Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is recommending provinces and territories extend the time between first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses to four months amid vaccine shortages.
In new guidlines posted on the NACI website on Wednesday, the committee said “current evidence suggests high vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease and hospitalization for several weeks after the first dose, including among older populations.”
NACI said due to limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines, “jurisdictions should maximize the number of individuals benefiting from the first dose of vaccine by extending the interval for the second dose of vaccine to four months.”
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“Extending the dose interval to four months allows NACI to create opportunities for protection of the entire adult population within a short timeframe,” the committee said. “This will not only achieve protection of the adult population, but will also contribute to health equity.”
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According to NACI, approximately 80 per cent of the eligible population could be offered a dose of one of the approved mRNA vaccines by the end of June if jurisdictions implement a four-month interval between shots this month.
While the NACI releases recommendations, it is ultimately up to the provinces to determine how they will administer the COVID-19 vaccines.
A number of provinces including British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba have already decided they will be extending the interval between COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Speaking at a press conference earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government is monitoring the vaccine rollout approaches across Canada.
“We’re paying for the vaccines, we’re bringing them in and then we’re working with, obviously, public health experts, the National Advisory Council on Immunization, (and) working with provinces and chief medical officers across the country in order to deliver those vaccines to Canadians in the most rapid and most effective way to keep people safe to get through this pandemic quickly,” he said.
Asked whether the timeline to get all Canadians vaccinated could change, Trudeau said we are “seeing some of the science shift,” adding that “some proposals put forward, which are very, very interesting, which could result in rapider timelines.”
“But every step of the way, we’re going to be informed by the experts, by science, by the recommendations on the best way to protect Canadians, particularly vulnerable Canadians, and the best way to get through this as quickly as possible,” he said.
In a previous interview with Global News, Colin Furness, an epidemiologist with the University of Toronto, said veering from the recommended timeframes could be “dangerous” and “risky.”
“When the vaccines were validated or tested, they were tested according to a certain schedule,” he said. “When you lengthen it, you go into uncharted territory.”
Furness said changing the timeline could impact the vaccine’s effectiveness.
“It could be the same, (or) the effectiveness could be lower — that is, your body might actually start to shut down its immune response and so it wouldn’t have the same combined effect,” he said. “Or it’s possible that waiting will actually make the vaccines even more effective, that could happen, too.”
According to Furness, all options are possible until the vaccine’s long-term effects can be properly studied.
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Currently, all three vaccines approved for use in Canada require two doses to be administered.
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Health Canada approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in December, and a candidate from AstraZeneca-Oxford last week.
However, Canada has fallen considerably behind even its closest allies when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
By Wednesday evening 2,072,757 COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Canada, meaning approximately 2.78 per cent of the country’s population has been inoculated.
In comparison, the United States has fully vaccinated 7.9 per cent of its population, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
The federal government has maintained, though, that all Canadians who want a COVID-19 vaccine will have access to one by the end of September.
-With files from Global News’ Rachael D’Amore and Emerald Bensadoun
VANCOUVER – West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. says it’s indefinitely curtailing its sawmill in Lake Butler, Fla., by the end of the month.
The Vancouver-based company says the decision is because of high fibre costs and soft lumber markets.
West Fraser says the curtailment will affect about 130 employees, though it will mitigate the impact by providing work opportunities at other locations.
The company says high fibre costs at Lake Butler and the current low-price commodity environment have made it difficult to operate the mill profitably.
It expects to take an impairment charge in the third quarter associated with the curtailment.
At the beginning of this year, West Fraser said it was closing a sawmill in Maxville, Fla., and indefinitely closing another in Huttig, Ark.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
