with Oxford University and another version manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is the third that Canada has authorized for use. The nation authorized vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna in December.

Canada signed an agreement with British drugmaker AstraZeneca in September for 20 million doses of the vaccine.

The approval comes as Canada’s vaccination effort gets off to a relatively slow start. The nation has administered 1.68 million doses as of Thursday, according to Bloomberg News, which covers 4.5 percent of its population.

Health Canada said that AstraZeneca’s two-dose vaccine showed about 62 percent effectiveness in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 beginning two weeks after the second dose.

The vaccine is given in two doses roughly four to 12 weeks apart, according to Health Canada.

Canada has logged 863,495 cumulative coronavirus infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 21,000 people have died.

The U.S. has so far only approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but Food and Drug Administration approval of one from Johnson & Johnson is expected Friday.