<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/the-americas/2022/02/23/trudeau-lifts-emergency-powers-after-end-of-lorry-blockade/" target="_blank">Canadian</a> regulators on Thursday announced that the country will use the world’s first plant-derived <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/coronavirus/" target="_blank">Covid-19 </a>vaccine. The vaccine, named Covifenz, was jointly developed by Medicago, a biopharma company owned by Mitsubishi Chemical and Philip Morris, based in Quebec City, and GlaxoSmithKline. The two-dose vaccine can be given to adults between 18 and 64 years old. The Quebec-based privately held company has an agreement to supply up to 76 million doses to the Canadian government. “We're at a stage where we're ramping up capacity to meet the supply agreement,” said Marc-Andre D’Aoust, Medicago's executive vice president of innovation, development and medical affairs. Medicago said it was committed to fulfilling the order as soon as possible. The decision was based on a study of 24,000 adults that found the vaccine was 71 per cent effective at preventing Covid-19. Side effects were mild and included fever and fatigue. The study was conducted before the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/coronavirus/2022/02/19/son-of-omicron-could-be-more-severe-than-original-variant-says-new-study/" target="_blank">Omicron variant</a> emerged. Medicago uses plants as living factories to grow virus-like particles, which copy the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. The particles are removed from the plants’ leaves and then purified. An immune-boosting chemical called an adjuvant, made by British partner GlaxoSmithKline, is then added to the shots. Medicago plans to test the shot in children and as a booster dose for adults, Mr D’Aoust said. The immunisation was granted fast-track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration in February last year. The Canadian government on Thursday announced it was lifting the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/the-americas/2022/02/22/canadas-parliament-extends-emergency-powers-to-end-covid-protests/">emergency powers</a> it enacted more than a week ago to bring street protests under control, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying the authority is no longer needed. The protests were initially against Canada’s Covid-19 vaccination requirements for lorry drivers transporting goods across the US border, before they expanded into a campaign against the country's broader coronavirus restrictions. <i>Agencies contributed to this report.</i>