A pharmacy technician loads a syringe with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. U.S. government advisers have endorsed boosters of all three COVID-19 vaccines, and say people should be able to mix and match. (Robert F. Bukaty/The Associated Press)
Millions more Americans can now get a COVID-19 booster and choose a different company’s vaccine for that next shot.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that certain recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines should qualify for booster shots, in addition to those with Pfizer vaccinations who were already eligible.
And in a bigger change, the agency is allowing the flexibility of “mixing and matching” that extra dose regardless of which type people received first.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had already authorized such an expansion of the nation’s booster campaign on Wednesday, which was endorsed Thursday by a CDC advisory panel. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky had the final word on who gets the extra doses.
“We’re at a different place in the pandemic than we were earlier,” when supply constraints meant people had to take whatever shot they were offered, said CDC adviser Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University.
Being able to choose a different shot is “priceless,” she said, if, for example, someone might be at risk for a rare side-effect from a specific vaccine.
The vast majority of the nearly 190 million Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have received the Pfizer or Moderna options, while J&J recipients account for only about 15 million.
-From Reuters and The Associated Press, last updated at 8:30 p.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Canada to receive millions of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines for kids 5-11:
Canada to receive millions of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines for kids 5-11
23 hours ago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says once Health Canada approves Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11, there will be millions of doses available to provide a shot to every child across the country. 2:00
What’s happening around the world
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 242.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to the case-tracking tool from Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.9 million.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday called on the world’s 20 richest nations, holding a summit next week, to step up donations of COVID-19 doses to the global south where vaccinations lag.
Gordon Brown, WHO ambassador for global health financing, said that if the world’s richest countries cannot mobilize for a vaccine airlift to developing countries, an epidemiological and economic “dereliction of duty will shame us all.”
There is still a shortfall of 500 million vaccine doses to reach WHO’s 40 per cent vaccination target in all countries by year-end, while 240 million doses are lying unused in the West, Brown said.
People wait to receive a vaccine outside a vaccination centre in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
In Europe, Moscow will reintroduce COVID-19 lockdown measures from Oct. 28, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, with supermarkets and pharmacies the only shops allowed to stay open.
People in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv queued in the hundreds for COVID-19 vaccinations on Thursday after a surge in daily cases and related deaths rose above previous highs and led authorities to tighten pandemic restrictions. Only 15 per cent of Ukraine’s population is fully vaccinated, the second lowest level in Europe after Armenia.
British health minister Sajid Javid resisted calls from doctors for a return of restrictions to halt a rising wave of COVID-19 infections, but gave a stark warning they would be brought back if people did not take up vaccination offers.
In Africa, Kenya lifted a nationwide curfew that has been in place since March 2020.
Ministers from the Asia-Pacific trade group APEC will meet virtually on Friday, hoping to chart a path forward for the region to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and address other pressing issues including climate change.
Melbourne residents flocked to the city’s pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world’s most locked-down city emerged from its most recent spate of public health restrictions. Australia’s second-largest city has so far endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of restrictions during six separate lockdowns since March 2020.
In New Zealand, officials reported record daily COVID-19 cases for the second time in three days, as the delta variant continued to drive a spike in infections in the country’s biggest city, Auckland.
In the Middle East, Israeli leaders on Thursday recommended reopening the country to fully vaccinated tourists beginning on Nov. 1, a year and a half after closing its borders to most foreign visitors. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said foreigners who were fully vaccinated less than six months ago, or who have received a booster shot more recently, will be eligible to enter the country, if the plan is approved by the government.
Meantime, Kuwait has lifted all restrictions for vaccinated people, the country’s prime minister told a news conference.
In the Americas, the United States, under pressure to share its coronavirus vaccine supply with the rest of the world, has now donated 200 million doses to more than 100 countries, the White House said.
-From Reuters and The Associated Press, last updated at 6 p.m. ET
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
EDMONTON – The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers announced Tuesday that assistant general manager Brad Holland is leaving the club.
The move comes almost three months after the departure of former Oilers general manager Ken Holland, Brad’s father.
Oilers chief executive officer and president of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said in a statement that Brad Holland and the team parted ways so Holland could “explore other opportunities.”
Holland, 43, joined the Oilers as a scout in 2019. He was promoted to assistant GM in July 2022.
He had a hand in building the team that advanced to Game 7 of the 2023-24 Stanley Cup final before losing to the Florida Panthers.
The Oilers hired former Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman to replace Ken Holland on July 1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins are placing Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve after the quarterback was diagnosed with his third concussion in two years, a person familiar with the move told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the move. Tagovailoa will be sidelined for at least four games with the designation.
He was hurt in the third quarter of a Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills on a play where he collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. He ran for a first down and then initiated the contact by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding.
Players from both teams immediately motioned that Tagovailoa was hurt, and as he lay on the turf the quarterback exhibited some signs typically associated with a traumatic brain injury. He remained down on the field for a couple of minutes, got to his feet and walked to the sideline.
Tagovailoa this week began the process of consulting neurologists about his health. He was diagnosed with two concussions in 2022 and one while in college at Alabama.
