It is still too early to say with any amount of certainty whether vaccines prevent people from spreading COVID-19 to others who are not yet vaccinated, Health Canada says.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky said earlier in the week that vaccinated people did not become infected or spread the virus to others — something that quickly prompted criticism from infectious disease experts who stressed there is simply no data to prove that.
“While COVID-19 vaccines authorized in Canada have demonstrated efficacy against symptomatic illness, hospitalization and death, there were only limited data on their ability to prevent asymptomatic infection or to prevent transmission to others,” said André Gagnon, spokesperson for Health Canada, in an email.
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“While the Department is aware of this study, until there is more evidence, continuing adherence to public health measures to protect those around you remains necessary.”
1:23 Dr. Tam ‘looking forward to the fall’ to get back to some normality
Dr. Tam ‘looking forward to the fall’ to get back to some normality
Gagnon referred to the study released on March 29 by the CDC that Walensky cited in her comments.
She had said that the data “suggests that vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don’t get sick.”
Scientists quickly pointed out though that the data did not specifically say that.
Instead, the data found that one dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines was 80 per cent effective at preventing the person who got the shot from being infected with COVID-19, while two doses appeared to be 90 per cent effective at preventing the person from becoming infected.
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Critics noted that suggests that while the risk of a vaccinated person spreading the virus to unvaccinated people appears low, it’s not non-existent — which is why experts continue to advise fully vaccinated people to keep practicing physical distancing and masking around others who are not vaccinated.
“Dr. Walensky spoke broadly during this interview,” the newspaper quoted a CDC spokesperson as telling their reporter when asked about the director’s comments.
“It’s possible that some people who are fully vaccinated could get COVID-19. The evidence isn’t clear whether they can spread the virus to others. We are continuing to evaluate the evidence.”
Colin Furness, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said the challenge for public health experts lies in the need to be cautious about a lack of clear data.
“That’s enormously difficult to measure. You’d have to take vaccinated people – a very, very large number of them, and then swab their noses every day for a very long period of time. That would be the only way to know,” he said when asked about the evidence available so far.
“I don’t think that’s been done.”
Furness said given the uncertainty that remains, Walensky’s comment may have been “irresponsible” in that it could encourage vaccinated people to take risks where they could still infect others.
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“She might be saying there is no evidence that they do [spread the virus],” Furness added. “But an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”
3:09 Now that you got a COVID-19 shot, can your life return to normal?
Now that you got a COVID-19 shot, can your life return to normal? – Mar 3, 2021
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.
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.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
