Health Canada gets rabies vaccine shipment as Ontario sees shortage, increased demand – CTV
January 23, 2025
TORONTO — Health Canada has received more units of the rabies vaccine and expects they will be distributed by the end of the month as Toronto continues to ration its doses amid a shortage.
An increase in demand for the vaccine following the death of an Ontario child that came in contact with a bat last fall has led to a strain on the supply in Ontario, officials say
The two rabies vaccines approved in Canada, RabAvert and Imovax Rabies, have both experienced shortages in recent months. RabAvert said a rise in demand is to blame while Imovax has been dealing with packaging delays at its manufacturing facility in France.
Toronto Public Health said they’ve observed a “general increase in interest” for the vaccine since the child’s death in Brantford, Ont. last October – the first domestically acquired case in the province since 1967.
Afterwards, health experts encouraged anyone who had a potential exposure to seek medical attention, even if they didn’t have a visible scratch or bite, because of how easily the disease can be transmitted by the animal.
Last Friday, the city’s health officials instructed doctors to conserve the doses they have left for people with high-risk exposures to bats and wild animals.
