TORONTO — Pfizer expects Canada will be able to extract six doses of its COVID-19 vaccine from vials instead of five, a difference that has caused confusion among provinces and prompted speculation about Canada’s rollout timeline.
Health Canada is reviewing a formal request to change the label on the Pfizer BioNTech vaccines to reflect a sixth dose and is looking into whether Canada will be able to make the precise extractions.
The problem comes down to a limited supply of special syringes needed to more easily extract the sixth dose. Canada has only so many 1-millilitre, or 1cc, syringes, which are in high demand globally. Two million syringes of a recent order for 37.5 million are due to arrive in Canada on Feb. 4.
Health officials have repeatedly said that they believe Pfizer will meet its March deadline to deliver four million vaccines to Canada. However, on Thursday, officials acknowledged that Pfizer made those calculations based on the assumption that each vial had six doses, not five.
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is overseeing Canada’s vaccine rollout, said Pfizer will increase the number of vials it sends to meet the March deadline in the event that Canada doesn’t agree to change the labels.
“They have assured us four million by the end of March,” Fortin said at a press conference on Thursday.
But a planning document sent to the provinces on Thursday morning still used the five-dose formula, which led some to believe that they could miss out on up to 500,000 doses in the coming months.
“What we have shared with provinces is a conservative figure of five doses per vial until it changes, until authorized — if it gets authorized,” Fortin said.
Provinces expressed their frustration with the situation, with Alberta’s health minister accusing the government of “failing Canadians” and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe blaming Ottawa of not sharing “accurate information.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also expressed his disappointment with Pfzier, but did not lay blame on the federal government.
“Pfizer has let us down tremendously. It’s, again, unacceptable,” Ford said. “I know the federal government is trying and they’re doing everything we can. We need to explore every avenue possible.”
Source: ctvnews.ca
Monday, May 4, 2026
