It’s been more than a year since Canada first started rolling out COVID-19 vaccine doses. Now, Canadians are rolling up their sleeves to get booster shots to combat the highly transmissible Omicron variant. But do boosters have the same side effects as the initial vaccine shots?
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends that booster shots of an mRNA vaccine – from Pfizer and Moderna – be offered to adults aged 18 and above at least six months after their second dose.
In updated guidance released on Dec. 3, NACI also said immunocompromised Canadians may receive a second booster, or fourth shot, at least six months after their last dose.
Side effects are common when it comes to vaccines and booster shots are no different.
“Side effects often tell us that our immune systems are actually working and are responding as they should to the vaccine,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health and University Health Network hospitals in Toronto.
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Experts say while some people may experience a more intense reaction to the shots with headaches, body chills and fatigue, others just feel some soreness in the arm that was injected.
“The adverse effects of dose three should not differ all that much compared to dose two or previous injections,” said Dr. Ciriaco Picirillo, an immunologist and senior scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).
Clinical trial data shows that a booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine has a favourable safety profile comparable to the second dose of the primary series, according to NACI.
A survey conducted in Israel showed that most people who received a third dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine felt similar or fewer side effects than they did after receiving the second shot.
Pfizer’s booster shot has exactly the same formula and dosage (30 micrograms) as the initial two doses.
According to clinical trial data submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by Pfizer, pain at the injection site was the most common adverse reaction – reported by 83 per cent of recipients.
Fatigue was the second most frequent side effect (63.8 per cent), followed by headache (48.4 per cent), muscle or joint pain (39.1 per cent) and chills (29.1 per cent). The side effects were mostly mild to moderate, lasting roughly two days after receiving the booster shot.
“Of note, swollen lymph nodes in the underarm were observed more frequently following the booster dose than after the second dose of a two-dose primary series,” the FDA said.
No deaths or other adverse events of clinical interest – such as myocarditis, pericarditis, Bell’s Palsy, or appendicitis – were reported following the booster dose.
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Moderna’s booster is the same formula but half the original dose – 50 micrograms – is administered, except for immunocompromised individuals, long-term care residents and those aged 70 and above, who should receive the full dose of 100 micrograms, as indicated by NACI.
Adverse reactions reported in Moderna’s booster clinical trials included pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint stiffness, chills, nausea/vomiting, axillary swelling/tenderness, fever, swelling at the injection site, redness at the injection site, and rash.
Anaphylaxis and other severe allergic reactions, myocarditis, pericarditis, and syncope (fainting) have also been reported outside of clinical trials, Moderna said.
Immune response
A more intense reaction following a booster is sign of a stronger immune response, said Sinha.
“Some people are reporting that they’ve experienced side effects for the first time or a more significant level of side effects with their booster dose than they did with their first or second dose,” he said.
Pfizer’s booster is preferred for those aged 18 to 29 years due to the lower risk of myocarditis and pericarditis with this vaccine, according to NACI’s guidelines.
However, those aged 30 and up can get either Moderna or Pfizer.
Sinha said there is no concrete data to suggest that one brand of vaccine would elicit more side effects compared to the other.
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According to Picirillo, it’s not entirely clear why some people develop adverse reactions, either local or systemic, and others do not.
Age could be a contributing factor, with younger people having more effects than older individuals, Picirillo said.
“This is thought to relate to the more robust and more vigorous immune responses in the young, particularly in the first line of defence, termed innate immunity.”
Other factors including pre-existing conditions, genetics and environmental factors are likely at play, he added.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says 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 in what was the company’s third quarter 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.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
