Canada’s demand for COVID-19 vaccines is slowly dropping, experts say, and they warn that those waiting to see whether cases spike before getting their jabs are wasting time the body needs to build sufficient immunity.
Less than one per cent of Canadians were vaccinated per day over the last week, a decrease from the record-high daily rate of 1.44 at the end of June, according to Our World in Data, which is supported by a research team based at the University of Oxford.
A vaccine tracker created by a University of Saskatchewan student also shows daily average first doses have dropped to fewer than 40,000 from roughly 96,000 a month ago.
A drop is to be expected, since 80 per cent of the eligible population already has at least one dose and close to 60 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Canada’s vaccine uptake and rate of vaccination is still among the highest in the world — France is vaccinating 0.92 per cent of its population per day while the United Kingdom is at 0.34.
Concern over variant spread
But Kelly Grindrod, a pharmacy professor at the University of Waterloo, says a slowing rate is concerning, and the spread of new variants means more Canadians need to be fully protected to mitigate future outbreaks.
Grindrod pointed to countries with high vaccine uptake, including the U.K. and the Netherlands, that are seeing new infection waves, largely hitting unvaccinated populations.
“We’re in a very difficult stage of apathy, where people don’t think they’re at risk,” Grindrod said. “But … there’s a real concern that if you wait until the numbers go up to get vaccinated, it’s too late.”
WATCH | Canada needs to increase COVID-19 vaccinations, experts say:
Canada has edged ahead of the U.S. for per capita COVID-19 vaccinations, but experts warn the uptake needs to increase for better community protection. 1:59
Some Canadians wary of Moderna, mixing doses
Grindrod said some of the slowdown might have to do with people delaying second doses when offered a Moderna shot, preferring to wait for Pfizer-BioNTech instead.
Even waiting a few days delays protection, Grindrod said, as immune systems require two weeks after a second dose to build optimal levels of antibodies. Anyone still waiting for their first jab must wait another four weeks for their second dose, putting themselves at an even greater disadvantage.
Concern over mixing Pfizer and Moderna shots appears to be driving some hesitancy, she said. Though experts have repeatedly said the two mRNA jabs are interchangeable, there is still confusion.
Mixing mRNA vaccines became more widespread in Canada last month, when delayed Pfizer shipments coincided with an influx of Moderna doses.
Toronto pharmacist Kyro Maseh said he and his colleagues have a harder time moving Moderna vaccines, and he fears a preference for Pfizer will result in large amounts of wastage.
“I’m about to throw out 350 doses of Moderna,” he said. “Another country would gladly take that off our hands.”
Maseh said part of the issue is that each Moderna vial contains 14 doses, compared to Pfizer’s six. Once a vial is punctured, its contents need to be used within 24 hours. Vials that are thawed from their freezing temperatures need to be used within a month.
The problem isn’t that Canada is receiving too many doses now, he said, but that messaging over mixing vaccines has hit roadblocks in recent days.
Last week, a World Health Organization official warned of individuals seeking out different vaccines on their own for third or fourth doses, a quote that was taken out of context to suggest mixing doses wasn’t advised.
Grindrod said colleagues recounted seeing people reading and sharing the story with others while in line at a mass vaccine clinic in Cambridge, Ont., — and then walking out.
People wait in line outside Canada Place for their COVID-19 vaccination in Vancouver on Monday, June 21, 2021. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Concerns over international travel
Travel concerns could also be a factor.
A story last week about Barbados not recognizing Canada’s mixed-dose strategy prompted more hesitation, Grindrod said, even though the Caribbean country quickly reversed its policy.
Norwegian Cruise Line said on its website that vessels embarking and disembarking from U.S. ports won’t accept mixed vaccination, though ships from non-U.S. ports will.
“It doesn’t take much for people to delay (their second doses) and that’s a real concern,” Grindrod said. “People are thinking very far into the future about travel, and that’s another way of saying they don’t believe they’re at risk right now.”
Celia Du, a science communications specialist in Toronto, said debunking negative perceptions about mixed doses can be difficult once they’re ingrained.
Experts can get bogged down in scientific language and lose peoples’ attention, she said, so it’s often the quick and simple headlines — even if misleading — that people tend to remember.
“Finding ways to make the truth short and sweet is always a good strategy,” she said.
Maseh said people who delay vaccination now, as restrictions lift and travel resumes, risk being vulnerable at a time when COVID-19 could soon rise.
He also said the lack of vaccine access in other parts of the world is troubling. And while Canada is doing well to keep COVID-19 at bay now, Maseh said the threat of new variants developing and spreading could spell trouble.
“By taking perfectly good vaccines and tossing them in the trash, you’re shooting yourself in the foot down the road.”
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
