Moderna is facing a persistent „quality assurance” backlog at its production facilities — a roadblock that has resulted in days-long delivery delays for doses destined for Canada, the military commander leading vaccine logistics said today.

There aren’t any production issues with the shots themselves but the process of double-checking each batch — and then getting them out the door — has been slower than expected, said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin.

The manufacturer is also shifting from delivering doses on a three-week basis to a more frequent biweekly schedule, which has resulted in some unplanned logistical challenges.

Unlike the arrangements for the Pfizer product, the federal government itself is responsible for picking up the doses from Moderna plants in Europe and distributing them to the provinces and territories.

The 855,000 doses of the Moderna product that were supposed to arrive the week of April 5 have started to show up only over the last several days, Fortin said — a disruption that upended planned immunization clinics in some provinces. This week, for example, some 10,000 appointments in Ontario were cancelled.

A spokesperson for Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that „while we know the federal government is working very hard to get us supply,” the recurring Moderna delays have had a „significant impact on our ability to fulfil vaccine appointments.”

The 1.2 million doses that were slated to arrive in Canada next week are now not expected until later this month, possibly as late as the first week of May, Fortin said.