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Showing posts from May, 2021

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday that his country will impose stricter measures in the face of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases that indicate the virus is "surging again" in Africa's worst-affected nation.

Ontario's top doctor to retire and be replaced by Dr. Kieran Moore

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Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams will retire June 25.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Sunday

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Saskatchewan begins the first of its three-step plan to reopen on Sunday, easing some measures enacted to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

More Canadians turning to cannabis to help deal with pandemic pressures

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Reasons people cited for using cannabis, according to a recent Statistics Canada report, include increased stress, boredom and loneliness.

Death bed denials, pandemic 'hoax' accusations common in southern Manitoba hospital patients, doctor says

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A southern Manitoba hospital physician says staff are exhausted by a recent crush of admissions, but they're also up against something else that's draining energy and morale.

Health Canada extends expiry date for thousands of AstraZeneca doses

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Ontario pharmacists who expected to spend the weekend racing to administer 45,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine set to expire have been given a reprieve from Health Canada.

Why experts say 2nd vaccine doses should be rolled out now

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Some experts say Canada should shift to prioritizing second doses of COVID-19 vaccines now due to an increase in supply, a drop in COVID-19 levels and the growing threat of more contagious coronavirus variants that threaten to jeopardize the progress we’ve made.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Saturday

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New restrictions will be taking effect in Manitoba on Saturday to curb the spread of COVID-19, a day after federal health officials said the third wave of the pandemic is subsiding across Canada.

Ontario speeding up 2nd dose eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines

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Premier Doug Ford is scheduled to hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. ET. Ford's office says he will be joined by the Minister of Health Christine Elliott and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones.

Researchers claim mystery of rare blood clots tied to COVID-19 vaccines solved, but experts urge caution

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A German research team has put forward a potential solution to prevent the rare, serious blood clots caused by the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, but other scientists warn it's too early to draw conclusions about the mechanism behind the potentially deadly condition.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Friday

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Top officials in Nova Scotia are set to unveil the province's reopening plan later Friday, a day after Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick presented multi-step plans to lift COVID-19 restrictions.

Studies reveal the unintended consequences of delaying surgeries, drop in ER visits due to pandemic

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Surgery delays and a steep drop off in ER visits, contributed to a spike in excess deaths during the pandemic beyond COVID-19 deaths. Yet for some common conditions, the drop in ER visits had no impact on patient outcomes.

Quebecers can get 2nd AstraZeneca dose 8 weeks after 1st shot, health minister says

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Quebecers who have received a shot of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine will be able to get their second dose sooner than expected, as the province is now shrinking that interval from 12 weeks to eight.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Thursday

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Manitoba students who are currently studying from home will learn later Thursday whether they are headed back to class, just days after students across most of Alberta shifted back to in-school learning.

Federal health agency wasn't ready for pandemic equipment demand, auditor finds

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The Public Health Agency of Canada was not adequately prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic because it ignored internal audits that found serious gaps in the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile (NESS), Canada's auditor general reported today.

Moderna touts its vaccine for 12 to 17 age group, citing trial data

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Moderna said Tuesday its COVID-19 vaccine strongly protects kids as young as 12, a step that could put the shot on track to become the second option for that age group in the United States.

Doctors said this Quebec man would die of COVID-19. His family had other ideas

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Diagnosed with COVID-19 last summer and soon admitted to hospital, Peter Simard of Gatineau, Que., thought he was going to die, and so did his doctors. Although he was put in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, his family never gave up hope for a miracle. After nearly nine months of hospitals and rehab, he's finally back home.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Tuesday

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The Japanese government on Tuesday denied that a U.S. warning for Americans to avoid travelling to Japan because of a surge in COVID-19 cases would have an impact on Olympians wanting to compete in the postponed Tokyo Games.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday

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The COVID-19 pandemic is being perpetuated by a "scandalous inequity" in vaccine distribution, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday as he set new targets for protecting people in the poorest countries.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Sunday

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Manitoba continues to battle the highest COVID-19 infection rate per capita in Canada, as the country reaches a vaccination milestone where half the national population has received a first dose.

Vaccine shopping to avoid Moderna shot is 'alarming,' unnecessary and potentially harmful, doctors say

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While helping out at pop-up vaccination clinics in Toronto, Dr. Hemant Shah has seen first hand a growing concern about the Moderna vaccine. He and other doctors across Ontario say they are having to counter a belief among the public that one vaccine is better than another.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Saturday

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Canada's deputy chief public health officer is urging people to follow health protocols this Victoria Day weekend to avoid a post-holiday spike in COVID-19 cases.

When can kids under 12 get vaccinated? Your COVID-19 questions answered

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As kids and teenagers become eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, many families have questions. Why are teens getting first doses before seniors get their second? Will kids need a smaller dose? Doctors answer your questions.

Canada is winning the vaccine lottery. Other countries aren't so lucky.

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Canadians are very lucky. Just a few months after the vaccination campaign was assailed by politicians and pundits as a disaster, this country of 38 million people had received 23 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday morning. Millions more doses are expected in the coming weeks.

Canada is finally reopening — let's hope it's for good this time

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Much of Canada is on the verge of reopening again, with hard-hit provinces lifting lockdowns and mapping out a path to something vaguely resembling normal, while trying desperately to avoid making the mistakes of the past.

Ontario moving ahead with 2nd doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

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Ontario is moving ahead with providing a second dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to some who received a first shot, officials said Friday.

Pallister to give COVID-19 update Thursday morning as Manitoba ICUs strain under pressure

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Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is set to give an update on COVID-19 on Thursday as the province struggles with a lack of intensive care unit capacity that has forced the transfer of some patients to Thunder Bay, Ont.

Ford set to unveil new Ontario reopening plan as 3rd wave of COVID-19 wanes

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Premier Doug Ford is set to unveil details of the province's latest reopening plan around 3 p.m. ET as Ontario continues to see signs that the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is gradually receding.

Why many Canadians feel stuck in 'limbo' without COVID-19 vaccine 2nd-dose appointments

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How will Canadians get their second COVID-19 vaccine doses? Many say there's a lack of information from local health officials and confusion over a patchwork of different booking systems and access points, from pop-up clinics to mass immunization centres to pharmacies.

Quebec's reopening plan brings much-needed hope — and yes, some risks

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Quebec has become the first province to release a full-fledged plan with dates to loosen restrictions. The timeline has provided some much-welcomed hope to the public, but experts are sounding a note of caution.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world Wednesday

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Alberta has given first doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than half of its eligible population and new case numbers are trending downward — but the test positivity rate is still too high, the province's top doctor says.

COVID vaccine made by Canada's Medicago shows promising results in Phase 2 clinical trial

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Canada's first homegrown vaccine for COVID-19 is showing promising antibody results in hundreds of participants in a Phase 2 trial and could be ready for a final authorization request this summer, the drugmaker says.

National vaccine advisory panel recommends Pfizer shot for anyone 12 and up: Tam

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Canada's national vaccine advisory panel has officially recommended Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for anyone aged 12 and up, according to Dr. Theresa Tam, the country's chief public health officer.

Federal government invests $200 million to build an mRNA vaccine plant in Ontario

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To avoid leaving Canadians entirely dependent on foreign vaccine makers when the next pandemic hits, the federal government today announced a $200-million investment in a Mississauga, Ont.-based company to build a plant that can churn out millions of mRNA vaccines.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Tuesday

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India's total virus cases since the pandemic began swept past 25 million as the country registered more than 260,000 new cases and a record 4,329 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline set to start Phase 3 trials for COVID-19 vaccine after earlier setback

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A COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline showed a robust immune response in early-stage clinical trial results, enabling them to move to a late-stage study, the companies announced on Monday.

Manitoba now holds Canada's highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate

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Canada has a new COVID-19 hotspot, as Manitoba has overtaken Alberta as the province with the highest COVID-19 infection rate per capita.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday

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Pubs and restaurants across much of the U.K. opened for indoor service for the first time since early January on Monday, even as the prime minister urged people to be cautious amid the spread of a more contagious COVID-19 variant.

Why Canada's big bets on delaying, mixing doses of COVID-19 vaccines could pay off

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Canada's approach of delaying and even mixing different COVID-19 vaccine doses may seem unorthodox on the surface, but multiple experts say they're rooted in decades of science, backed up by emerging research, and could be preventing deaths.

UPS shipping bungle keeps oxygen device from family sick with COVID-19

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A Calgary woman was out thousands of dollars and sick with worry after trying to ship what she hoped would be a life-saving oxygen device to her family in Mexico who were ill with COVID-19. The package never got to them, and UPS wouldn't take responsibility until Go Public started asking questions.

Langley-area man loses 2 metres of intestine after a blood clot following his AstraZeneca jab

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A healthy 43-year-old father from the Langley area is fighting after emergency surgery to deal with a rare complicated blood clot in his abdomen that's left him life-long complications after a two metre section of his bowel was removed.

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Saturday

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India's two biggest cities have reported a drop in daily infections, but the government is warning that the devastating surge is spreading in rural areas, where nearly two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people live.

Canada is at a turning point in the pandemic and there's reason for hope — even in lockdown

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Vaccines are now rolling out across Canada at a rapid pace as supply has finally begun to catch up with demand. While we're still far from returning to normal life, Canadians are more and more protected from the worst of COVID-19 with each passing day.

Ontario investigating 2 long-term care homes following allegations residents died of neglect during pandemic

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Ontario is investigating two Toronto long-term care homes where the Canadian military reported residents died of neglect, not COVID-19, during outbreaks last year.

Fast-spreading B1617 variant could delay Britain's reopening, PM warns

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The emergence of the B1617 variant — which was first identified in India  — in parts of northern England and London has prompted some scientists to call for a slowdown in the U.K.'s plans to reestablish normalcy.

Toronto plastic surgeon's licence suspended for social media posts, surveillance of patients without consent

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A Toronto plastic surgeon and self-styled social media influencer has had his licence to practise medicine suspended. 

Law barring transgender medical care for minors leaves Arkansas families with agonizing choice

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Republican lawmakers recently passed a bill that bans gender-affirming medical care for minors. That means the care some transgender kids see as essential to helping them become their true selves will soon be prohibited for anyone under the age of 18, leaving families with a difficult choice: stop treatment or leave the state.

Partially vaccinated Canadians can socialize outdoors this summer, Tam says

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Canadians who have been vaccinated with one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine can socialize with close family and friends outdoors over the summer months, Canada's chief public health officer said Friday.

Delayed second Pfizer-BioNTech shot produces more antibodies, U.K. study says

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Canadian vaccine experts say a British study that showed a boost in immune response among seniors who received their second Pfizer-BioNTech shot later supports Canada's dose-spacing strategy.

2,000 patients have been transferred around Ontario to free up beds — but it's taking a toll

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Since the start of this year, more than 2,000 patient transfers have taken place across Ontario, including many without family consent. While the policy may be helping boost hospital capacity in regions with surging COVID-19 cases, it's also taking an emotional toll on families and health-care workers.