As demand in Canada wanes for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, 13.6 million doses are being binned by the federal government. .Canada was contracted to take 20 million doses of the AstraZeneka vaccine in 2020 while only 2.3 million Canadians received at least one dose, mostly between March and June 2021, according to The Guardian. .Uptake significantly slowed down mid-way through 2021 after concerns surfaced about a rare, but potentially fatal blood clotting condition caused by the vaccine. .The news comes as experts warn with the lifting of most restrictions and slow uptake of boosters, cases could see a surge through the summer and into the fall. In the UK, case rates are up more than 30% in one week, and according to worldwide case reports, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands and Denmark are all seeing a rise in infections..Dr Benjamin Davido, an infectious diseases specialist at the Raymond-Poincaré hospital outside Paris, said with the rise in cases “It is vital that we maintain stable immunity through booster shots.”.Last July, Canada committed to donating the rest of its supply — roughly 17.7 million doses, but as of Tuesday, Health Canada confirmed 13.6 million doses had expired and would have to be tossed. .“Due to limited demand for the vaccine and recipient country challenges with distribution and absorption, they were not accepted,” said Health Canada in a statement. .Canada, to date, has donated 8.9 million doses of its AstraZeneca vaccine supply. .The Western Standard did an in-depth look into Canada's procurement contracts from the start of its vaccination rollout plan up to and including the federal government's commitments with just Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine makers through 2022, 2023 and options for 2024..Findings revealed Canadian taxpayers are on the hook for billions that will be spent on contractual obligations and inevitable wasted doses. .Between Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccines, the Canadian government committed to procuring up to 100 million doses for 2022 and up to 95 million for 2023, while as of July 7, 86,214,217 doses have been administered since December 2020. .Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC) would not disclose what the government has paid per dose for any of the various COVID-19 vaccines. ."In order to protect our negotiating position and commercially sensitive pricing information, as well as to respect confidentiality clauses in our vaccine agreements, we cannot disclose details of specific agreements, including financial details at this time," said PSPC spokesperson Michèle LaRose.."Throughout our response to the pandemic, the government has remained committed to being as open and transparent as possible while ensuring that our priority is squarely focused on effectively and efficiently securing equipment and supplies needed to protect Canadians."."Transparency and accountability is critically important to the government, and we are committed to releasing a full account of our procurement efforts. However, in order to respect confidentiality clauses in our vaccine agreements and to protect commercially sensitive information, we cannot disclose cost per dose."."In line with our commitment to transparency, we will continue to release as much information as possible on all the measures being taken to respond to COVID-19.".According to a report from the Financial Times, doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine cost between $3 and $4 each. Although, in June, CBC reported Canada paid $163 million for 20 million doses, indicating the government actually paid roughly $8.18 per dose..At that price, the disposal of 13.6 million doses of expired AstraZeneca will have wasted taxpayer's money to the tune of more than $111 million.
