TORONTO —
When the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines finally arrive in Canada, the country will need to grapple with a series of difficult questions that ethicists fear we haven’t spent enough time answering.
For example, which groups should get vaccinated after those most vulnerable? How long will it take for everyone to get their shot? And what happens if a person refuses to get vaccinated?
The clock is ticking to address those questions. Pfizer’s vaccine candidate, which is more than 90-per-cent effective according to the company’s preliminary results, could be approved for use in Canada before Christmas, according to Health Canada’s chief medical adviser.
Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s faculty of medicine, said the lack of clarity on a number of key issues involving Canada’s rollout is “beginning to make people very anxious.”
“Because we don’t really have a clear plan yet. Or if we do, it’s not available and transparent to the majority of Canadians,” Bowman told CTV News.
Those groups include those at risk of severe illness and death (such as the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions), essential workers most likely to transmit the disease (such as health-care workers), those at risk who live in communities that could suffer disproportionate consequences (such as isolated Indigenous communities), and other workers providing services that contribute to “the functioning of society.”
The committee purposefully left those definitions broad so that policy-makers tasked with plotting provincial roll-outs could define them as they see fit.
But after those groups, who comes next?
Research suggests racialized Canadians are at higher risk than white Canadians of having pre-existing conditions that could put them at risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19.
Employers whose businesses have been sidelined due to COVID-19 will also be among those most keen to get vaccinated. A recent Statistics Canada survey suggested that five per cent of businesses were actively considering bankruptcy or closure this fall. Anxieties are running highest among the arts, entertainment and hospitality industries, with nearly 30 per cent worried they’ll need to resort to layoffs, bankruptcy or closure within six months.
Whatever happens, there will inevitably be a period of time in 2021 when the limited supply of vaccines will create a society of haves and have-nots. Those months will be challenging, says Alison Thompson, an ethicist with the University of Toronto.
“This is very concerning because then we have a society that is really a two-tiered society that is based on some kind of biological grounds,” she said.
CAN YOU REFUSE THE VACCINE?
It’s impossible for anyone to be forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine once it’s available. But there could be real-life consequences to refusal.
“People that don’t want the vaccine, we all know, have an absolute right not to have it. I mean, it is their bodies without question,” Bowman said. “But that is an ethical concern because what will likely happen to people within that group is more and more opportunities may slowly be shut off to them.”
For instance, individuals who aren’t vaccinated may miss out on returning to the workplace or could face other restrictions involving group gatherings.
To make matters trickier, the vaccine will not be immediately available for certain groups. Pregnant women and children, who are not involved in clinical trials of the experimental vaccines, will be excluded from vaccination until more clinical trial data is available.
This exemption may be inconvenient, but it’s standard in these sorts of trials for safety reasons, Thompson said.
“Pregnant women are often excluded from clinical trials on many pharmaceutical products, including vaccines, because of the risk to the fetus that she carries and her own health,” she said.
IMMUNITY PASSPORTS?
The idea of “immunity passports” was floated early on in the pandemic as some governments expressed optimism that individuals who’d recovered from COVID-19 and tested positive for virus-fighting antibodies could be given greater freedoms to travel or return to work.
However, the World Health Organization dismissed the idea, saying there wasn’t enough evidence yet on the effectiveness or longevity of immunity through antibodies.
Vaccines may give new attention to the notion of “immunity passports” — a possibility that Thompson said needs to be handled thoughtfully.
“I think we need to think very carefully about how we use people’s immune status to grant them access to employment and travel and things like that,” she said.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMEONE SUFFERS SIDE EFFECTS?
All vaccines currently being study are tested for both their effectiveness and safety. Before reaching the general public, Health Canada needs to approve that the vaccine is safe enough for public use. Even so, there’s a chance that some individuals could suffer long-term side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine, Bowman said. It’s simply too early to know for certain.
“I have never heard of a vaccine that is 100-per-cent bulletproof safe, and I have no belief that this will be any different.”
However, he added: “It all sounds very good so far.”
In the event that someone suffers negative side effects of the vaccine, some advocates believe they should be financially compensated. At least 19 countries already have programs in place that compensate individuals injured by vaccines, but Canada does not, except for Quebec.
Thompson said it’s time for Canada to consider its own national compensation program.
“There are things we can be doing from the government side, to really help people view (vaccines) as more trustworthy,” she said, pointing to such a program.
CAN YOU CHOOSE WHICH VACCINE YOU WANT?
With several vaccine candidates in the race to be approved first, with Pfizer and Moderna leading the pack, it’s possible that Canada could have several different vaccines on the market in 2021. However, experts told CTVNews.ca last week that there is no health benefit to receiving more than one type of vaccine. As for personal choice, it’s unlikely that Canadians will have the option to choose which vaccine they want.
“I suspect that choice will not be an issue as the vaccines arrive in Canada. There will be a strategy to roll out vaccination, prioritizing the most vulnerable and front-line workers,” said Dr. Eleanor Fish, an immunology professor at the University of Toronto.
In the face of so many looming questions, Bowman said it’s important to “get this right.”
“So much of vaccine distribution is tied to ethics now,” he said. “It’s going to be a challenge.”
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says 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 in what was the company’s third quarter 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.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
