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Delays in the delivery of Moderna vaccines are interrupting vaccination programs across the country, with health officials cancelling appointments, reducing clinic capacity, or holding doses in reserve to prevent disruptions.
The last timely shipment of the Moderna vaccine arrived in Canada on March 11, according to information provided to The Globe and Mail by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Since then, shipments of hundreds of thousands of shots have arrived later than expected, and that trend will continue in the weeks ahead, PHAC said.
Read more:
Health Canada stands by approval of AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines
André Picard: We’ve lost our ability to put risk in perspective when it comes to AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
Editorial: Canada’s vaccine drive keeps hitting new speed bumps
Opinion: To put out the third-wave fire, all of Canada must focus on hot-spot vaccination
Nurse Brenda Lotakoun draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as nurses from Humber River Hospital staff administer vaccines to residents, staff, and volunteers at one of B'nai Brith Canada's affordable housing buildings on March 23, 2021 in Toronto, Canada.Cole Burston/Getty Images
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Sex-assault victim appeals conviction for breaking publication ban on her identity
Canada’s first victim of sexual assault to be prosecuted for violating the publication ban on her own name is appealing the conviction even though she pleaded guilty and agreed that her plea amounted to a confession.
The notice of appeal, filed yesterday in Ontario Superior Court, highlights the treatment of sexual-assault complainants in the criminal-justice system.
“It just boggles my mind,” the woman’s new lawyer, Robin Parker, a former federal Crown attorney, said in an interview, “that someone in the Crown’s office sat down and thought it was important to prosecute without considering the larger impact it would have” on her client and victims generally. She said the conviction, if not quashed, will have a chilling effect on the already low levels of reporting of sexual assault.
What to watch for in a long-awaited pandemic federal budget
After more than a year of emergency government spending at levels not seen since the Second World War, the Liberal government is ready to unveil its postpandemic recovery plan.
When Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland rises in a near-empty House of Commons on Monday, she will seek to balance promises of more spending without scaring off voters or international investors, and introduce a budget that puts the state at the centre of Canada’s economic recovery.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ottawa aims to grant residency to 90,000 temporary workers and students: The federal government plans to grant permanent residency to more than 90,000 temporary foreign workers and graduated international students as part of its goal to admit 401,000 immigrants this year.
Advocates urge reassessment of Veterans Affairs to meet mental health needs: Advocates called for a rethink of the way Veterans Affairs Canada operates in testimony yesterday before a House of Commons committee, stating that the department does not adequately meet the mental health needs of veterans seeking support.
Ottawa drops specific COVID-19 screening for travellers from Brazil: Canada has dropped specific screening requirements for travellers arriving from Brazil, measures aimed at reducing the spread of a highly contagious variant of COVID-19 that is now spreading rapidly throughout Western Canada.
Tokyo Summer Olympics hit 100-days-out marker: After months of question marks, health concerns, event rescheduling and general ambivalence about an Olympics being held in a pandemic, those famous rings are starting to shine a little brighter on the horizon. The 100-days-out post arrived yesterday, a sign that the Tokyo Games are just around the corner despite the many hurdles along the way.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks were on course to extend a five-day run of record highs on Thursday, while Bitcoin took a breather after its latest surge and Russia’s markets tumbled at the prospect of the harshest U.S. sanctions in years. The U.S. dollar was at a four-week low ahead of March retail sales data with investors increasingly convinced that U.S. interest rates will stay low. Wall Street futures were pointing higher after a mixed finish on Wednesday.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Campbell Clark: “So we can expect Ms. Freeland will announce new funding for child care, but that the provinces will have to meet certain conditions to receive it. The provinces will see loose conditions as a carrot, but will view strict conditions as a stick wielded so Ottawa can get its way.”
Lawrence Martin: “The notion held by many that athletes shouldn’t be able to speak out on the issues of day is irrational. Just like non-athletes, just like anyone in any profession, they are entitled to exercise their constitutional free-speech rights.”
Konrad Yakabuski: “Eventually, a future Conservative leader must understand that playing to the so-cons is a losing strategy, period. It might help you win a leadership race, but it will leave you with a stinking albatross around your neck of which no amount of flowery perfume can disguise the stench.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Vitamin E is an overlooked nutrient that you should pay attention to
Vitamin E keeps cell membranes strong, enhances immune function, maintains healthy skin, helps relax blood vessels and prevents blood clots from forming in arteries. But depending on what your go-to cooking oil is, or the type of diet you follow, you may not be getting enough of this underappreciated nutrient. Here’s what to know about vitamin E.
MOMENT IN TIME: APRIL 15, 2013
Boston police officers just after an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 15, 2013.John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via NYT
Boston marathon bombing
Many runners dream of qualifying for the Boston marathon and every year hundreds of thousands turn out to watch one of the world’s most famous road races. But eight years ago, the 177th run was marred by violence. At 2:49 p.m., with the race clock reading 4:09, two homemade pressure-cooker bombs were detonated 14 seconds apart near the finish line. The explosions killed three people, left 17 with missing limbs and injured hundreds of others. Three days after the bombings, the FBI released images of the suspects, later identified as brothers. Shortly thereafter, they killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, abducted a man and were involved in a shootout with police in nearby Watertown that left one of the brothers dead. In the evening on April 19, the other was captured while hiding under a boat in a backyard. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted on 30 charges and sentenced to death in 2015. That death sentence was vacated last year on appeal but the U.S. Supreme Court said last month it will now hear the case. He remains imprisoned on several life sentences. Iain Boekhoff
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