The COVID-19 pandemic has cost lives and caused much fear in Canada. With Canadians now eagerly waiting for vaccines, Nigel Rawson and John Adams ask why Canada lags behind most industrialized countries in producing and receiving shots.
Could it be that Canada only constitutes 2 percent of the world market for pharmaceuticals? Is it related to the lack of collaboration that biopharmaceutical companies have received from Canadian federal governments over several decades?
In an article for Inside Policy, Rawson and Nigel argue that Canadians should not be surprised that their country is not a priority for vaccine makers, but they should be concerned about Ottawa’s mismanagement of the vaccine procurement process. It is just one symptom of the long-standing negativity towards the biopharmaceutical industry.
You can read the full article here.