Business

Bivalent vaccine in Canada: Omicron booster authorized – CTV News

Published

2 years ago

September 1, 2022

OTTAWA –

Health Canada has authorized the use of the country’s first variant-targeting COVID-19 booster shot.

On Thursday, the federal health regulator announced it has given the green light to Moderna’s Omicron-targeting bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, for those ages 18 years and older.

A technical briefing with Public Health Agency of Canada officials is scheduled for Thursday morning. Then, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will be making an announcement about “the importance of COVID-19 vaccination as we head into the fall.”

Moderna submitted its bivalent booster to Health Canada for regulatory approval on June 30. While the booster shot was submitted by Moderna for approval for ages 12 and over, it apprears Health Canada has decided to limit its authorization for use in adults.

The booster shot targets both the original strain of COVID-19 as well as the Omicron variant. The mutated and highly-transmissible version of the novel coronavirus has been widely circulating in Canada since November 2021.

Moderna’s bivalent shot will be the first such vaccine available in Canada. Pfizer-BioNTech has also submitted its bivalent booster for regulatory assessment. That submission went to Canada’s federal health regulator on July 25, and while authorization could be imminent it is not expected to be part of Thursday’s announcement.

“Our regulatory colleagues in Health Canada are working very fast at reviewing the submissions from Moderna and from Pfizer-BioNTech on the bivalent booster doses,” said Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam during a press conference on Aug. 22.

This decision comes on the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granting emergency use authorizations on Wednesday, to both Moderna and Pfizer’s bivalent vaccines for use as single booster doses at least two months following primary or booster vaccination.

The United Kingdom approved the Moderna bivalent vaccine on Aug. 15.

The federal government has already purchased 12 million doses of the vaccine, making an agreement with Moderna to replace some of the planned supply of the original mRNA shot with the newer version, with delivery expected before the end of the year.

As has been the case throughout the pandemic, provincial health authorities will be responsible for determining their rollout of this shot, and who’d be prioritized to receive it.

Questions have been raised about whether Canadians should be waiting for the bivalent doses to become available before rolling up their sleeve for a shot, something Tam has said should be decided based on individual risk factors.

With pandemic restrictions largely lifted across provinces, and Canadians expected to increasingly spend more time indoors, doctors and epidemiologists are cautioning against a rise in COVID-19 cases this fall and winter.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Business

TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

Published

1 hour ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

Source link

Business

BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

Published

1 hour ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

Source link

Business

Cineplex reports $24.7M Q3 loss on Competition Tribunal penalty

Published

1 day ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.

The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.

The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.

Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CGX)

Source link