Business

Canada approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine label change to 6 doses – Global News

Published

4 years ago

February 10, 2021

Health Canada has authorized a label change to Pfizer–BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine that will allow six doses of the precious drug to be extracted per vial.

Up until now, Canada has been extracting five doses from a single vial of the vaccine.

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Coronavirus: Health Canada approves Pfizer vaccine label change allowing 6 doses per vial

Coronavirus: Health Canada approves Pfizer vaccine label change allowing 6 doses per vial

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The pharmaceutical company recently pushed Health Canada to amend the label information on vials in Canada, as it did with the U.S. and Europe.

The results of the review determined that “six full doses can be consistently obtained from vials with the use of low dead volume syringes.”

The change will help Pfizer fulfill its contract to ship four million doses of its vaccine to Canada by March — but by sending fewer vials.

Canada expects to receive the same number of vials it was expecting from Pfizer next week.

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Coronavirus: Canada secures deal for 64M low dead space syringes

Coronavirus: Canada secures deal for 64M low dead space syringes – Feb 2, 2021

However, those vials will be counted as 400,000 doses, rather than 336,000 doses, according to Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is overseeing logistical planning for Canada’s vaccine distribution efforts.

Getting the sixth dose also requires the use of a special syringe.

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Canada had already begun procuring and distributing this needle — a low dead space syringe — in anticipation of the approval. Procurement Canada said it had ordered 64 million syringes in total.

Those syringes have “already arrived in Canada in sufficient quantities” and are being delivered to provinces, said Fortin.

Delivery of those special syringes will continue through May 2021, he said.

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Coronavirus: Canada to see “significant increase in vaccine supply” from April-June, Fortin says

Coronavirus: Canada to see “significant increase in vaccine supply” from April-June, Fortin says

The dosing change is effective with shipments the week of Feb. 15. Fortin said the delivery of these important syringes will coincide with those shipments.

The batch of 70,000 expected this week has already been calculated at five doses and will not have the label change applied, Health Canada said.

“I would expect that by next week, when the next shipment of Pfizer product arrives, the provinces have on-hand the appropriate tools, appropriate syringes, and training… and will now be in a position to extract those doses much more efficiently,” he said.

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Officials acknowledged that the label change also requires the “right technique” from vaccinators.

Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, acknowledged that it’s not as easy to extract six doses from the vial, rather than five. It requires a “certain level of experience,” he said in the past.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) plans on addressing that through a series of webinars for vaccinations. In conjunction with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), public health will provide training on the label change and the use of low dead volume syringes.

The first webinar will be Feb. 10 and the second on Feb. 12. A follow-up on the “foundational” aspects of vaccination amid COVID-19 will also be held the following week for vaccinators, he said.

— with files from the Canadian Press

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Business

Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

Published

11 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Steven Kaszab

Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

Published

14 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.

Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.

The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.

It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.

Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.

“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.

The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.

“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.

Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.

Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.

In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.

It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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Business

U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

Published

14 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.

The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs

It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.

The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.

Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.

Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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