OTTAWA — Health Canada has given the green light for Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines that contained elements produced at the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, Md., to be used in Canada, though no shipments are currently planned.
Canada had rejected hundreds of thousands of doses of the vaccine this past summer due to contamination concerns about the plant, and only imported Johnson & Johnson doses, also known as Janssen, manufactured in Europe.
After an on-site inspection of the facility, the regulator has now deemed the facility to be compliant with the necessary quality-assurance practices.
That means Janssen will now be able to import COVID-19 vaccines into Canada that contain drugs manufactured at the Emergent BioSolutions facility.
According to Health Canada, there are no further shipments of the Janssen vaccine planned for now, though the government will work with provinces and territories if they require more supply.
The European Medicines Agency and South African Health Products Regulatory Authority also participated in this inspection remotely and agreed with Canada's assessment of the facility.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2021.
The Canadian Press
