European Union leaders are meeting Thursday to look for ways of ramping up COVID-19 vaccinations across the 27-nation region amid a shortage of doses, spikes in new cases, a feud with the United Kingdom and internal quarrels.
The coronavirus pandemic once again prevented the leaders from meeting in person, reflecting the poor epidemiological situation in the EU. The spread of more contagious variants of the virus has pushed hospitals in some countries to their limit, and combined with the lack of vaccines available in Europe, has led several EU members to impose strict lockdown measures over the Easter period.
Less than five per cent of the EU’s 450 million residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Speaking ahead of the video talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said problems with the delivery of coronavirus vaccines have underscored the need for the EU to redouble its efforts to produce doses within the bloc.
“We can see clearly that British facilities are producing for Great Britain. The United States isn’t exporting, and therefore we are dependent upon what can be produced in Europe,” she said.
To ensure a steadier vaccine supply, the bloc’s executive arm has proposed strengthening export controls for coronavirus shots. Even if the move is detrimental to non-EU nations, the European Commission’s goal is to force vaccine manufacturers, especially AstraZeneca, to deliver the doses agreed to in their contracts.
The commission also wants to make sure a principle of export reciprocity is enforced with countries that are producing vaccines or the raw materials needed for them.
EU Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis explicitly pointed at Britain earlier this week, saying that since the end of January “some 10 million doses have been exported from the EU to the U.K. and zero doses have been exported from the U.K. to the EU.”
The commission’s proposal has been divisive, according to various European diplomats who spoke before the summit. While some countries see it as an instrument of last resort that should not undermine the EU’s reputation as an open trading bloc, others said it is a crucial tool to guarantee that doses and vaccine ingredients reach the bloc.
“Some countries refuse to export. So we need to introduce reciprocity criteria if we want to be able to keep our vaccination goal for the summer,” said one diplomat, referring to the EU’s aim of having 70 per cent of the adult population vaccinated by that season.
Controls could impact U.K.
Stricter control of exports could have an impact on Britain, whose speedy vaccination rollout after it formally withdrew from the EU has been eyed with envy by many European nations. The latest figures show that 45 per cent of British residents have had at least one vaccine shot, compared to less than 14 per cent for the EU.
The EU’s contract disputes with British-Swedish company AstraZeneca deepened the post-Brexit tensions. However, the EU and the U.K. pledged this week to increase co-operation and fight Europe’s third wave of infections together.
EU officials have said trade with the United States should not be affected by the mechanism. U.S. President Joe Biden has been invited to attend the virtual EU summit.
The leaders of EU member nations also need to settle an internal dispute after Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz criticized the distribution of vaccines, saying that some countries were receiving more than their fair share. Austria is leading a coalition of six countries asking for a correction mechanism.
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a European Union summit over video conference in Paris on Thursday. Vaccine delivery has been a point of contention, with particular concern in Europe around shipments of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. (Michel Euler/AFP/Getty Images)
Under the joint procurement set up by the European Commission, doses are allocated on a pro rata basis, but member states are free to place orders directly from the manufacturer of their choice.
A large majority of EU members think the system is working well and said Austria made a mistake to focus on AstraZeneca shots instead of diversifying its portfolio. To help the countries struggling the most, member nations are examining ways to make efficient use of the 10 million additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that were made available for the bloc for the second quarter.
“But the correction won’t apply to all member states, only to those who really are in need of solidarity,” a diplomat said.
Further highlighting division within the EU on vaccinations, Denmark’s government announced Thursday it would continue its suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine for three more weeks. Several European countries that had suspended using the vaccine over concerns it could cause blood clots have resumed administering it after the European Union’s drug regulator said it was safe.
A spokesperson for Canada’s international trade minister, Mary Ng, said earlier this week that Canada would work with the EU to ensure the country’s essential medical supply chains remained open.
“Our expected shipments of vaccines have been arriving in Canada,” Youmy Han said in a statement late Tuesday.
-From The Associated Press and The Canadian Press, last updated at 9 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Canadian medical experts weigh in on debate over COVID-19 vaccine dose intervals:
Dr. Isaac Bogoch and Dr. David Naylor call for exceptions to the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to the wait time between vaccine shots. 13:33
As of 12:40 p.m. ET on Thursday, Canada had reported 949,700 cases of COVID-19, with 38,382 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,780.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia‘s government released its budget on Thursday, a first for new Premier Iain Rankin. The budget focused on coping with continuing pandemic costs and improving its health system, creating a $585-million projected deficit for 2021-22.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, health officials reported no new cases on Thursday, a day after the province’s top doctor announced a plan to ease restrictions.
“This time around, we will all need to do things a little differently. I think it’s safe to say we were all startled by this outbreak and how rapidly it escalated and we don’t want to be taken by surprise again,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said Wednesday.
Fitzgerald said case counts, including those involving variants of the coronavirus, have been rising in other parts of Canada.
“We will almost certainly see another variant case in the province,” she said. For that reason, wearing a mask will still be as important as ever, officials stressed.
Health officials in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island had not yet reported updated figures for the day.
In Quebec, health officials reported 945 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and four additional deaths. Hospitalizations in the province stood at 496, with 117 people in intensive care, according to a provincial tracking dashboard.
The province is set to release a budget on Thursday, its first since the outbreak of a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of 10,630 people there.
Ontario reported 2,380 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 17 additional deaths, though provincial officials noted in a statement that the case count was higher by “approximately 280 cases” due to a data catch-up. Data released by the province put the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations at 894, with 332 in intensive care.
The update comes a day after the provincial government unveiled its budget, offering a spending plan aimed at helping the province recover from the COVID-19 outbreak.
In Manitoba, health officials reported 81 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and no additional deaths. The province has temporarily halted its expansion of eligibility for vaccinations. Instead, the age will stay at 65 and up (and 45 and up for Indigenous people) for the time being as health teams deal with existing appointments and the province waits for more supply.
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, said the province will now extend its inoculation program to anyone over age 65. In addition, people aged 50 and older in the Far North can book shots, as can priority health-care workers, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said.
WATCH | Dr. Deena Hinshaw talks about increasing COVID-19 cases in Alberta and the risks of not following public health guidelines:
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, says fatigue, variants and people not following public health measures are the reasons for the recent rise in cases in Alberta. 2:37
In Alberta, health officials reported 692 new cases and two additional deaths on Wednesday. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, cautioned that the province may need to ramp up restrictions in the face of rising cases of variants of concern.
“What we know is that in other places where variant strains have become dominant … additional restrictions have been required,” Hinshaw said Wednesday. Hospitalizations stood at 285, with 53 COVID-19 patients reported to be in intensive care unit beds.
British Columbia reported 716 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths on Wednesday. Hospitalizations stood at 303, health officials said, with 85 in intensive care units.
Across the North, there were no new cases reported in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 12:40 a.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
WATCH | New trial looks into mixing COVID-19 vaccines:
A new trial is looking into the possibility of getting different types of COVID-19 vaccines for each dose and what it could mean for the fight against COVID-19. 2:03
As of early Thursday morning, more than 124.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, according to a tracking site operated by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 2.7 million.
In Africa, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control says he is concerned by reports that the Serum Institute of India is suspending major exports of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in order to meet rising domestic demand.
Africa CDC director John Nkengasong said Thursday that he “truly feels helpless that this situation is going to significantly impact our ability to fight this virus.”
He said that “without ramping access to vaccines we will be challenged, continue to be challenged. Lives will be lost.”
The fight against COVID-19 has to be “a collective battle,” Nkengasong went on, noting that he remained hopeful “that the power of humanity will prevail.”
The BBC and Reuters have reported that the Serum Institute of India is temporarily suspending vaccine exports to meet local demand amid a rise in confirmed virus infections in India. The Indian vaccine manufacturer is the source of the AstraZeneca shots being shipped to Africa under the COVAX initiative working to ensure access for low- and middle-income countries. At least 28 of Africa’s 54 countries had received over 16 million doses via COVAX as of Thursday.
Nkengasong said: “There is absolutely no need, absolutely no need for us as humanity to go into a vaccine war to fight this pandemic. We will all be losers.”
In the Americas, the U.S. has surpassed 30 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Coronavirus cases nationwide reached 30,001,245 on Wednesday, nearly three months after the country hit 20 million. COVID-19-related deaths now total more than 545,000.
The new milestone comes as public health experts show cautious optimism three months into the U.S. vaccination rollout. It is believed that 70 per cent of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and COVID-19 deaths are below 1,000 a day on average for the first time since November.
The federal government is dramatically ramping up vaccine production and several states have already expanded vaccination eligibility to people age 16 and up.
Residents place roses on mattresses symbolizing COVID-19 victims during a protest against the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, organized by the Rio de Paz NGO in front of a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday. (Silvia Izquierdo/The Associated Press)
Brazil, meanwhile, has reached 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and become the second nation to top that figure.
Wednesday’s coronavirus figures from the Brazilian health ministry added another 2,009 deaths to the country’s tally, which local media say is an undercount.
On Tuesday, Brazil hit a single-day record of 3,251 COVID-19 deaths and authorities fear that April could be as grim as March in the country’s overwhelmed hospitals. Brazil added 100,000 deaths to its tally in only 75 days, a spike health experts have blamed on a lack of political co-ordination, new variants that spread more easily and a disregard for health protocols in many parts of the country.
In Europe, Poland reported a record daily number of new coronavirus cases for the second day in a row as the prime minister prepared to give details of harsher restrictions for the Easter period.
Hungary’s hospitals are under “extraordinary” pressure from rising coronavirus infections, its surgeon general said, as the country became a hot spot in the third wave of a pandemic that has hit Central Europe especially hard.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Sri Lanka has decided to purchase seven million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. The government said it will pay $69.65 million US for the shots.
Sri Lanka aims to inoculate 14 million people out of the population of 22 million. So far, over 850,000 people have received their shots using the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Sri Lanka has received 1.2 million AstraZeneca doses out of at least 10 million it plans to purchase for $52.5 million. It has also approved China’s Sinopharm shots. Of the 1.2 million doses, Sri Lanka got 500,000 as a donation from India and bought another 500,000. The other 264,000 came through the COVAX facility.
In the Middle East, clerks at the largest cemetery in Jordan barely have a moment to themselves as people rush to pay for graves to bury relatives amid a record surge of deaths from COVID-19.
The cemetery on the outskirts of the capital saw at least 50 burials on Tuesday, a day after the health ministry announced 109 COVID-19 deaths, the kingdom’s highest daily tally. The surge in the last two months, blamed on the fast spread of the B117 variant first identified in Britain, has put Jordan’s infections and deaths above most of its neighbours and reverses months of success in containing the outbreak.
-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 9 a.m. ET
Have a question or something to say? CBC News is live in the comments now.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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