Alberta ordered by Health Canada to destroy COVID-19 vaccines

A spokesperson for Alberta Health says that as of Aug. 31, all old-strain COVID-19 vaccines are no longer available, but neither is the new formula.

“To assist with the implementation of the newest COVID-19 vaccine formulation (KP.2) for the fall, the provinces and territories were directed by Health Canada to remove and destroy all current COVID-19 vaccine formulation(XBB) from all sites across their jurisdictions on August 31, 2024,” an Alberta Health statement said Wednesday.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Officials told CTV News the decision to withdraw the XBB COVID-19 vaccine was delivered by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) during a July 25 meeting .

Health Canada says their directive to provinces is that the swap should have happened so there is uninterrupted access to vaccines.

“The withdrawal of currently available COVID-19 XBB vaccines should be timed to align with authorization decisions of the new formulation vaccines to ensure Canadians have uninterrupted access to COVID-19 vaccines,” a Health Canada statement said.

The agency says it is reviewing submissions from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax for updated COVID-19 vaccines on an expedited basis.

There is no timeline on when the new vaccines will be rolled out here.

Ontario withdraws vaccines too

Alberta isn't the only province to begin removal of the vaccines, as Ontario's Ministry of Health revealed it was also ordered to take the COVID-19 XBB vaccines off the market.

In a letter posted online and dated Aug. 27, the agency said it was told to "quarantine remaining supply of viable XBB vaccine" starting on Sept. 1 and "follow local practices and process for the destruction of these vaccines."

"As a result of this regulatory withdrawal process, XBB COVID-19 vaccine will not be available between the market withdrawal on September 1, 2024, to receipt of the new formulation of KP.2," the letter said.

This comes as PHAC is conducting a mail-out national research study on immunization coverage among adults and attitudes related to them.

PHAC is looking for at least 20,000 respondents, but only randomly selected households will receive a letter with a survey code.

Almost every two years since 2001, the federal government has done a survey to track disease coverage and improve vaccination programs.

The 2023 survey results show coverage for routine vaccines range from 87 per cent for measles to about six per cent for mpox.

(Source: Adult National Immunization Coverage Survey)

In general, 18 per cent of adults were hesitant or reluctant to be vaccinated.

Safety concerns, fear of side effects, and feeling they are unnecessary were the most cited reasons for refusal.