Canada has approved Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for people over the age of 16, opening the possibility of Canadians starting to receive it next week.
Canadian health regulator, Health Canada, said that it completed a full independent review of the data on the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, The New York Times reported.
"Canadians can feel confident that the review process was rigorous and that we have strong monitoring systems in place," the government department said in a statement.
While Britain approved the vaccine earlier, it did so on an emergency basis and largely relied on Pfizer's analysis, the report said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive at 14 Canadian distribution centres next week. Officials said at that time that inoculations would begin as soon as regulatory approval was granted.
Canada has ordered a total of 6 million doses from Pfizer.
The approval could mean that Canadians receive injections of the vaccine from the US-based company before Americans do, the New York Times reported.
The first shipment of 249,000 doses to Canada will come from plants in the United States and Belgium. Two doses are required to vaccinate each person.
The Health regulator is waiting for further data from Pfizer before approving it for children.
Canada has become the second country after Britain to approve Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for its citizens.
( With inputs from ANI )
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