Safe and reliable vaccines can help protect you and your family from COVID-19covid 19. They will be an important tool to help stop the spread of the virus and allow individuals, families and workers to safely resume normal life.
When a large percentage of the population becomes immune to COVID-19covid 19, the spread of the virus will slow down or stop. This is known as herd immunity.
Herd immunity is different for each disease. For example, to stop their spread:
approximately 80% of the population must be immune to polio
up to 95% of the population must be immune to measles
As evidence is evolving on COVID-19covid 19 and vaccines, additional research is needed to determine how much of the population needs to be vaccinated to stop its spread.
Building immunity takes time
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines approved for use in Canada require two doses, administered a few weeks apart, for your body to develop adequate immunity.
Until vaccines are widely available for everyone to receive two doses and achieve herd immunity, we all must:
Please check back for regular updates as more details are available.
When vaccines will be available
We are rolling out a three-phase distribution plan to ensure Ontario is prepared to receive, store and administer COVID-19covid 19 vaccines when they arrive over the next several months. It focuses first on vulnerable populations that are at greatest risk of COVID-19covid 19 and severe illness and those who care for them.
After independent and thorough scientific reviews for safety, efficacy and quality, Health Canada has approved two vaccines for use in Canada:
How we will distribute Pfizer-BioNTech vs Moderna vaccines
Both COVID-19 vaccines are fragile and must be stored and transported in special conditions to keep them stable and effective.
While you can store the Moderna vaccine at -20 degrees Celsius, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires colder temperatures, around -70 Celsius. This means the Moderna vaccine is easier to transport and store safely.
Because of this, we plan to administer the:
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine primarily in hospitals in urban areas
Moderna vaccine in long-term care homes, congregate settings and more rural and remote communities
Phase 1
Vaccine readiness pilot: December 14, 2020
Ontario participated in a COVID-19covid 19 vaccine readiness pilot with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Pfizer-BioNTech.
More than 2,500 health care workers who provide care in select long-term care homes and hospitals were vaccinated at University Health Network in Toronto and The Ottawa Hospital.
The purpose of the readiness pilot was to help:
inform our plan for receiving more vaccine doses during phase one
test the logistics of delivery, vaccine storage and handling, clinic management and post-vaccine surveillance
learn from people’s experience being vaccinated so we can improve future vaccinations
After the readiness pilot: December 2020 to early January 2021
Based on per capita allocations, Ontario is receiving approximately 90,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the federal government.
These doses are being delivered to up to 17 hospital sites (in addition to the University Health Network and the Ottawa Hospital).
Who can be vaccinated
Vaccines are available to health care workers and essential caregivers who work in:
hospitals
long-term care homes
retirement homes
other congregate settings caring for seniors
Clinic locations
The clinic locations include:
Grand River Hospital
Halton Healthcare
Hamilton Health Sciences
Humber River Hospital
Lakeridge Health
London Health Sciences Centre
Mackenzie Health
Michael Garron Hospital
Ottawa Hospital
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre
Scarborough Health Network
Southlake Regional Health Centre
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (selected to test the travel logistics in Northern Ontario and support the administration of the vaccine to Indigenous and remote communities)
Trillium Health Partners
University Health Network in Toronto
Unity Health Toronto
William Osler Health System
Windsor Regional Hospital
These vaccination clinics are not open to the public.
Expanding beyond the pilot: January 2021 and beyond
Additional hospital sites will begin providing vaccines in regions with the highest rates of COVID-19covid 19 infection.
Who can be vaccinated
The vaccine will be available to:
health care workers
essential caregivers
long-term care home and retirement home residents
First Nation communities and urban Indigenous populations, including Métis and Inuit adults
Clinic locations
We anticipate that by end of January, more than 20 hospitals across Ontario will be administering the vaccines.
Phase 2
Phase 2 will begin when more doses become available to Ontario. This is expected to begin later this winter.
During phase two, pending consultation, vaccinations will be expanded to:
all members of the groups in phase 1
additional congregate care settings (for example, shelters)
adults over 70 in expanded regions
Phase 3
Ontario will enter phase three when vaccines are available for everyone who wants to be immunized.
Vaccines will not be mandatory, but you are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated.
The federal government has advance agreements with several manufacturers to purchase COVID-19covid 19 vaccines once the scientific studies are completed and the vaccines are approved for use in Canada.
Ontario is ready to receive and distribute more COVID-19covid 19 vaccines as soon as they are available.
Who will be able to get vaccinated first
Since there will be limited supply in the first few months of the vaccine program, some groups will be able to get a COVID-19covid 19 vaccine in the early phases.
Early doses of the vaccine will be available for:
residents, staff, essential caregivers (including family caregivers) and other employees who work in congregate living settings providing care for seniors as they are at higher risk of infection and serious illness from COVID-19covid 19
health care workers, including hospital employees, other staff who work or study in hospitals and other health care personnel
adults in First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations where infection can have disproportionate consequences, including those living in remote or isolated areas where risk of transmission is high
adult recipients of chronic home health care
As further information becomes available from clinical trials and from Health Canada approvals, the groups for which the vaccines are authorized for use could change.
Ontario will also prioritize regions with the highest rates of COVID-19covid 19 infection – those in the Red – Control and Grey – Lockdown zones when we receive the vaccines.
These priorities are based on advice from the:
We are also developing an ethical framework to guide our decisions on vaccine distribution. It will be released in the coming weeks.
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force
The COVID-19covid 19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force is advising Ontario as it plans the immunization program and delivers vaccines.
The task force is advising and providing recommendations on:
how to deliver, store and distribute vaccines
support for our partners in the health care system to deliver vaccinations in phases, beginning with vulnerable populations
clinical guidance to administer the vaccine and track vaccine uptake
reporting data and technology to provide timely, relevant and accurate information to health care providers, decision-makers and the public
public education and community outreach efforts to encourage people to get the vaccine
Members
General (retired) Rick Hillier, former Chief of Defence Staff for the Canadian Forces (chair)
Mario Di Tommaso, Deputy Solicitor General, Community Safety, Commissioner of Emergency Management (vice-chair)
Helen Angus, Deputy Minister of Health (vice-chair)
Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald of Taykwa Tagamou Nation
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases consultant and internist, Toronto General Hospital
Linda Hasenfratz, CEO, Linamar Corporation
Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario’s Chief Coroner and Coordinator of Provincial Outbreak Response
Angela Mondou, President and CEO, TECHNATION
Mark Saunders, former Toronto Police Chief
Dr. Maxwell Smith, bioethicist and assistant professor, Western University
Dr. Homer Tien, trauma surgeon and President and CEO, Ornge
Dr. Regis Vaillancourt, Director of Pharmacy, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Ex-officio members
Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Public Health
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.
