Mckesson Canada prepares to support the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in Canada
by CM Staff
Pharmaceutical distributor commits to working with federal, provincial and territorial governments to ensure Canada is ready to deliver a future COVID-19 vaccine
PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons
MISSISSAUGA — As the Government of Canada continues to procure future COVID-19 vaccines, McKesson Canada, a pharmaceutical distributor, is preparing to safely deliver it to communities and Canadians across the country.
“We are a natural partner for government to ready Canada for a future COVID-19 vaccine,” said Rebecca McKillican, CEO, McKesson Canada, in a prepared statement. “For over 100 years, McKesson Canada has worked with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers to deliver medications and complex therapies to Canadians, including those companies with a potential COVID-19 vaccine.”
McKesson Canada said in a company statement that they are looking forward to collaborating with federal, provincial and territorial governments to design a vaccine distribution model that builds on the strengths of the public and private-sector vaccine supply chains to support what will be the greatest public health distribution in Canadian history.
In the United States, McKesson Corporation was selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to act as a centralized distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary supplies needed to administer vaccinations.
“Since the onset of the pandemic, McKesson Canada has leveraged its deep expertise to help maintain the integrity of the healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chain, source and distribute personal protective equipment to frontline workers, and stand up COVID-19 testing in pharmacies, many in underserved communities,” said McKillican. “We are proud to support community pharmacy as the most convenient, accessible, and popular immunization points via our safe, secure, and efficient vaccine distribution model, as we do every year for influenza.”
In 2009, during the H1N1 pandemic, McKesson Canada supported federal, provincial and territorial governments in the distribution of antiviral drugs to pharmacies and hospitals as the country fought against the disease.
