As health officals race to vaccinate the population against COVID-19, experts have warned that the virus could become endemic, meaning Canadians could need booster shots to ensure they are protected in the years ahead.
How does the government plan to secure and provide booster shots to Canadians?
In a statement emailed to Global News, Health Canada said the expected future trajectory of the novel coronavirus and pandemic “is not yet clear, nor is the future evolution of virus variants and their severity.”
The agency says there aren’t currently any vaccines on the market that have been developed specifically as booster shots, or that specifically target the new, more transmissible variants.
2:19 Moderna says its vaccine appears effective against variants
Moderna says its vaccine appears effective against variants – Jan 25, 2021
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However, Health Canada says there are some shots that are “in early development.”
“Work is underway to define our future booster needs, both in terms of quantities and the vaccine technologies on which to focus,” the statement read. “Canada is in discussions with vaccine developers regarding plans for early and secure access to booster and variant vaccines when they become available.”
The agency said the federal government will “continue to take an evidence-based approach to its vaccine procurement decisions” and is “following the advice of experts in terms of planning for what Canada’s potential future vaccine needs will be, and how those needs can be best addressed.”
0:46 Fauci discusses potential COVID-19 pandemic trajectory in U.S.
Fauci discusses potential COVID-19 pandemic trajectory in U.S.
Currently, Canada is receiving all of its COVID-19 vaccines from overseas.
This has proved difficult for the country’s mass vaccination plan, as several delays from the manufacturers have stalled rollout.
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Canada has fallen significantly behind its closest allies when it comes to vaccination.
As of Sunday afternoon, just over five million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered across the country, meaning approximately 6.47 per cent of the Canadian population has been vaccinated.
In comparison, 140 million doses have been given in the United States. That means 14.42 per cent of the American population has been inoculated against the virus so far.
Canada’s lack of domestic vaccine manufacturing capability has been “highlighted as a health security threat,” Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases faculty member at the University of Toronto said.
“And it is,” he continued. “But I don’t think that’s lost on the Canadian government and the local governments.”
In a statement emailed to Global News, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) said the federal government is “investing in made-in-Canada projects to protect Canadians from COVID-19” and “ensure our country is well-positioned to fight future pandemics here at home.”
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The agency said Canada is “developing domestic biomanufacturing capacity,” and by doing so, the government will “be able to ensure that both the quality and the availability of vaccines and therapeutic drugs is secure going forward.”
According to ISED, since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has allocated $792 million under the new Strategic Innovation Fund COVID-19 stream in order to deliver “direct support to Canadian companies; in particular, helping develop domestic COVID-19 vaccines, therapies and bio-manufacturing opportunities, while also building future capability.”
The agency said this is in addition to supports provided to the National Research Council, for the facilities at Royalmount, and VIDO-Intervac, and through other government funding programs.
Bogoch said there has been a “tremendous investment” to produce vaccines at home, pointing to the government’s deal to manufacture shots at a facility in Montreal.
The federal government announced last month it had struck a deal with Novavax to produce its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Canada at a new Montreal facility that is under construction.
However, doses are not expected to be manufactured in the country until at least the fall.
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2:13 Americans race to get vaccinated as COVID-19 surges
Americans race to get vaccinated as COVID-19 surges
“Is that enough? No, but it’s a really good start in the local production of vaccine,” Bogoch said.
He also said there are a number of companies within Canada that are “innovating and creating homegrown COVID-19 vaccines as well.”
“I don’t think you’re going to flip a switch overnight and all of a sudden re-create your vaccine creation and manufacturing capability,” he said. “It’s obvious you need to require a sustained investment over time, not just at the manufacturing level, but also at the innovation level and the basic science level.”
ISED said the federal government has “worked with Canadian and international companies to explore opportunities to bring elements of the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing supply chain to Canada, and will continue to do whatever it can to assist interested firms in finding partners to that end.”
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According to the agency, consultations have also been launched to ensure Canada is “prepared and ready for future pandemics, including through vaccine and therapeutics manufacturing.”
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
