OTTAWA —
Canada currently has enough doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country to fully vaccinate every eligible person over the age of 12, with more than 66 million doses received as of Tuesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marked the vaccine milestone at a Moncton, N.B. vaccination clinic.
“Back in the winter I made a promise that we would have enough vaccines for all eligible Canadians by the end of September. Not only have we kept that promise, we’ve done it two months ahead of schedule,” Trudeau said.
In June, Trudeau promised that by the end of this month, Canada would have received “over 68 million” doses of COVID-19 vaccines, prompting an acceleration to his initial plans for a “one-dose summer” and “two-dose fall.”
Procurement Minister Anita Anand echoed the announcement later on Tuesday, confirming that by the end of the week, Canada will have received 68 million shots, with millions more coming in the next two months.
“We have procured in total 51 million doses of Pfizer, 44 million doses of Moderna, and we will receive 95 million doses of both of those vaccine manufacturers prior to the end of September,” said Anand.
Reflecting on the rollout, Anand—who led the government’s deal-making with companies to secure doses— said the federal strategy was “one of negotiation, and negotiation, and negotiation.”
As of Tuesday morning, according to CTV News’ vaccine tracker, 80 per cent of the eligible population has received a first dose, while just over 63 per cent of those eligible are fully vaccinated. After trailing behind for months, Canada now has a larger percentage of its population fully vaccinated than any other G7 country.
‘NO MORE EXCUSES’
While more than 26 million of the eligible 33 million Canadians have rolled up their sleeves, the push is now on to try to reach the outstanding people who are vaccine hesitant or have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine for other reasons.
Trudeau sought to encourage those still on the fence, reminding people that the vaccines have been authorized as safe and effective by Health Canada, that what the country is seeing is that “overwhelming majority” of new cases are in people who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and the consequences of getting COVID-19 can be serious.
“With enough doses for everyone, there’s no more excuses to not get your shot,” Trudeau said, encouraging those who have held off to think about their loved ones, the children in their lives, and the health care workers who have been on the front lines for a year and half.
“It’s about stepping up to do the right thing, as Canadians have been doing all throughout this pandemic,” he said, noting that the unvaccinated will be “missing out” on taking part in going forward, citing international travel as an example.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu also spoke about the challenge those who are unwilling to get vaccinated are posing to the country’s overall ability to get through and out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My worry as a Canadian health minister is that if we head into the fall and we have too many people that are unvaccinated, it gives the virus an opportunity to attack the people we love… It puts the risk of our recovery—it makes the risk so much more elevated,” she said.
ROLLOUT NOT WITHOUT ISSUES
While Canada’s vaccine rollout has been boosted by large deliveries of doses in recent months — making it possible to rapidly administer second doses — the national mass immunization campaign has not been without its issues.
Since the first COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Canada on December 14, 2020, the rollout has been marked by wildly different challenges including a shortage of doses in some places and seemingly a surplus in others; some Canadians received their two shots just four weeks apart, while others waited four months.
The evolving immunization strategy prompted by supply issues and adverse reaction concerns has resulted in some folks receiving mixed-dose regimes. And, anyone hoping for a single-shot vaccine had their hopes dashed when the only delivery of Johnson & Johnson doses was rejected due to quality control issues. There was also the logistical challenges—from procuring enough needles and cold-storage freezers to setting up administration sites in sometimes unorthodox locations—taken on by each province and territory with help from a military-led federal operations centre within the Public Health Agency of Canada.
On Tuesday, Anand and Hajdu joined representatives from the vaccine companies as well as FedEx Canada and Innomar Strategies, who were contracted by the federal government to help with the delivery and distribution of vaccines at an event marking the vaccine milestone.
“Throughout this pandemic we have rightly thanked our frontline health care workers… Today I would like to thank with immense gratitude, another set of Canadians who have stepped up, and that’s all of you here today… Canadians in the back rooms, who are making sure that we are able to get vaccines into this country,” Anand said, recalling the countless calls, emails, and texts they exchanged over the course of the procurement effort.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Now, the conversation is turning to how long the vaccines will provide protection, and whether evolving variants may prompt booster doses, meaning that while the initial vaccine rollout may be tapering off, COVID-19 and ways to keep future waves at bay will be an ongoing focus for governments and public health officials.
As well, studies are ongoing into the possibility of expanding COVID-19 vaccine access to children under the age of 12, specifically in the ages five to 11 demographic. Pfizer is expecting some early results by the fall, but won’t likely have its work completed to submit to Health Canada for authorization until later in the year.
Anand said that regardless of whether additional doses would be needed or when younger children may be cleared to be immunized against the novel coronavirus, Canada will have the supply.
“We have enough supply for all eligible Canadians and the remainder for additional needs that our country has including additional age groups, or boosters, if the science deems that that is appropriate,” she said.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
TORSBY, Sweden (AP) — David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday in the Swedish manager’s small hometown of Torsby.
Eriksson’s wooden coffin was covered in white flowers and surrounded by six tall candles and other floral wreaths as the ceremony began inside the 600-seat Fryksande church.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” the priest, Ingela Älvskog, told those in attendance.
Beckham, who arrived by private jet on Thursday, greeted Eriksson’s 95-year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the church before the funeral started.
Eriksson became England’s first foreign-born coach when he led the national team from 2001-06, and made Beckham his captain.
Eriksson, who also won trophies at club level in Italy, Portugal and Sweden, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 76, eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.
Some 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church from 1898 were reserved for his family, friends and players from his career in the football world, according to his agent. The remaining seats were open for the public, according to Eriksson’s wish, with a big screen set up outside the church where hundreds more gathered to watch the ceremony. The funeral was also broadcast live on some Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was wheeled in by pallbearers at the church Friday morning as fog wrapped Torsby — a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of Stockholm. Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson on a small table. The floral wreaths included ones sent by FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team that Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony began with somber piano and organ music, but later took on a more upbeat note with Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performing Elton John’s song “Candle In The Wind” and then “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson, who later intoned the popular Italian song “Volare” after the family had gathered around the casket to lay flowers.
Beckham also visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say goodbye. Others attending the funeral included the Swedish coach’s longtime partner Nancy Dell’Olio. Eriksson’s agent had said that guests from England, Italy and Spain were expected.
After the funeral, the casket was carried out of the church by eight men to the hearse. The guests then walked in a procession accompanying the coffin to a nearby museum where speeches and eulogies to the coach fondly known as “Svennis” were planned on an outdoor stage. A brass band played during the procession through Torsby, including the tune “You never walk alone” from the musical “Carousel” which has become the anthem of Liverpool, the club Eriksson supported since childhood.
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson started his career in the 1960s, wrote on its webpage that “you also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the time, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
