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Get informed on the top stories of the day in one quick scan – CBC.ca

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Good morning! This is our daily news roundup with everything you need to know in one concise read. Sign up here to get this delivered to your inbox every morning.

B.C. closes nightclubs, banquet halls after confirming 429 new COVID-19 cases over long weekend

B.C. is ordering nightclubs and stand-alone banquet halls closed, ending the sale of liquor at restaurants past 10 p.m. and telling venues to reduce the volume from music or other sources to conversational levels, as cases of COVID-19 continue to spike in the province. Bars and restaurants must close by 11 p.m., unless they are serving food.

The amendments to public health orders come as the province reported 429 new cases of COVID-19 from a four-day period over the long weekend, bringing the total to 6,591. Two more people, both in long-term care, have died of the virus. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said 123 of the cases were recorded between Friday and Saturday, 116 were reported between Saturday and Sunday, 107 between Sunday and Monday, and 83 new cases were confirmed between Monday and Tuesday.

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The amended orders were issued as “a last resort,” Henry said. “We recognize that these venues have tried. We’ve made adjustments but there are still exposures happening.”

“Going to a nightclub, going to a bar, going to somebody’s home — close spaces with face-to-face encounters with people we don’t know … that’s a risk,” Henry said.

She said the province’s philosophical approach to the pandemic has been to issue minimal mandatory restrictions, but that exposures in venues like nightclubs had become a “major source” of transmission, putting strain on public health resources.

Watch | Nightclubs ordered closed in British Columbia after spike in COVID-19:

Jeff Guignard, executive director of the Alliance of Beverage Licensees of B.C., said Tuesday’s announcement was both disappointing and frustrating. “It’s a difficult day,” he said. “Businesses are going to close because of this.”

What’s most frustrating, said Guignard, is that the vast majority of nightclubs were meeting or exceeding safety standards. He blamed the spike in infections on people who think the rules don’t apply to them, referencing recent media coverage of drum circles at the beach and dance parties on Vancouver’s Granville Street. Read more on this story here.

Fully extended

(Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters)

Denis Shapovalov of Canada reaches out to hit the ball against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain during their U.S. Open men’s singles quarter-final match in Flushing Meadows, New York. In a contest that lasted more than four hours and ended early Wednesday, Shapovalov took his opponent to five sets before the Spaniard won 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 0-6, 6-3. Read more on the match here.

In brief

The Royal Canadian Navy’s move to change the titles of its junior ranks has no legal force, says a former military lawyer. In the interest of making the service more inclusive, the navy is replacing all references to “seaman” in the English-language ranks (ordinary, able, leading and master) with gender-neutral terms. As of last week, the ranks are: sailor third class, sailor second class, sailor first class and master sailor. But according to retired lieutenant-colonel Rory Fowler — a former military lawyer now in private practice who deals with many disciplinary and grievance cases — the Department of National Defence hasn’t gone through the proper channels to change the regulations governing conduct in the ranks. He said the government has failed to issue what’s known as a Governor in Council order — an oversight the department now confirms. Read more about the change in titles here.

A nasal swab isn’t the only way to detect the virus that causes COVID-19 — scientists around the world have been able to track the presence of the novel coronavirus in sewage. Now, a team of researchers at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ont., is monitoring wastewater in Durham Region with the aim of giving public health units around the province a COVID-19 early warning system. One key feature of monitoring wastewater is that it can detect the virus before people show the symptoms that would prompt them to get tested. Such a finding from a particular sewage treatment plant could show the local public health unit which part of its community is seeing evidence of infections. In turn, that could help officials decide where to direct testing resources in an effort to track down individual COVID-19 cases. Read more on this story here.

Drug company AstraZeneca confirmed Tuesday evening that late-stage studies of a possible COVID-19 vaccine are on temporary hold while it investigates whether a report of a patient with a serious side effect is linked to the shot. AstraZeneca said its “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.” The company didn’t reveal any information about the possible side effect except to call it “a potentially unexplained illness.” The news site STAT first reported the pause in testing, saying the possible side effect occurred in the United Kingdom. A spokesperson for AstraZeneca said the pause in vaccinations covers studies in the U.S. and other countries. In late August, the company started recruiting 30,000 people in the U.S. for its largest study of the vaccine. It also is testing the vaccine, developed by Oxford University, in thousands of people in Britain, and in smaller studies in Brazil and South Africa. Read more on the halt of the trial here

A Canadian Ranger group under investigation over ties between one of its members and two far-right militia groups has advertised on its website for years that part of its mission is to guard Canada against illegal immigration. One expert says that language on immigration mirrors the messaging of far-right organizations and could reinforce interest in the Canadian Rangers by members of extremist groups. Minutes after CBC News conducted an interview with Lt.- Gen. Wayne Eyre, commander of the Canadian Army, that reference to “watching for illegal immigrants” disappeared from the 4 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group’s website. “If that is being seen as a way, as a message that attracts that ideology, yes, absolutely, we will address it,” Eyre told CBC News. Read more here about the investigation into the Ranger group.

Hydrogen is having a moment globally, in large part because it’s viewed as a critical component in combating climate change, improving air quality and creating economic growth in a carbon-constrained world. Amid this resurgence of interest in hydrogen, Ottawa has been crafting a long-term strategy aimed at securing a place for a Canadian sector in what’s expected to be a significant, global industry in the decades ahead. The government anticipates it will release its plan this fall. As momentum around hydrogen builds globally and other countries execute their own strategies, Ottawa is under pressure to act. “Things are happening quickly,” said Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan. “It looks like trends we saw before the pandemic have accelerated. We want to be ahead of it.” Read more on Ottawa’s hope to supercharge Canada’s hydrogen fuel sector 

Watch | What it’s like owning a hydrogen car:

Now for some good news to start your Wednesday: In normal times, Kingston, Ont., author Iain Reid would be suiting up for premieres and press junkets to promote the new Hollywood film based on his first novel. But these are pandemic times, so the Ottawa-born writer instead watched I’m Thinking of Ending Things for the first time on his bed with a bowl of popcorn. “It kind of felt like everything came full circle because I wrote most of the book there,” Reid told CBC’s Ottawa Morning. The movie premiered Sept. 4 and is now available for streaming on Netflix. It was directed and written by Charlie Kaufman and stars Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette and David Thewlis. Reid’s 2016 thriller centres upon a young couple who head off on a road trip to visit the farm of the boyfriend’s parents. Read more about the novel and the launch of the film here.

Front Burner: As B.C. overdose deaths soar, calls for fully regulated addiction treatment

In 2018, a BC Coroners Service panel called for provincial regulations to ensure evidence-based care at addiction recovery facilities. The panel said this system should be developed by September 2019. Now, one year later, more people are dying of overdoses than ever before, but the regulations recommended by the panel still do not exist. 

Today, CBC Vancouver’s Bethany Lindsay tells us about a young woman who died in an addiction facility, how the government currently regulates addiction treatment, and the changes advocates are seeking.

Today in history: September 9

1954: Sixteen-year-old Marilyn Bell becomes the first person to swim across Lake Ontario. Bell started her swim the previous day from Youngstown, N.Y. She swam for almost 21 hours under gruelling conditions, fighting waves and lamprey eels attacking her legs. About 300,000 people were on hand when she came ashore in Toronto. 
  
1967: The federal Progressive Conservative party ousts John Diefenbaker as leader at a Toronto convention and replaces him with Nova Scotia Premier Robert Stanfield.
 
2009: In a legal first in Canada, a Quebec court sentences a drunk driver to life in prison. The Crown had been pushing to have 57-year-old Roger Walsh declared a dangerous offender. It was Walsh’s 19th drunk-driving conviction, which left a wheelchair-bound woman dead.

2015: Queen Elizabeth becomes the longest-reigning British monarch, surpassing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who served for 63 years and 216 days from 1837-1901. Elizabeth began her reign upon the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952.

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Spring allergies: Where is it worse in Canada? – CTV News

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The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities such as Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Daniel Coates, director of Aerobiology Research Laboratories in Ottawa, expects the elevated amounts to continue next week for places, such as most of Ontario, if the temperature continues to rise. Aerobiology creates allergen forecasts based on data it collects from the air on various pollens and mould spores.

Pollens are fertilizing fine powder from certain plants such as trees, grass and weeds. They contain a protein that irritates allergy sufferers.

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Although pollen levels declined after a cold spell in some places, he said they are soaring again across parts of Canada.

“So the worst is definitely British Columbia right now, followed by Ontario and Quebec and then the Prairies and Atlantic Canada for the upcoming weeks,” said Coates in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “We are seeing pollen pretty much everywhere, including the Maritimes.”

He said pollen has increased over the past 20 years largely due to longer periods of warm weather in Canada.

Meanwhile, the Maritimes is one of the best places to live in Canada if you have seasonal allergies, in part because of its rocky territory, Coates said.

With high levels of cedar and birch pollen, British Columbia is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada, he added.

“British Columbia is going strong,” Coates explained, noting the allergy season started “very early” in the province in late January. “It has been going strong since late January, early February and it’s progressing with high levels of pollen, mostly cedar, but birch as well, and birch is highly allergenic.”

Causes of high pollen levels

Coates expects a longer allergy season if the warm weather persists. He notes pollen is increasing in Canada and worldwide, adding that in some cases the allergy season is starting earlier and lasting longer than 15 years ago.

He says tree pollen produced last year is now being released into the air because of warmer weather.

“Mother nature acts like a business,” he said. “So you have cyclical periods where things go up and down. … So when it cooled down a little bit, we saw (pollen) reduce in its levels, but now it’s going to start spiking.”

Along with warmer weather, another factor in higher pollen levels is people planting more male trees in urban areas because they don’t produce flowers and fruits and are less messy as a result, he said. But male trees produce pollen while female ones mostly do not.

Moulds

Coates said moulds aren’t as much of a problem.

“They’ve been mainly at lower levels so far this season,” he explained. “Moulds aren’t as bad in many areas of Canada, but they’re really, really bad in British Columbia.”

In B.C., moulds are worse because of its wet climate and many forested areas, he said.

Coping with allergies

Dr. Blossom Bitting, a naturopathic doctor and herbal medicine expert who works for St. Francis Herb Farm, says a healthy immune system is important to deal with seasonal allergies.

“More from a holistic point of view, we want to keep our immune system strong,” she said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Shediac, N.B. “Some would argue allergies are an overactive immune system.”

Bitting said ways to balance and strengthen the immune system include managing stress levels and getting seven to nine hours of restful sleep. “There is some research that shows that higher amounts of emotional stress can also contribute to how much your allergies react to the pollen triggers,” Bitting said.

Eating well by eating more whole foods and less processed foods along with exercising are also important, she added. She recommends foods high in Omega-3 Fatty Acids such as flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, walnuts and fish. Fermented foods with probiotics such as yogurt, kimchi and miso, rather than pasteurized ones, can keep the gut healthy, she added. Plant medicines or herbs such as astragalus, reishi mushrooms, stinging nettle and schisandra can help bodies adapt to stressors, help balance immune systems or stabilize allergic reactions, she said.

To cope with allergies, she recommends doing the following to reduce exposure to pollen:

  • Wear sunglasses to get less pollen into the eyes;
  • Wash outdoor clothes frequently, use outer layers for outside and remove them when you go inside the house;
  • Use air purifiers such as with HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters;
  • Wash pets and children after they go outside;
  • Keep the window closed on days with high pollen counts.

Mariam Hanna, a pediatric allergist, clinical immunologist and associate professor with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., says immunotherapy can help patients retrain their bodies by working with an allergist so they become more tolerant to pollens and have fewer symptoms.

“Some patients will need medications like over-the-counter antihistamines or speaking with their doctor about the right types of medications to help with symptom control,” she said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca.

Coates recommends people check pollen forecasts and decrease their exposure to pollen since no cure exists for allergies. “The best is knowing what’s in the air so that you can adjust your schedules, or whatever you’re doing, around the pollen levels.”

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Do you need a spring COVID-19 vaccine? Research backs extra round for high-risk groups

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Recent studies suggest staying up-to-date on COVID shots helps protect high-risk groups from severe illness

New guidelines suggest certain high-risk groups could benefit from having another dose of a COVID-19 vaccine this spring — and more frequent shots in general — while the broader population could be entering once-a-year territory, much like an annual flu shot.

Medical experts told CBC News that falling behind on the latest shots can come with health risks, particularly for individuals who are older or immunocompromised.

Even when the risk of infection starts to increase, the vaccines still do a really good job at decreasing risk of severe disease, said McMaster University researcher and immunologist Matthew Miller.

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Who needs another COVID shot?

Back in January, Canada’s national vaccine advisory body set the stage for another round of spring vaccinations. In a statement (new window), the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) stated that starting in spring 2024, individuals at an increased risk of severe COVID may get an extra dose of the latest XBB.1.5-based vaccines, which better protect against circulating virus variants.

That means:

  • Adults aged 65 and up.
  • Adult residents of long-term care homes and other congregate living settings for seniors.
  • Anyone six months of age or older who is moderately to severely immunocompromised.

The various spring recommendations don’t focus on pregnancy, despite research (new window) showing clear links between a COVID infection while pregnant, and increased health risks. However, federal guidance does note that getting vaccinated during pregnancy can protect against serious outcomes.

Vaccinated people can also pass antibodies to their baby through the placenta and through breastmilk, that guidance states (new window).

What do the provinces now recommend?

Multiple provinces have started rolling out their own regional guidance based on those early recommendations — with a focus on allowing similar high-risk groups to get another round of vaccinations.

B.C. is set to announce guidance on spring COVID vaccines in early April, officials told CBC News, and those recommendations are expected to align with NACI’s guidance.

In Manitoba (new window), high-risk individuals are already eligible for another dose, provided it’s been at least three months since their latest COVID vaccine.

Meanwhile Ontario’s latest guidance (new window), released on March 21, stresses that high-risk individuals may get an extra dose during a vaccine campaign set to run between April and June. Eligibility will involve waiting six months after someone’s last dose or COVID infection.

Having a spring dose is particularly important for individuals at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 who did not receive a dose during the Fall 2023 program, the guidance notes.

And in Nova Scotia (new window), the spring campaign will run from March 25 to May 31, also allowing high-risk individuals to get another dose.

Specific eligibility criteria vary slightly from province-to-province, so Canadians should check with their primary care provider, pharmacist or local public health team for exact guidelines in each area.

WATCH: Age still best determines when to get next COVID vaccine dose, research suggests:

 

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Age still best determines when to get COVID vaccines, new research suggests

It’s been four years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and new research suggests your age may determine how often you should get a booster shot.

Why do the guidelines focus so much on age?

The rationale behind the latest spring guidelines, Miller said, is that someone’s age remains one of the greatest risk factors associated with severe COVID outcomes, including hospitalization, intensive care admission and death.

So that risk starts to shoot up at about 50, but really takes off in individuals over the age of 75, he noted.

Canadian data (new window) suggests the overwhelming majority of COVID deaths have been among older adults, with nearly 60 per cent of deaths among those aged 80 or older, and roughly 20 per cent among those aged 70 to 79.

People with compromised immune systems or serious medical conditions are also more vulnerable, Miller added.

Will people always need regular COVID shots?

While the general population may not require shots as frequently as higher-risk groups, Miller said it’s unlikely there will be recommendations any time soon to have a COVID shot less than once a year, given ongoing uncertainty about COVID’s trajectory.

Going forward, I suspect for pragmatic reasons, [COVID vaccinations] will dovetail with seasonal flu vaccine campaigns, just because it makes the implementation much more straightforward, Miller said.

And although we haven’t seen really strong seasonal trends with SARS-CoV-2 now, I suspect we’ll get to a place where it’s more seasonal than it has been.

In the meantime, the guidance around COVID shots remains simple at its core: Whenever you’re eligible to get another dose — whether that’s once or twice a year — you might as well do it.

What does research say?

One analysis, published in early March in the medical journal Lancet Infectious Diseases (new window), studied more than 27,000 U.S. patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID, between September and December 2023.

The team found individuals who had an updated vaccine reduced their risk of severe illness by close to a third — and the difference was more noticeable in older and immunocompromised individuals.

Another American research team from Stanford University recently shared the results from a modelling simulation looking at the ideal frequency for COVID vaccines.

The study in Nature Communications (new window) suggests that for individuals aged 75 and up, having an annual COVID shot could reduce severe infections from an estimated 1,400 cases per 100,000 people to around 1,200 cases — while bumping to twice a year could cut those cases even further, down to 1,000.

For younger, healthier populations, however, the benefit of regular shots against severe illness was more modest.

The outcome wasn’t a surprise to Stanford researcher Dr. Nathan Lo, an infectious diseases specialist, since old age has consistently been a risk factor for severe COVID.

It’s almost the same pattern that’s been present the entire pandemic, he said. And I think that’s quite striking.

More frequent vaccination won’t prevent all serious infections, he added, or perhaps even a majority of those infections, which highlights the need for ongoing mitigation efforts.

Lauren Pelley (new window) · CBC News

 

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Students face up to 20-day suspension over vaccines – Waterloo Region Record

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Only one principal reported an altercation with a parent on the second day of suspensions over immunization records on Thursday. 

Under the Immunization of School Pupils Act, suspensions can last up to 20 days. 

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