As COVID-19 cases decline and restrictions ease across the country, Canada’s chief public health officer is still urging younger Canadians to get their vaccine shot if they haven’t already in order to keep infections at bay.
“Vaccination is needed for all eligible ages — with cases still highest in <40 year olds in Canada,” Dr. Theresa Tam tweeted on Sunday.
“Vaccine coverage in younger age groups can have a big impact on COVID-19 control across communities.”
Health officials across the country are noting that young adults and youths are falling behind other demographics when it comes to vaccinations.
WATCH | Canadian kids share their vaccine experiences:
Andrew Chang speaks to two recently vaccinated young Canadians about what that moment was like for them, the challenges of the past year and what they are most looking forward to. 6:13
For instance, of Ontarians aged 19 to 29 who’ve contracted COVID-19 in the past three months, 96 per cent were unvaccinated, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, said.
Of those who got tested positive in the 12-17 age group, 99 per cent were not vaccinated.
“That age group is coming down with a higher rate of disease than other age groups across Ontario,” Moore said, adding that young Ontarians will be a “key target” in the vaccination campaign.
“They’re a key metric, because they’re the ones that are going to be going to high schools, to colleges, to universities, to workplaces, and potentially, unbeknownst to them, if they’re carrying the virus without symptoms, spreading it in those environments.”
WATCH | Ontario pushes to get kids 12 and up vaccinated before fall:
With school eight weeks away, Ontario health officials examine what the upcoming school year will look like. Overall, vaccine numbers are good but the data shows a lag in vaccination rates among eligible younger Canadians. If vaccine pickup does not improve before the beginning of the school year, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore is concerned about rising infections. 4:06
Canada’s vaccination rate is among the highest in the world — with nearly 70 per cent of the country having been administered at least one shot and 48.8 per cent fully vaccinated — but it’s starting to slow as the pool of people still looking for a first or second dose shrinks
The number of unvaccinated Canadians is roughly equivalent to everyone living in the Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Quebec City metropolitan areas combined.
Experts agree more people need to get the shot to avoid another pandemic resurgence with devastating consequences. The challenge now involves easing access and convincing hesitant Canadians to roll up their sleeves, experts said
After a blitz in April and May, the number of new first doses being administered has stalled at well under 100,000 per day since June 16. That means it would take months to immunize the remaining holdouts at the current pace.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Canada had reported 1,423,177 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 4,616 considered active. The country’s COVID-19 death toll stood at 26,499. More than 45 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the country, according to a CBC News tally.
British Columbia, which lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions on Canada Day, is set to further loosen measures for long-term care homes. Starting Monday, visitors will no longer need to schedule their visits in advance, and there will no longer be a limit on the number of visitors each resident can have, provided the visitors are fully vaccinated.
In Alberta, 74.2 per cent of eligible residents have had at least one vaccine shot and 57.65 per cent have received both.
Elsewhere in the Prairies, Saskatchewan recorded 36 new COVID-19 cases but no new fatalities on Sunday, while Manitoba logged 44 infections and one COVID-related death.
A person is administered a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a clinic in Winnipeg on Friday. (Marina von Stackelberg/CBC)
Ontario registered another 177 cases and six more deaths. The province also announced it has now administered more than 18 million vaccine doses.
In Quebec, the province is holding a lottery for $2 million in cash and scholarships in an effort to encourage more people to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
Prince Edward Island is marking its first day of letting in fully vaccinated Canadians from outside the Maritimes without the need for them to self-isolate after arriving on the Island. The province currently has no known active cases of COVID-19.
WATCH | 2 largest COVID-19 testing sites in P.E.I. winding down operations:
‘There is going to be much less need of testing over the next number of months,’ says P.E.I.’s Chief of Nursing Marion Dowling. 7:26
In Newfoundland and Labrador, active cases stood at 46, nearly all of them aboard two ships anchored in Conception Bay.
In the North, the territories continue to lead the country in percentage of fully vaccinated eligible residents, which stands at 81.5 per cent in Yukon, 77.3 per cent in the Northwest Territories and 63 per cent in Nunavut.
What’s happening around the world
As of Sunday, more than 190.1 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported, according to a tool from U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University, which has been collecting coronavirus data from nations around the world. The reported death toll stood at more than four million.
In Asia, the Vietnamese government has put the entire southern region in a two-week lockdown starting at midnight. Officials say they have to act as the number of infections reached nearly 50,000 since the outbreak reemerged at the end of April after several months of no cases being recorded.
A person wearing a face mask rides a scooter on a quiet street in Vung Tau, Vietnam, on Sunday. The government has put the entire southern region in a two-week lockdown. (Hau Dinh/The Associated Press)
In the Americas, residents in Los Angeles County — the largest county in the United States — are again required to wear masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status as health officials hope the mandate will reverse the latest spikes in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
In Europe, daily new caseloads of confirmed COVID-19 infections are surging in Italy. Health experts say it’s clear that nationwide celebrations by Italian fans after European Championship soccer matches are a significant factor.
In Africa, health officials warn that cases are surging in Senegal as millions in the West African nation prepare for the Tabaski holiday. President Macky Sall and his cabinet are limiting public gatherings and travel and urging the public to continue wearing masks and frequently sanitize their hands.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
