At least 19-million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are set to expire by the end of the year in Canada.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says almost 17 million doses in the federal inventory have expiry dates in 2023 and there are more than two-million additional doses due to expire in the provinces and territories.
The federal government says it will try to minimize the number of doses that need to be discarded.
Many doses could be used in a possible COVID-19 booster campaign in the fall.
Some doses could be donated to lower-income countries but global demand has decreased.
It may also be possible to extend the expiry dates of some vaccine doses if the manufacturers and Health Canada find that they're still effective.