Canada extends shelf life of AstraZeneca jab by 1 month

People receive their Covid-19 shot during a "Doses After Dark" overnight vaccination clinic in Mississauga, Ontario on May 15, 2021

People receive their Covid-19 shot during a "Doses After Dark" overnight vaccination clinic in Mississauga, Ontario on May 15, 2021

Canadian health authorities announced Saturday they were pushing back the expiration date on nearly 50,000 doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine by one month.

Health Canada said in a statement its approval to extend the shelf life of two lots of vaccine from May 31 to July 1 was supported by "scientific evidence."

A spokesperson for Health Canada said that as of May 22, there were about 49,000 doses of AstraZeneca in the country with an expiration date of May 31. CBC reported that most were in Ontario province.

But they said they received information from the company on May 27 including "product stability and mathematical modelling data" that showed the two lots could be safely and effectively used for an extra month.

But Canadians who had received a first AstraZeneca dose were able to get their scheduled second dose.

In addition to AstraZeneca, vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are approved for use in Canada.

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