Health
Coronavirus Update: Tam warns against vaccine misinformation as survey reveals dissenters – The Globe and Mail
Good evening, here are the coronavirus updates you need to know tonight.
Top headlines:
- Dr. Tam says misinformation online plays role in vaccine hesitancy after 14% said they were unlikely to get inoculated
- Families face tough decisions as school-going children are forced to isolate from grandparents
- FDA apologizes for overstating benefits of plasma treatment for COVID-19 patients
In Canada, there have been at least 125,969 cases reported. In the last week 2,814 new cases were announced, 3% more than the previous week. There have also been at least 112,047 recoveries and 9,090 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 5,544,879 tests.
Worldwide, there have been at least 23,647,377 cases confirmed and 813,022 deaths reported.
Sources: Canada data is compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data is from Johns Hopkins University.
Coronavirus explainers: Updates and essential resources • Coronavirus in maps and charts • Lockdown rules and reopening plans in each province • Global rules on mask-wearing • Back to school
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Number of the day
14 per cent
Some Canadians are worried about getting inoculated against COVID-19, a Statistics Canada survey suggests.
- More than 76 per cent of respondents indicated they would likely get inoculated if and when a vaccine is ready. Yet 14 per cent said they were somewhat or very unlikely to do so. Nine per cent remained unsure.
- Those who indicated they were unlikely to get a vaccine were asked to identify the reasons for their reluctance. More than half cited a lack of confidence in its safety while a similar number said they were worried about potential risks and side effects.
During a news conference Tuesday, Dr. Theresa Tam warned against the spread of online untruths about vaccines. Many experts and political leaders have touted the successful development and widespread rollout of a vaccine as essential for an eventual return to normalcy, including the full reopening of economies and ending physical distancing.
Coronavirus in Canada
- In Ontario, an ad by the Doug Ford government touting its school reopening plan is being criticized by opposition parties. With just weeks until the return to school, some school bus drivers say they have not received information on COVID-19 safety protocols. Meanwhile, the province’s four major teachers’ unions say a meeting with the Labour Mnister resulted in no commitment to address concerns about safety standards in the province’s school reopening plan.
- Some 150 scientists and health-care professionals in Quebec signed an open letter urging the government to adjust its back-to-school plan, but provincial Health Minister Christian Dubé told reporters the plan would not change.
- In Newfoundland and Labrador, there will be no limit on the number of visitors to long-term care homes after Sept. 1, and caregiver designations can increase from one to three people.
- In a “limited reset” of his cabinet, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney renamed the economic portfolio and tasked Doug Schweitzer with implementing the province’s economic recovery plan, a response to the “double whammy of low oil prices and COVID-19. The province’s GDP is predicted to contract 11 per this year.
- Yesterday, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 269 new cases in British Columbia over the previous three days, with younger adults driving the surge in the province.
In Ottawa, the government is committing $82.5-million for mental health support for Indigenous communities during the pandemic.
- Some mental health services have moved online, posing a challenge for remote communities with limited internet access.
- The government said the new funds are a response to community activism, will support increased access to services and help Indigenous partners in developing new ways to address substance use.
Also today: As millions of children across Canada head back to school, many parents are making the same decision to isolate their kids from their grandparents – at least until the risks of infection and transmission are overcome.
COVID-19 and school: Students will soon return to the classroom and many parents, worried about measures being taken to prevent coronavirus spread, are fundraising money to purchase PPE, cleaning supplies, and air purifiers. But the fundraising efforts raise questions about widening inequalities in public education.
Coronavirus around the world
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Tuesday apologized for overstating the life-saving benefits of convalescent plasma among COVID-19 patients, just days after President Donald Trump praised the agency’s decision to issue an emergency authorization for the treatment.
- Britain is facing pressure to encourage students to wear masks at school, at least in communal spaces, after the advice in Scotland was changed. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government is ready to follow suit and advise a change if the medical evidence deems it necessary.
- Two patients, in Belgium and the Netherlands, are confirmed to have been reinfected with COVID-19. The cases have fuelled fears about the effectiveness of potential vaccines against the virus, though experts say there would need to be many more cases of reinfection for these to be justified.
Coronavirus and business
Bank of Montreal posted a better-than-expected third-quarter profit of $1.23-billion, even as the bank set aside more than $1-billion to cover potential loan losses.
- The bank reported $1.05-billion in credit loss provisions, the second straight quarterly increase in funds set aside to cover loans that may go bad.
- BMO added $446-million in provisions for loans that are already impaired, and $608-million for loan that are still being paid back but could become delinquent in future, based on economic models.
- The bank is still allowing loan deferrals for clients in Canada the U.S., mostly of which are set to expire in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends Oct. 31.
Scotiabank reported third-quarter profit of $1.3-billion, as it sets aside $2.2-billion to cover potential loan losses
- Profit at Scotiabank fell 34 per cent, down from $1.98-billion last year.
- The bank set aside set aside nearly $2.2-billion to cover potential loan losses, an increase of 206 per cent from a year ago.
- More than four-fifths of the increase in provisions was to cover loans that are still being paid back but could suffer future losses, based on economic models.
Also today: U.S. bank profits slump 70 per cent as coronavirus weighs on businesses and households
And: Lessons from the Great Recession: 6 personal finance takeaways that still apply
More reporting
- How can I help my children feel less anxious about going back to school this fall?
- Oil prices are mixed on storm-driven output cuts and the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
- Can participating life insurance can help advisors and their clients weather market volatility?
- Getting back on a bike? You may want to brush up on the basic rules
Distractions
🎧 For the very young and formerly very young: Ring ring ring, banana phone. Is Raffi what the world needs right now?
- “I do appreciate people writing to me, trying to comfort me at times, even as I’m trying to comfort them.”
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Health
RCMP warn about benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl tied to overdose in Alberta – Edmonton Journal
Article content
Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.
The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.
Article content
Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.
The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.
Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”
From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.
Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.
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Health
CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture
The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.
Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.
The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.
Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.
As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.
This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.
Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.
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Health
Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star
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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.
By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.
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