Coronavirus Update: Health Canada could authorize Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5-11 in ‘one to two weeks’

Good evening, here are the COVID-19 updates you need to know tonight.

Top headlines:

1. Health Canada says it will decide whether to authorize a COVID-19 vaccine for kids “in the next one to two weeks.” The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for children aged 5-11 was authorized for use in the United States last week.
2. Doctors say they’re concerned about lack of access to COVID-19 treatments that can prevent hospitalizations. Two new antiviral pills that may reduce the number of people who become severely ill with COVID-19 have risen in popularity in recent weeks, though they’re not yet approved by Health Canada. A handful of treatments called monoclonal antibodies have been approved, but the treatment is not widely available.
3. Ontario’s COVID-19 science and modelling advisory tables released new projections today showing that ICU numbers are stable, though likely to rise, and that those with lower incomes, essential workers, and minority groups are at highest risk of COVID-19-related mortality.

In the past seven days, 17,661 cases were reported, up 15 per cent from the previous seven days. There were 177 deaths announced, down two per cent over the same period. At least 1,670 people are being treated in hospitals.

Canada’s inoculation rate is 15th among countries with a population of one million or more people.

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Sources: Canada data is compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data is from Johns Hopkins University.

Coronavirus explainers: Coronavirus in maps and charts • Tracking vaccine doses • Lockdown rules and reopening

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Coronavirus in Canada

• Two of Quebec’s top public-health officials defended their pandemic strategies during an inquest into the deadly impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes. The province is reporting 716 new cases of COVID-19 today and two additional deaths.
• Manitoba bolstered its public health orders Friday in an attempt to stop a surge of COVID-19 cases. Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, released projections that showed the demand for intensive care beds could soon approach the pandemic’s peak last spring, when dozens of patients had to be flown to other provinces to free up bed space.
• Nova Scotia will help pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for mink, but the British Columbia government says more research is needed to determine if immunization is an option for thousands of animals that will soon be banned from the province.
• Ontario’s pandemic advisers say intensive care occupancy could climb to about 200 to 250 people by December as COVID-19 cases rise. The province’s COVID-19 science and modelling advisory tables released new projections on Friday. Meanwhile, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has suspended the liquor license of a Belleville, Ont. restaurant for breaching COVID-19 health measures.

More than 80 per cent of Canadians say all MPs should be vaccinated against COVID-19, a new poll suggests.

• The survey, conducted by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail, found that 75.2 per cent of respondents said they “agree” and eight per cent said they “somewhat agree” with the statement: “All members of Parliament should be vaccinated for COVID-19.”
• The issue has become a point of debate in light of a new House of Commons policy that will bar unvaccinated MPs from entering Parliament when sittings resume on Nov. 22.

The Decibel podcast: Three Canadian researchers on what we learned when the world went quiet during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Coronavirus around the world

• Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic again, prompting some governments to consider reimposing unpopular lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas. The continent accounts for more than half of the average seven-day infections globally and about half of latest deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
• Japan’s economic stimulus package will require fiscal spending worth 40 trillion yen ($440-billion) to spur the country’s economy, which is reeling from the coronavirus.

Coronavirus and business

• AstraZeneca is banking on new orders as its COVID-19 vaccine starts to make a modest profit.
• The number of Americans voluntarily quitting their jobs rose to a record high in September, while job openings stayed above pre-pandemic levels.

Globe opinion

• Alec Bruce: Drinking skyrocketed during COVID-19. Why is it so hard to learn the facts about alcohol?

More reporting

• Feeling FOMO after the pandemic stock gains? It might be time to rethink your investing approach

Information centre

• Everything you need to know about Canada’s travel restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated people
• Waiting for a second dose? We answer your COVID-19 vaccine questions
• What is and isn’t ‘paid sick leave’ in Canada? A short primer
• Got a vaccine ‘hangover’? Here’s why

Sources: Canada data are compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins University and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data are from Johns Hopkins.

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