The Government remains committed to a national, universal pharmacare program and will accelerate steps to achieve this system including through a rare-disease strategy to help Canadian families save money on high-cost drugs.
Canada’s Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health meet regularly to discuss critical matters related to Canada's response to COVID-19. Today, they continued discussions on COVID-19 immunization.
Today, the COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel released their first report. The report, Priority Strategies to Optimize Testing and Screening for COVID-19 in Canada, provides evidence-based advice on science and policy for the latest techniques in COVID-19 testing and screening, including the use of rapid tests.
In November 2020, the Minister of Health established a COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel. The Panel provides evidence-informed advice to the federal government on science and policy related to innovative and existing approaches to testing and screening. The Panel has a mandate to focus on key areas in order to help reduce the number of infections, protect Canada's most vulnerable populations, and limit the impact of the disease on the health care system and the economy.
Health Canada is aware that the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued an authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca.
The Government of Canada is aware that the United Kingdom (UK) is investigating a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, which has been identified in cases in areas where there is also a high incidence of COVID-19. We are also aware that another variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus has been detected in South Africa, and that this variant shares one of the same mutations found in the variant identified in the UK.
Today, Health Canada published the results of its 2020 Canadian Cannabis Survey. Results of the survey provide a snapshot of Canadians' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards cannabis and its use. Data were collected from April 30 to June 22, 2020.