Over a span of one week, preliminary results from late-stage clinical trials of two promising coronavirus vaccines have ushered in renewed hope in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, U.S drugmaker Moderna announced that its vaccine has proven to be 94.5 per cent effective in protecting people from the COVID-19 disease, according to an interim analysis.
This followed Pfizer and BioNTech’s statement last week in which it said early data for its candidate suggested it was 90 per cent effective at preventing the virus.
Canada has already secured up to 358 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from a wide range of different manufacturers. But how will the vaccines be distributed and with limited supplies in the initial stages, who should get them first?
Story continues below advertisement
The general consensus among health experts and government agencies is that the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, who are at a greater risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, should get immunized first.
2:08 Coronavirus: Trudeau says Canadians must ‘double down’ on public safety measures until vaccine is ready
Coronavirus: Trudeau says Canadians must ‘double down’ on public safety measures until vaccine is ready
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), has identified key populations that also include health care workers, caregivers in long-term care facilities and all essential front-line responders essential in managing the COVID-19 response, according to preliminary recommendations.
People who are unable to work remotely and are at risk of exposure, like police, firefighters and grocery story staff, are also among the key groups in NACI’s recommendations.
Other essential workers will be defined by the provinces and territories with the federal government, but the final decision will depend on the data and vaccine efficacy, Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, NACI chair, told Global News.
Story continues below advertisement
“If, for instance, we decided ahead of time that the elderly population should come first, but we see looking at the trials results that population does not have a great efficacy, but it could be more efficacious in another population like younger, healthy individuals, it’s very possible that at that point in time, things switch,” she said.
Raymond Tellier, a microbiologist and infectious diseases expert at McGill University, told Global News that people working in transportation services and the food industry should be prioritized before a mass rollout to the general population.
“You also want to vaccinate essential workers who were involved during confinement or a lockdown – people that need to continue their work in order to make sure that the basic services are maintained,” he said.
“If you want to interrupt the transmission of the virus most efficiently, you want to vaccinate people that are in contact with a lot of people.”
5:06 The Travel Lady: Will proof of a COVID-19 vaccination become necessary for travel?
The Travel Lady: Will proof of a COVID-19 vaccination become necessary for travel?
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government was developing a plan to make sure that vulnerable Canadians get these vaccines on a priority basis.
Story continues below advertisement
“We are busy establishing different logistical approaches for the range of vaccines that will be hopefully arriving in Canada in the coming months,” he said during a press conference.
Logistical challenges
Given the “significant logistical challenge” of transportation and distribution, the government may seek assistance from the military, Trudeau said.
During the same press conference, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said provinces are currently working on their individual plans to identify where the vaccines will be deployed and sufficient freezers are being purchased to help with the storage.
Both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines need to be kept in cold storage and have specific temperature requirements.
Pfizer’s vaccine must be shipped and stored at -70 C. It can be stored for up to five days at standard refrigerator temperatures, or for up to 15 days in a thermal shipping box.
3:10 Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective
Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective
Moderna expects the vaccine to be stable at normal fridge temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36 to 48 degrees F) for 30 days and it can be stored for up to six months at -20 C.
Story continues below advertisement
If the vaccines are approved by Health Canada following the review of the clinical trials, the country is expecting to receive its first shipment early next year.
But the doses will arrive in different batches, Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, said on Tuesday.
And when can the general public expect to receive the vaccine?
Njoo said: “Certainly, we’re looking at hopefully covering the vast majority of the population by the end of next year.”
— With files from Carolyn Jarvis, Global News and Reuters.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
