Vaccine

Wednesday July 21, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 21, 2021

Ford outright rejects vaccine passports on eve of Step 3 of COVID-19 reopening

Ontario Premier Doug Ford firmly rejected the possibility of implementing vaccine passports on Thursday.

June 4, 2021

Ford spoke at a news conference announcing a new long-term care home in Toronto, the Runnymede Long-Term Care Home, expected to open in the summer of 2023. The centre is expected to provide 200 new long-term care spaces.

“No, we aren’t doing it,” he said. “We’re not going to have a split society.”

As for whether it will be mandatory for health-care workers to get a vaccine, Ford said while they’re encouraged to do so, no one should be forced to be immunized.

“I’m not in favour of a mandatory certification and neither, by the way, is the chief medical officer,” said Ford. “Folks, just please go get vaccinated.”

Fords comments follow similar ones by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones a day before, who shut down the possibility of any sort of proof-of-vaccination system being introduced in the province.

April 8, 2021

If needed, Jones said, Ontarians  who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can rely on the receipt printed or emailed to them after their second shot.

Some businesses in the province have said that when Ontario enters Step 3 of its reopening plan, patrons will need to show proof of vaccination upon arrival. 

Toronto Mayor John Tory has called on the provincial government to create a voluntary system that would help individual businesses or organizations determine the vaccination status of patrons, employees and members. The Toronto Region Board of Trade has also endorsed such an initiative.

Ford said Thursday he will be addressing the question of a federal vaccination card with the prime minister later in the day.

Ontario reported 143 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 more deaths linked to the illness on Thursday, while total vaccinations fell by more than 100,000 from the same day last week.

Public health units collectively administered another 166,201 doses of COVID-19 vaccines yesterday, of which roughly 88 per cent were second shots. Last Wednesday saw more than 268,000 shots given out provincewide.

More than 57 per cent of Ontarians aged 12 and older have now had two doses of vaccines. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday July 13, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 13, 2021

Space Billionaires, Please Read the Room

Dear billionaires, no one cares whom you beat to space.

After Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, announced that he would join the first crewed flight by his rocket company, Blue Origin, later this month, Richard Branson just couldn’t let himself be outdone.* So now Branson, merely the world’s 589th richest person, is joining the crew of his next Virgin Galactic flight on Sunday, nine days before Bezos goes vertical.

May 11, 2021

All of this to go to “space.” Branson will go only about 50 miles up, where the military says space starts. Bezos will go 12 miles higher, just past the internationally recognized Karman Line, but he’ll be there for only four minutes.

Could there be a worse time for two über-rich rocket owners to take a quick jaunt toward the dark? Especially in the United States, the climate crisis is now actually starting to feel like a crisis. The western U.S. is in the thick of fire season, experiencing record-breaking drought and temperatures. Last week, Bezos’s hometown of Seattle hit 108 degrees. Hurricane season is starting early, and a once-in-200-years flood just ravaged northern Mississippi. Oh yeah, then there’s the pandemic that is very much still not over. Anyone would want a break from this planet, but the billionaires are virtually the only ones who are able to leave.

Leaving Earth right now isn’t just bad optics; it’s almost a scene out of a twisted B-list thriller: The world is drowning and scorching, and two of the wealthiest men decide to … race in their private rocket ships to see who can get to space a few days before the other. If this were a movie, these men would be Gordon Gekko and Hal 9000—both venerated and hated. Maybe, I don’t know, delay the missions a bit until people around the world are no longer desperately waiting for vaccines to save them from a deadly virus.

To their credit, the two billionaires aren’t totally oblivious. In recent years, Branson has proposed a climate dividend, while Bezos has pledged to spend $10 billion on climate efforts, though we still don’t know where most of that money will go. But given what humanity has been through in the past year and a half, I can’t help but wonder, what are they thinking? (I reached out to both Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic for comment and neither company responded. Branson has insisted that he is not in a competition with Bezos.)

January 6, 2020

And it’s not just them that make this display feel so gross. Their fellow billionaire Elon Musk (currently the No. 2 richest person, if you’re keeping track) may not be far behind in his own space travels and is in the midst of ruining the night sky with his mega-constellation of satellites. While Bezos and Branson will be in space—I mean, “space”—for just a few minutes, their departure is yet another reminder of all the other earthly things they can avoid that the rest of us can’t. Billionaires have purchased private islands, built underground bunkers, and gotten LASIK to prepare for not having glasses during the climate apocalypse. They can’t truly escape Earth now, and they likely never will, but they can avoid helping make this planet better.

However, even after their trip past the atmosphere, the space billionaires still have to come back here and face the world. When they are pushed upward into the sky, they will live-stream their experience, their bodies briefly floating, staring out at the curvature of our delicate and beautiful planet, all of us invisible. Will leaving Earth change them?

This is one of the universal sentiments that astronauts express once setting foot back on the ground: Looking at Earth, from up above, gives you a different perspective, enough to shift something inside. “The thing that really surprised me was that [Earth] projected an air of fragility,” the Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins said. “And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.” Maybe this quick trip really will change the billionaires, but I’m not counting on it. After all, they’re only going to “space.”

*This article previously misstated that Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are vying to become the first billionaires in space. In fact, at least one billionaire, Charles Simonyi, has already traveled to space. (The Atlantic) 

 

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) 

 

Saturday June 5, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday June 5, 2021

Popular summer vacation spots likely to be crowded and expensive

With so many people vaccinated and restrictions loosened, many of you are ready to travel. But, if you’re hitting the road this summer, be prepared to put a dent in your wallet! Be prepared, wherever you go, whether you fly or drive, it’s likely to cost more and be more crowded than you expect. 

June 27, 2020

“My biggest piece of advice I’ve been telling people is not to wait for those last-minute deals. They are just not going to be there this summer. In fact, we’re seeing prices across the board: airfare, hotel, car rentals, are continuing to go up to meet the demand that we’re seeing out there right now, ” travel expert Jeannene Tornatore said. 

She says it’s more important than ever to have solid reservations and a good plan than to try and save money.

Since many airlines are adding flights to more destinations, consider destinations that we normally go to in the winter. 

January 9, 2021

“Even to some of these smaller destinations, places like here in Colorado, Vail, Aspen, Crested Butte. They’re adding more direct flights to these because they’re seeing there is a great demand still for those outdoor spaces.”

Places like that are adding attractions like bike trails and museums to try and appeal to all different crowds. 

 “The fact is that while we’re starting to get out of the woods with the pandemic, the data shows that people are still really looking for these outdoor wide open spaces this summer.”

Many state and national parks are filling up before noon. Planning ahead and knowing what to expect can really help you navigate the crowds. One more helpful tip, once you decide where you’re going, follow those places on social media and use hashtags. You’ll see what real people are posting and saying and it can show you what to really expect. (WTSP) 

 

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)