Health Canada received more Johnson & Johnson data on same day as U.S. approval

A decision on the one dose COVID-19 vaccine should be available in two weeks. On Saturday Health Canada received additional data required to inform its decision on Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. This data is what health regulators need to ensure that “every dose of the vaccine that comes off the production lines meets quality standards”. The approval timeline depends on that information, but it also depends on whether regulators need to discuss any questions that arise with the manufacturer. The two-week approval target takes those steps into consideration but doesn’t account for unexpected issues that could crop up.