immunization

Wednesday August 11, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 11, 2021

Get set for a Ford reversal about vaccine passports

Pressure is growing — pretty much daily — on the Ontario government to mandate vaccine passports, or at least some form of vaccine certificate. 

April 29, 2021

So far, Premier Doug Ford and his ministers remain adamant they won’t go there. But that is exactly what Ford said about paid sick days and we all remember what happened on that front. Public pressure from just about every quarter eventually forced Ford to reverse himself. Yes, he tried to blame the federal government, but the truth is he should have yielded to widespread calls for paid sick days long before he eventually buckled.

It says here, along with many other pulpits of punditry, that Ford will end up doing the same thing on vaccine passports. He won’t have a choice.

Not everyone agrees that passports (or a certificate) are essential. Respected co-medical director of infection control at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Dr. Zain Chagla, has said there are a “litany of ethical and legal privacy issues” that are “difficult to wrangle within that context.” (He does support a vaccine passport being implemented for international travel.) Chagla says he has nothing against passports, but doubts they will succeed as a standalone measure, without other measures like raising vaccination rates also at play.

July 21, 2021

Fair enough. Credible voices should be heard. But a growing chorus is calling for passports/certificates. The Ontario Medical Association and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario support them. All Ontario’s opposition parties agree. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) backs the idea. Manitoba has issued vaccination cards and Quebec just announced it will introduce passports. 

Even the Ontario Chamber of Commerce — not exactly an advocate of state intervention — agrees.

In an interview with Torstar’s Rob Ferguson, chamber president Rocco Rossi said: “The last thing anyone wants is to be shut down, but that’s what will happen if we don’t use every tool in the tool kit … It’s about mitigating risk as much as possible. We are going to be living with this for a while.”

With respect to credible dissenters, we think the majority is right on this subject. Vaccine passports are no panacea, but they are one more arrow in the quiver as we get set to fight it out with a fourth wave.

Passports would allow those who are fully vaccinated to come closer to a normal life. They would allow vaccinated patrons and staff at places like restaurants and gyms to feel safer and more likely to take part in a robust economic recovery. Proof of vaccination would allow businesses and institutions (concert venues and the like) to only allow fully vaccinated people (or those with a negative test) to take part. Conversely, fully vaccinated patrons could choose to avoid businesses and institutions that do not have proof of vaccine requirements. 

March 11, 2021

To a point, that will happen regardless of whether the government does this or not. But leaving it to individual businesses and organizations is a recipe for inconsistency and possibly disaster. The government must do it to ensure a level playing field. 

Premier Ford, sadly, does not agree. He has said a “hard no” to reconsidering the idea, insisting it will create a “split society.” 

But if you want proof that is just deflection, consider that Ford also says the federal government should implement proof of vaccination requirements. So it’s clear Ford’s ideological objection to passports/certificates are not particularly strong, he just doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Too bad. The feds will need to be involved from the international travel perspective, but pandemic management is a provincial responsibility. Ford cannot continue to duck his on this issue. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Thursday July 8, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 8, 2021

First-dose COVID-19 vaccinations plateau across Canada, threatening path to variant resilience

The number of people getting their first COVID-19 vaccine doses is plateauing across the country, heightening the need to target harder-to-reach groups if Canada is going to achieve the vaccination levels needed to control the spread of infection.

May 22, 2021

As of Monday, 78 per cent of those eligible to be vaccinated in Canada have received at least one dose, and 41 per cent were fully vaccinated, making the country one of the most immunized in the world. Among the Group of Seven nations, Canada ranks second next to Britain with the highest number of doses administered per 100 people.

However, within provinces and territories, there are pockets with low vaccination rates across the country.

In the High Level health unit in northern Alberta, for example, 21 per cent of the eligible population had received at least one dose, and in Manitoba, 19 per cent of the eligible population in the municipality of Stanley had received at least one dose.

While the number of people receiving second doses continues to climb, those receiving their first doses have stalled at fewer than 100,000 a day since June 20.

January 30, 2021

With the rise of more transmissible variants, some epidemiologists estimate at least 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the eligible population will need to be fully vaccinated to keep COVID-19 rates under control.

Reaching those levels will be critical as we head into the fall, when people start spending more time indoors again at the same time the highly infectious Delta variant is expected to become the dominant variant of the virus in most of the country, said Cordell Neudorf, professor in the department of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan.

“That’s when we expect the next wave to hit, unless we get high enough immunization coverage,” Dr. Neudorf said.

December 11, 2020

Now that those most willing and able to get immunized have received at least one vaccine, health authorities must ramp up their efforts to vaccinate groups that are more difficult to reach, said Nazeem Muhajarine, an epidemiologist and professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan.

And that will require different targeted approaches, he said, since those who remain unvaccinated are a heterogenous group. They include people who are willing to be vaccinated but have difficulty accessing clinics, individuals who have lingering questions about the safety of vaccines and those who refuse to be vaccinated altogether.

May 8, 2021

The latter, whose refusal is generally ideologically driven, are a minority, making up an estimated 10 per cent of the population, Dr. Muhajarine said. Another 12 per cent to 14 per cent of Saskatchewan adults he has been tracking say they are hesitant about getting vaccinated.

“It’s the hesitant group that we need to be able to convert get a vaccine,” he said. “They’re not saying they would not get one, but they’re also saying they will not readily line up, be the first in line.” (Globe & Mail) 

 

Friday May 28, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 28, 2021

As world grows desperate for COVID vaccine, US sits on tens of millions of unused doses

Despite offers of lottery winnings, amusement park tickets and even cold hard cash, unvaccinated Americans are leaving tens of millions of unused doses for COVID-19 sitting on the shelves.

May 11, 2021

Federal officials told state governors that as of earlier this week up to 53 million doses were still waiting to be ordered by the states – a staggering amount that, depending upon the type of vaccine, would offer protection against the virus to some 25 million people.

That federal surplus is in addition to an unknown number of vaccine doses waiting for arms at vaccination sites and pharmacies in states like Wyoming, Idaho, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama that have the lowest vaccination rates.

The potential glut comes as the world’s poorest countries are still waiting on vaccines to protect their health care workers and elderly. Only 0.3% of vaccine supply is going to low-income countries.

“We are right now in possession of a supply that could be shared, that we’re worried about expiring,” Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson told the White House in phone call on Tuesday with other governors. Audio of the private call was obtained by ABC News.

The Biden administration insists that the number of wasted doses in the U.S. is extremely low and that the vast majority of supply is not at risk of expiring. But the idea of a growing vaccine surplus is a new dilemma for the White House, which took control when supply was scarce and the federal government still hadn’t purchased enough vaccine for every American. Now, with nearly 60 percent of eligible Americans having one shot, the pace of those shots has been cut in half in the past six weeks to 1.7 million a day.

April 28, 2021

Meanwhile, global outbreaks have prompted concerns of new mutations of the virus that could chip away at the effectiveness of vaccines and leave vaccinated Americans at risk.

“We are going to have this embarrassing accumulation of surplus,” said Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Morrison, who predicted as many as 30 percent of Americans will refuse the vaccine entirely, said the primary concern for the Biden team will be ensuring any U.S. recovery is “durable” before diverting supply.

“At the same time, we have this wildfire raging beyond our borders that they will have to address or else it will come back and bite us,” he said.

The Biden administration has pledged $4 billion to Covax, the global vaccine effort, and promised to donate 20 million doses of the vaccines currently available in the U.S. by the end of June – a fraction of the 800 million the U.S. says it is buying from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The administration also plans to export 60 million doses of AstraZeneca, a vaccine used overseas but not cleared yet by U.S. regulators. (ABC News) 

 

Saturday May 22, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 22, 2021

Ontario to provide 2nd dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after temporary suspension

Ontario’s top doctor says the province will now allow second doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to be administered.

May 20, 2021

Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said the second dose administration will begin with those who received their first dose between March 10 and 19.

“Nothing is more important than the health of Ontarians, and for the best protection against COVID-19 it is vital that everyone who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for their first dose receives a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,” said Williams.

Shots will begin to the week of May 24, with informed consent. Williams said those who are eligible should contact the provider who administered their first dose to book their appointment.

The announcement immediately applies to those who received their first dose during Ontario’s initial pharmacy rollout at locations in Toronto, Windsor and Kingston.

Williams was joined at Friday’s update by Dr. Dirk Huyer, the co-ordinator of the provincial outbreak response.

For those who received their first dose after March 19, they will be able to get their second shot within the recommended interval of 12 weeks. Williams said more info will be made available soon.

March 25, 2021

“The province is working with primary care providers and pharmacies to ensure second dose appointments are scheduled in advance of the 12-week interval,” Williams said.

Several provinces have stopped giving the shot because of concerns about rare, fatal blood clots. However, Williams said the health risks posed by the vaccine are low.

He said new data indicated the benefits far outweigh the risk with second doses.

“Data from the UK strongly suggests a much-reduced risk of VITT in second doses of AstraZeneca — one in 600,000,” a release said Friday.

Ontario had paused the use of the vaccine but still had tens of thousands of doses in storage. Huyer said there are 55,000 doses set to expire by May 31.

Nearly one million Ontario residents got the AstraZeneca vaccine as their first shot between March 10 and May 11.

Health authorities were trying to decide whether to resume using the AstraZeneca shot or if a different vaccine should be substituted for second doses.

Ontario said it is still waiting on a recommendation on mixing doses from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).

More than 7.5 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ontario, with formulations from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca. (Global News) 

 

Thursday March 4, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 4, 2021

As vaccine supply ramps up, provinces and territories fine-tune rollout plans

Vaccine deliveries are ramping up and provinces and territories are starting to unveil more of their vaccine rollout plans.

February 23, 2021

Each province has a phased plan for vaccine deployment which indicates when the various priority groups can expect to receive the shots.

Here’s what we know so far about who’s getting the shots and when.

B.C. is still in Phase 1 of its vaccine rollout, which covers residents and staff of long-term care facilities, health care workers who may provide care for COVID-19 patients and remote and isolated Indigenous communities.

The subsequent phase is expected to run through March and includes seniors 80 and over, Indigenous seniors 65 and over, hospital staff and medical specialists, vulnerable populations living and working in congregated settings and staff providing in-home support to seniors.

February 6, 2021

As of Feb. 24, seniors 75 and over (born in 1946 or earlier) and seniors 65 and over living in First Nations and Métis communities were eligible for vaccination. The Alberta government estimates there are about 230,000 seniors in these two groups.

Manitoba’s immunization teams are now vaccinating all residents age 92 and older (born on or before December 31, 1928) and First Nations people 72 and older (born on or before December 31, 1948).

Ontario’s vaccination rollout is in Phase 1, which covers staff and essential caregivers in long-term care homes, high-risk retirement homes and First Nations elder care homes, and highest-priority health care workers.

January 7, 2021

In March, Phase 1 is expected to expand to adults 80 years of age and older, staff, residents and caregivers in retirement homes and other congregate care settings, high-priority health care workers, all Indigenous adults and adult recipients of chronic home care.

Vaccines have been delivered to Ontario’s 34 public health units in Ontario and the pace of the rollout could vary depending on the region.

On the island of Montreal, vaccinations are now available to people 80 and older. 

The rest of Quebec will start vaccinating anyone 85 years of age or older next week. Anyone born before 1936 can start making an appointment for their first dose on February 25, by phone or online.

Nova Scotia’s vaccination effort is in Phase 1. That covers those who work directly with patients in hospitals or care homes, people who live and work in long term care homes and people who live and work in adult residential care centres and regional rehabilitation centres.

There’s no word yet on when the next phase of the vaccine rollout will begin. 

Newfoundland & Labrador is in Phase 1 of its immunization plan. Doses in this first phase are earmarked for congregate living settings for seniors, health care workers at high risk of exposure to COVID-19, people 85 and older and adults in remote or isolated Indigenous communities.

It’s not known yet when the next phase of the province’s vaccination plan will begin. (CBC)