People receive COVID-19 vaccinations at the Ontario Food Terminal, in Toronto, on May 11, 2021.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Some health experts are urging Ontario adults booking their second COVID-19 vaccine to consider the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots interchangeable, as more people in the province become eligible for an earlier follow-up injection this week.
As of 8 a.m. this morning, those who received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before May 9 can book or reschedule their second dose at a shortened interval.
People in Delta variant hot spots who received first shots on or before May 30 can move up their second shots on Wednesday.
Health units covering Toronto, Peel, Halton, Porcupine, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Waterloo and York, Hamilton, Simcoe-Muskoka and Durham are considered hot spots for the more infectious variant.
Toronto announced on the weekend it would scale up doses of the Moderna shot to offset a delay in the delivery of Pfizer doses to Ontario.
The province says this week’s shipment of Pfizer is behind by two to three days, but more than a million doses of Moderna arrived on Friday, so those will be used to supplement the delayed shots.
Ontario is reporting 270 cases of COVID-19 and three deaths from the virus today.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 47 of the new cases are in Toronto, 44 are in Waterloo Region and 42 are in Peel Region.
Elliott says the data is based on more than 13,800 tests.
The province says 323 people are in intensive care with COVID-19-related critical illness and 202 patients are on ventilators.
Ontario administered 118,625 COVID-19 vaccine doses yesterday for a total of more than 12.6 million million doses.
Toronto hospital staff urged to follow protocols after outbreak includes vaccinated
A Toronto hospital network says several vaccinated people have been infected in a COVID-19 outbreak at one of its facilities.
The University Health Network says the outbreak first declared Thursday at Toronto Western Hospital’s 6A unit has so far infected five patients and three staff.
It says it’s urging staff to keep taking precautions to guard against the virus, even when vaccinated.
The hospital network says the majority of the cases are “more than likely” the highly transmissible Delta variant, and include people who had received a dose or two doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
However, it says those cases so far are mild.
The hospital network says despite the variant infecting those already immunized, vaccination efforts must continue to avoid hospitalizations.
Alberta COVID-19 lottery adds hundreds of Stampede tickets, giveaways
Alberta is expanding its vaccine lottery to include prizes from the upcoming Calgary Stampede.
The July 1 draw already features a $1-million prize for someone who has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Premier Jason Kenney says there will now also be hundreds of giveaways for the Stampede, including admission passes and free tickets to evening shows and the rodeo.
Alberta is ending COVID-19 health restrictions on Canada Day, given more than 70 per cent of eligible recipients have received at least one vaccine dose.
However, Kenney says more people need to get the vaccine to keep the province from backsliding into another COVID-19 crisis in the months to come.
Kenney has frequently cited the Stampede, which begins July 9 in a scaled-down fashion, as the symbolic starter’s pistol for Alberta returning to pre-pandemic normality.
Nova Scotia reports no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since March
Nova Scotia is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time in almost three months.
Premier Iain Rankin said today in a statement the last time the daily caseload had dropped to zero was March 29.
Rankin says news of the declining infection rate marks “a great way to begin summer.”
He is also encouraging Nova Scotians to follow public health measures and get fully vaccinated as soon as possible.
Nova Scotia has 79 active reported cases of COVID-19, including three people recovering in hospital – one of them in intensive care.
Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, says Nova Scotians should be proud of their efforts to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections.
“But please don’t let your guard down,” he said in a statement. “We need to continue to follow the public health measures, get tested often and get vaccinated until we get to Phase 5 of our reopening.”
Since April 1, the province has reported 4,049 COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.
Canada set to receive 5.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this week
Canada is set to receive more than five million doses of COVID-19 vaccine over the coming week.
Around 2.4 million are expected to come from Pfizer and BioNTech, though that shipment isn’t slated to land until mid-week and has prompted some jurisdictions to temporarily pause walk-in appointments or make use of other vaccines due to the brief delay.
Another 2.8 million will come from Moderna, for a total of 5.2 million shots expected this week.
The federal government says about nine million doses came into the country last week as Canada officially immunized more than 20 per cent of eligible residents with two shots of vaccine.
Procurement Minister Anita Anand has said Canada is on track to receive more than 50 million doses by the end of June, thanks in part to Moderna’s decision to ship about five million shots ahead of schedule.
She said Ottawa is on pace to take delivery of more than 68 million jabs by the end of July.
Three more Quebec regions move into green level of province’s COVID-19 response plan today
Three more regions in Quebec are moving into the green, or least restrictive, level of the province’s COVID-19 response plan as of today.
The regions of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Mauricie-Centre-du-Quebec will join much of the rest of the province in attaining the coveted level that allows for further easing of public health measures.
The zone change will relax restrictions including limits on gatherings in homes, which can host up to 10 people from three different addresses. In yellow zones, only two families are permitted.
The changes come as Quebec continues its downward trajectory of COVID-19 infections, with case numbers generally on the decline since mid-April when daily counts routinely topped 1,500.
Meanwhile, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube is encouraging Quebeckers inoculated against COVID-19 to get their proof of vaccination if they haven’t done so already.
In a tweet Sunday, Dube posted a link to the provincial government’s website where vaccination validation can be obtained.
Quebec today reported fewer than 100 daily COVID-19 infections for the first time since August.
The data showing 90 new cases and no additional deaths came as Quebec Premier François Legault received his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Montreal.
Legault got his booster at Olympic Stadium, administered by Regine Laurent, a well-known nurse and union leader.
He urged Quebeckers to get their second dose, noting that while nearly 80 per cent have received a first needle, only about 17 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Legault says the province is looking at different ways to increase the vaccination numbers of those aged 18 to 39, a group that has been more reticent about getting the shot.
Health authorities say hospitalizations from COVID-19 dipped by two to 168, with the number of patients in intensive care stable at 39.
Saskatchewan to lift all public health measures in province on July 11
Saskatchewan has become the second province behind Alberta to set a date for lifting all remaining public health measures meant to protect against COVID-19.
As of July 11th, all public health measures will end in Saskatchewan, including the province-wide mandatory masking order, as well as all capacity limits on events and gatherings.
Premier Scott Moe says the province can move to Step 3 of its pandemic reopening plan because Saskatchewan is so close to reaching the vaccination thresholds needed for a full reopening.
As of yesterday, 70 per cent of residents over the age of 18 and 69 per cent of those over 12 have received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
On Friday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said that all COVID-19 health restrictions in that province would be lifted on July 1st.
B.C. records 229 cases of COVID-19 over three days as officials encourage vaccination
British Columbia is reporting a one-day total of COVID-19 cases not seen since last August, but health officials are encouraging more people to get vaccinated as the virus continues to circulate in the province and neighbouring jurisdictions.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say 45 cases were recorded on Monday, part of the 229 cases B.C. has had over the last three days.
Three more people have died of COVID-19, for a total of 1,743 deaths in the province, which currently has 1,204 active cases of the virus.
Henry and Dix say in a joint news release that 75.8 per cent of residents aged 12 and over have received their first dose of vaccine and an increasing number of second doses are being administered.
They say drop-in clinics for initial doses are open at a number of locations around the province, and everyone should get vaccinated.
They’re also encouraging youth to get immunized as the school year comes to an end.
‘Made in Calgary’ approach will keep mask requirements past Alberta’s total reopening
Calgary won’t be following provincial recommendations on the mandatory wearing of masks when all COVID-19 health restrictions are lifted in Alberta on July 1.
Alberta reached its Phase 3 goals earlier this month which required 70 per cent of the population receiving a first dose of vaccine and low hospitalization rates.
After a lengthy meeting Monday, city council eventually adopted an amended recommendation to keep the mandatory mask bylaw in place until July 5.
At that time the level of hospitalizations, infection rates, second-dose vaccinations and positivity rates will be considered to allow the bylaw to be repealed “as soon as possible” as long as it’s deemed to be safe.
The city administration had recommended the bylaw remain in place until July 31.
“I’m super optimistic. I want to get rid of this,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi during debate.
“I always thought we wouldn’t be able to get rid of it until September. I’m convinced we’ll be able to get rid of it in July. The question is exactly when do we want to do that?”
The number of Calgarians who have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine is 75.6 per cent which is above the provincial average, while more than 29 per cent are fully vaccinated.
“Although things have improved overall and the light is at the end of the tunnel and it’s getting closer every day, there are still some things that we need to be concerned about,” said Susan Henry, the chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency.
“In particular we’re watching the uncertainty around the Delta variant and the relatively low level of second-dose coverage we have in our community.”
Other recommendations on the table included repealing the bylaw when 75 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, waiting until the bylaw is due to expire in December or removing the temporary bylaw July 1.
Matt Zabloski, a business strategist with City of Calgary Community Standards, said medical experts across Canada and within Alberta provided varying estimates as to what is the most suitable number for the requirement for face coverings to be dropped.
He said the spectrum extends from the 70 per cent of first vaccinations announced by the Government of Alberta, to 75 per cent fully vaccinated from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
“The lack of consensus from medical experts on the appropriate metric for repeal, coupled with circumstances such as the city being the location of the majority of the Delta variant in Alberta and public opinion that is unique to Calgary provides solid rationale for a cautiously optimistic Made-in-Calgary approach,” Zabloski told council.
“It is a least-harm approach to an uncertain situation providing a public-health safeguard without limiting the economy.”
But Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, an urgent-care physician in Calgary, asked council to leave the mask bylaw in place saying it provides an additional layer of protection.
He said there are about 475,000 Calgarians, many of them under the age of 12, who are unable to be vaccinated.
“In 10 days practically all of the provincial measures that help to protect Calgarians are going to be turned off,” Bhardwaj said.
Bhardwaj wanted the bylaw remain in effect, at least until mid or late August when the impact of the Calgary Stampede will be evident. He said nobody wants to see a return to all the restrictions if there’s a spike in new cases and hospitalization rates grow.
“Please consider what it would mean to you to turn the mask bylaw back on again. We’ve misjudged this virus in the past. We’ve reacted less quickly than we could have.”
Earlier this month Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he hoped the cities of Edmonton and Calgary would stay in lockstep with the province when it comes to eventually lifting mask restrictions tied to COVID-19.
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson has indicated the city will employ an abundance of caution before the mask bylaw can be fully lifted.
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