Health Canada orders provinces to destroy old COVID-19 vaccines amid wait for new batch

Health Canada has directed provinces to withdraw and destroy remaining supplies of last year’s COVID-19 vaccines while it works to authorize updated shots, which is expected to happen in October, according to Ontario’s health ministry.

“Vaccines will be available once Ontario receives supply from Health Canada following their regulatory authorization of the new, updated vaccine formulation,” read a statement from Ontario spokesperson Hannah Jensen.

A notice posted on the federal government’s immunization guide says vaccines aimed at Omicron variant XBB.1.5 is no longer available in Canada. Updated shots, made to target the now-dominant JN.1 or KP.2 strains are expected to get the green light “in the coming weeks.”

Meanwhile, COVID-19 is spreading quickly and widely across Canada, wastewater sampling and test positivity rates suggest.

Alberta’s health ministry has confirmed old-strain COVID-19 vaccines are no longer available. Quebec’s public health director told CTV News current stockpiles are to be returned to Ottawa. Saskatchewan has disposed of their Moderna Spikevax XBB.1.5 and Pfizer Comirnaty XBB.1.5 vaccines in anticipation of new doses.

“It is estimated Ontario, and other provinces, will receive supply from Health Canada in October,” Jensen added.

CTV News has sought further comment from Health Canada on what it will do to remedy what appears to be a widespread gap in access to vaccines. The agency told CTV News Calgary that the swap should be timed so that there is uninterrupted access to shots.

In a statement, a spokesperson told CTVNews.ca that public health is working on a vaccine transition plan with provinces and territories, adding that it’s in talks with those governments “to ensure common understanding of the transition.”

The agency also says it maintains a federal reserve of XBB vaccines to respond to “any unexpected health need.”

While regional and federal governments have largely scaled down their surveillance on the spread of COVID-19, national wastewater sampling suggests the virus remains active throughout the country.

“The viral activity level of COVID-19 is high,” reads Canada’s Wastewater monitoring dashboard. Regional sampling reveals a high level of viral activity in B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The spread in Yukon, Alberta and Quebec is described as “moderate.” There is no data available for the Northwest Territories nor Nunavut.

The COVID-19 test positivity rate was 18 per cent for the week of Aug. 24 – it’s highest since early December 2023 when Canada had begun its descent from a wintertime wave of infections. 

With reporting from CTV’s Chris Fox, Laurence Brisson Dubreuil, Caitlin Brezinski, and Jacqueline Wilson.