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Canada should maintain equal distribution of vaccines, says Dal virologist – CBC.ca

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A virologist at Dalhousie University who’s working to develop a new vaccine to fight COVID-19 says ensuring doses are distributed equally across Canada is necessary since outbreaks can happen quickly. 

The idea of diverting vaccines to areas of the country that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus has been raised by some health experts, but there’s debate over whether it’s the right approach.

Alyson Kelvin, a virologist at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology in Saskatoon, said while Nova Scotia might have few cases right now, it’s also home to many people who are most vulnerable.

“There are regions that are quite vulnerable, including the Maritime provinces, which have higher rates of older people, higher rates of certain comorbidities that would place their population in greater risk if COVID-19 … was to transmit heavily,” Kelvin, an assistant professor at Dalhousie, told CBC Radio’s Maritime Noon on Monday.

“So in the end, Nova Scotia might even be more vulnerable to COVID-19.”

Kelvin also pointed to communities in the North where cases are low but where access to health care is limited.

“They might not have an outbreak right now, but that doesn’t mean that they’re any less susceptible to devastating effects if the virus was to be brought to their communities. This is a very dynamic situation and things could change very quickly,” she said.

Maritime Noon52:55Dalhousie virologist on where COVID-19 vaccines should be sent, tape on COVID outbreak at Edmundston nursing home, phone-in on volunteering for vaccination rollout

Dr, Alyson Kelvin from Dalhousie University on opinions ranging on where COVID-19 vaccines should be sent in Canada, tape about a major outbreak at Manoir Belle Vue seniors home in Edmundston, and on the phone-in, Dr. Shelly McNeil of Nova Scotia Health on volunteering for the vaccine rollout. 52:55

Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., has suggested that doses be redistributed from the Atlantic region where cases are low to “give it to the rest of Canada that’s suffering.”

With delays in the delivery of vaccines to Canada, Kelvin said she understands these worries. She said diverting doses could relieve stress in some of the harder hit area of the country, such as Ontario and Quebec.

But she adds that outbreaks can happen elsewhere quickly.

A Halifax nurse became the first Nova Scotian to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 16, 2020. (Robert Short/CBC )

“It’s really important that we continue to have equity of vaccines across Canada and … across the world because we’re all susceptible,” she said, “and to take away possibly that umbrella that one community might have might put them further at risk, so that’s something that needs to be weighed carefully moving forward.”

Kelvin said diverting vaccines could also impact the morale of Nova Scotians who’ve been following public health restrictions, although she’s hopeful it won’t come to that. 

The federal government has said it has no plans right now to redirect doses from provinces and territories with low levels of transmission, but it didn’t rule out adjusting distribution in the future. 

As of Monday afternoon, Nova Scotia had administered 14,906 doses and 0.28 per cent of the population had been fully vaccinated.

Nova Scotia is aiming to vaccinate 75 per cent of the province’s population by early fall. (Nova Scotia Government)

Could Canadian vaccine be coming soon?

The province is aiming to vaccinate 75 per cent of Nova Scotians by early fall, with health-care workers, seniors and people in long-term care facilities at the top of the list.

Kelvin is among a group of people at the VIDO-InterVac lab in Saskatoon working to develop the first made-in-Canada vaccine. 

With news that Moderna has cut shipments to Canada, she said it’s more important than ever to have secure access to a vaccine that’s made right here.

“We really needed to focus on our Canadian efforts to continue making vaccines just in case there was a vaccine shortage, which is what we’re seeing right now,” she said.  

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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