Canada's Loblaw administers COVID-19 vaccines at Ontario pharmacies

(Reuters) - Canada's Loblaw Cos Ltd said on Wednesday it had started administering AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine at 160 pharmacies it owns in Ontario, as the country works to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

The parent of Shoppers Drug Mart chain said its pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex and Kingston had started inoculating people aged between 60 and 64 as part of a provincial trial.

Last week, Loblaw said more than 40-owned pharmacies in Alberta had started administering Pfizer Inc's vaccine to people over the age of 75.

The retail chain offers full-service pharmacies and professional care in more than 1,800 locations in 10 provinces and 2 territories, including in Shoppers Drug Mart and PharmaPrix stores.

Several U.S. pharmacy chains have been administering COVID-19 vaccines since February, as President Joe Biden had set a goal of delivering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.

Walgreens said on Tuesday it had provided about 5 million vaccinations to Americans.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)