Health Canada has approved the use of the vaccine for COVID-19 made by AstraZeneca.
The federal agency approved its use for adults over the age of 18 Friday morning.
The company first applied for approval in October, but the first shipments are not expected until the second quarter of this year.
There are already two vaccines approved for use from PfizerBioNTech and Moderna. Approval for two more vaccines, made by Johnson and Johnson and Novavax, are still under review.
AstraZeneca developed the vaccine along with researchers at Oxford University. Although its 62 per cent efficacy is lower than the two previously approved vaccines, it boasts one major advantage. It can be stored and transported at normal refrigerated temperatures.
The report by Health Canada notes no major adverse reactions, but officials in South Africa suspended plans to vaccinate health care workers with it after a clinical trial suggested it was less effective against the South African variant of COVID-19. CTV News also reported French officials are only giving it to people under the age of 65, citing a lack of information about its efficacy in older adults.
Canada secured 1.9-million doses through COVAX, the international body set up to ensure vaccines are supplied in a timely manner low and medium-income countries, after delays in shipments from Pfizer and Moderna last month.
It also pre-ordered 20-million doses.
