News
Countries weigh need for booster COVID-19 shots

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COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be made widely available to Americans starting on Sept. 20, U.S. health officials said, citing data showing diminishing protection from the initial vaccinations as infections with the Delta variant rise.
In recent weeks several countries – including Israel, Germany and France – have decided to offer booster shots to older adults and people with weak immune systems. European Union officials said they do not yet see a need to give booster shots to the general population.
As of yet, there is no consensus among scientists and agencies that a third dose is necessary.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Aug. 18 that current data does not indicate a need for COVID-19 booster shots, adding that the most vulnerable people worldwide should be fully vaccinated before high-income countries deploy a top-up.
The following outlines the options countries and regions are considering on the issue:
UNITED STATES
COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be made widely available from Sept. 20 to Americans who received their initial inoculation of two-dose COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna and by Pfizer and BioNTech AG at least eight months earlier, U.S. health officials said on August 18.
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Union’s drugs regulator said on Aug. 6 there’s still not enough data to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
Recent supply contracts with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have included the potential for the bloc to buy booster shots.
AUSTRIA
Austria plans to start COVID-19 vaccine booster shots on Oct. 17, nine months after the first group of people to get the shots received their second dose.
BELGIUM
Belgium has authorised the use of boosters – specifically mRNA shots – for immunosuppressed people. More data is needed before considering extra shots for the elderly and people living in nursing homes.
BRITAIN
Britain has begun planning for a booster campaign starting later this year after top vaccine advisers said it might be necessary to give third shots to the elderly and most vulnerable from September. It said it would buy 60 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine ahead of the possible booster programme, bringing its total order of the shot to 100 million doses.
BRAZIL
Brazilians should prepare for annual COVID-19 immunisations to reinforce vaccines, the head of public-sector laboratory Butantan said in May.
CAMBODIA
Cambodia started on Aug. 12 offering AstraZeneca booster shots to those who have received the inactivated virus vaccines developed by Sinopharm and Sinovac.
CANADA
The Canadian province of Ontario will begin offering third COVID-19 vaccine doses to vulnerable people as early as this week, its chief medical officer said on Aug. 17.
CHILE
Chile began on Aug. 11 administering booster shots to those already inoculated with Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine in a bid to lock in early success following one of the world’s fastest mass vaccination drives.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Some groups will probably need to get a third vaccine shot, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Aug. 17.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican health authorities started distributing a voluntary third vaccine dose in early July.
ECUADOR
Ecuador will administer a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine to people with weak immune systems and will carry out tests to determine if the rest of the inoculated population also needs a booster, Health Minister Ximena Garzon said on Aug. 18.
FINLAND
It has not made a decision on the recommendation of a third dose but is expected to do so in August.
FRANCE
President Emmanuel Macron said France was working on rolling out third COVID-19 vaccine doses to the elderly and vulnerable from September.
GERMANY
Germany will in September start to offer a booster shot to vulnerable people, such as the elderly and those with weak immune systems. The shots will be mRNA-vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna regardless of what was used previously.
HUNGARY
Hungary has been offering an optional third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine from Aug. 1.
INDONESIA
Indonesia started giving booster shots produced by Moderna to medical workers in July and is considering extra doses for wider use.
ISRAEL
Israel in July started offering a third shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to people aged over 60 and to those over 50 from Aug. 13. It continues to administer extra doses to health workers.
RUSSIA
Health clinics in Moscow started offering booster shots in July to people vaccinated six months ago or more, making Russia one of the first countries to begin re-vaccination.
PHILLIPINES
The Philippines is allotting 45.3 billion pesos ($899 million) for COVID-19 booster shots under its 2022 budget, an official said on Aug. 19, even as health authorities have yet to conclude there is a need for a third dose.
SINGAPORE
Singapore said in May it was making plans for booster shots later this year or early next year, if necessary.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea said in June it plans to secure more mRNA vaccines to use as boosters next year for its entire population of 52 million.
SLOVENIA
Slovenia will most probably start recommending a third vaccine dose, the head of the National advisory committee on immunization, Bojana Beovic, told the Slovenian national broadcaster on Aug. 18.
SWEDEN
The majority of Swedes will be offered a booster shot against COVID in 2022, while high risk groups could get a third shot this autumn, the health authority said on Aug. 3.
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland has ordered 43 million doses of vaccines, including preparations for potential booster shots in 2022, should they be needed, the Health Ministry said.
GULF STATES
The United Arab Emirates will start providing a booster shot to all fully vaccinated people. The shot will be available to people considered at high risk three months after their second vaccine dose, and six months for others.
In June, the UAE and Bahrain made the Pfizer vaccine available as a booster shot to those initially immunised with a vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm.
THAILAND
Thailand plans to give booster shots of imported mRNA vaccine to its front-line workers – who were given imported Sinovac before the locally manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine was available in June.
TURKEY
Turkey is allowing people who were inoculated with Sinovac’s coronavirus vaccine to take an additional Pfizer dose, the health ministry said on Aug. 16.
URUGUAY
Uruguay offers a Pfizer dose for those fully vaccinated wth Sinovac’s Coronavac. https://bit.ly/37SFw5P
COMPANIES
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna on Aug. 13 for people with compromised immune systems.
Pfizer and BioNtech have submitted data to the FDA for COVID-19 vaccine booster authorization and plan to submit it as well to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulatory authorities in the coming weeks.
Pfizer and Moderna have raised the prices of their COVID-19 vaccines in their latest EU supply contracts, the Financial Times reported on Aug. 1.
Moderna had earlier struck deals with Spain’s Rovi and Switzerland’s Lonza at a Dutch plant that would boost 50-microgram dose production – half the level of its original shots – in Europe to up to 600 million doses annually, with the capacity due to come on line this year.
On Aug. 5, Moderna said that its COVID-19 shot was about 93% effective four to six months after the second dose, showing hardly any change from the 94% efficacy reported in its original clinical trial.
It expects, however, a COVID-19 booster to be necessary prior to the winter season.
AstraZeneca said it was looking into how long the vaccine’s protection lasts and if a booster dose would be needed.
(Reporting by Matthias Blamont in Paris, Michael Erman in New York, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, John Miller in Zurich, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Miyoung Kim in Singapore, Alistair Smout in London, Essi Lehto in Helsinki, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Dagmarah Mackos, Pawel Goraj, Veronica Snoj in Gdansk; Editing by Josephine Mason, Barbara Lewis and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
News
Charge laid after multi-vehicle collision caused by geese crossing E.C. Row expressway – CBC.ca


Windsor police say a driver is facing a careless driving charge after stopping on the E.C. Row Expressway to let a family of geese cross the road.
This led to a collision involving a pickup truck and a transport truck, according to Staff Sgt. Rob Wilson.
“It sounds like a vehicle had stopped for a baby goose crossing the E.C. Row [Expressway],” he said.
“Another vehicle stopped and the transport truck collided with a portion of the pickup truck, causing it to veer off the ditch and roll over onto its side.”
Wilson said the transport truck driver was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Driver describes geese crossing
Dale Cormier was driving eastbound toward Tecumseh when he spotted the geese starting to cross one of Windsor’s busiest roadways.
“Oh my God, I just missed them,” said Cormier, recalling three or four adult geese and nearly a dozen goslings by their side.
“It was just a little family of them.”
E.C. Row Expressway Eastbound around Howard Ave. is currently reduced to one lane, expected to cause some traffic delays.<br><br>This lane reduction is expected to last most of the day today, due to a motor vehicle accident involving a transport truck. <a href=”https://t.co/84mbCVpMZC”>pic.twitter.com/84mbCVpMZC</a>
—@WindsorPolice
Cormier said once he passed the geese he noticed other drivers trying to avoid them in his rearview mirror.
“Lucky for me, I had enough time … I just saw the cars swerving behind me,” he said.
He doesn’t think any of the geese were injured. He called police as soon as it was safe to do so.
“They didn’t believe me at first.”
Cormier said that there wasn’t likely anything a driver could have done to avoid hitting the geese, but said people should be more cautious while driving.
He said drivers were traveling at high speeds and bumper to bumper.
Police expect the eastbound lanes to be reduced for most of the day as they remove the transport truck.
Driving instructor provides advice
If drivers face a similar situation, they should make sure nobody is behind them before stopping, says Tristan Wallen, an instructor at Delta Driving School.
“Don’t stop in the middle of the road,” he said. “You want to get off the road, especially on a [fast]-moving road.”
Wallen says instructors teach their students that “a human life is worth a lot more than an animal.”
“You don’t want to cause someone else to get injured because you were trying to save some a goose or a squirrel or whatever it was crossing the street,” he continued.
The Ministry of Transportation’s Driver’s Handbook says in instances when animals are on the road, drivers should slow down and try to pass carefully “as they may suddenly bolt onto the road.”
News
Halifax-area wildfire 85% contained and not expected to spread, officials say – CBC.ca


If the power or data on your device is low, get your wildfire updates on CBC Lite. It’s our low-bandwidth, text-only website.
A wildfire burning northwest of Halifax is now 85 per cent contained, as Nova Scotia is getting much-needed rain Saturday.
Dave Steeves, a technician of forest resources with the Department of Natural Resources, said the fire hasn’t grown and is still about 950 hectares in size.
“We have changed from ‘out of control’ to a state of being held,” Steeves said during a media briefing early Saturday.
He said that means the fire is not likely to spread.
“The rain that we are getting now is going to help the suppression issues, but that being said this fire is not out and it will not be declared out for some time.”
He said any additional resources will be heading down to Shelburne County, where a massive wildfire is burning.
Some residents who had been evacuated from the area were allowed to return home on Friday, including those on Lucasville Road, St. George Boulevard and in the Stillwater Lake area.
Another livestreamed briefing is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday.
Comfort centres
The Halifax Regional Municipality declared a local state of emergency Sunday night in order to access additional support.
Late Friday, the municipality said some resources were no longer required.
The comfort centre at the Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre has closed, and the Canada Games Centre has transitioned from a 24-hour evacuation centre to a comfort centre.
Comfort centres remain open at:
- Canada Games Centre | 26 Thomas Raddall Drive will operate as a comfort centre from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 3.
- Black Point and Area Community Centre | 8579 St. Margarets Bay Road will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 3.
According to a release, Nova Scotia Health’s mobility primary care clinic is hosting a drop-in clinic at the Canada Games Centre on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Major insurance companies will be available to speak with affected residents on Saturday at the Canada Games Centre. Future opportunities to speak with representatives will be available in the coming days.
News
Hundreds killed after passenger trains derail in India, officials say
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At least 233 people were killed and 900 were injured when two passenger trains collided in India’s Odisha state, a government official said on Saturday, making the rail accident the country’s deadliest in more than a decade.
The death toll from Friday’s crash is expected to increase, state Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said in a tweet.
He said over 200 ambulances had been called to the scene of the accident in Odisha’s Balasore district and 100 additional doctors, on top of 80 already there, had been mobilized.
Early on Saturday morning, Reuters video footage showed police officials moving bodies covered in white cloths off the railway tracks.
Footage from Friday showed rescuers climbing up the mangled wreck of one of the trains to find survivors, while passengers called for help and sobbed next to the wreckage.


2 express trains collided
The collision occurred at about 7 p.m. local time on Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express, running from Bangalore to Howrah, West Bengal, collided with the Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai.
Authorities have provided conflicting accounts on which train derailed first to become entangled with the other. The Ministry of Railways said it has initiated an investigation into the crash.
Although Chief Secretary Jena and some media reports have suggested a freight train was also involved in the crash, railway authorities have yet to comment on that possibility.
An extensive search-and-rescue operation has been mounted, involving hundreds of fire department personnel and police officers as well as sniffer dogs. National Disaster Response Force teams were also at the site.


On Friday, hundreds of young people lined up outside a government hospital in Odisha’s Soro to donate blood.
According to Indian Railways, its network facilitates the transportation of more than 13 million people every day. But the state-run monopoly has had a patchy safety record because of aging infrastructure.
Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared a day of state mourning on June 3 as a mark of respect to the victims.




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