Canada will donate 17.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries through Covax, the global vaccine sharing system, the country's procurement minister has said.

Canada, which reserved enough doses to vaccinate its population of 38m five times over, had secured the AstraZeneca doses under an advance purchase agreement but no longer needs them after administering millions of other vaccines, mainly doses from Pfizer and Moderna that shipped first.

This contribution is possible because of the government's proactive approach to secure a supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses, meeting Canada's needs,” said a release by the government.