TORONTO —
Dozens of COVID-19 vaccine candidates are currently undergoing late-stage testing, with two frontrunners by Pfizer and Moderna showing promising effectiveness.
But if multiple vaccines are eventually approved in Canada, a possibility that researchers believe could happen as soon as next year, experts say there won’t be any added benefit to getting multiple different vaccines.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti said there isn’t any medical advantage to taking more than one vaccine.
“They are the same sort of mechanism in terms of how they work, so I think one or the other would be beneficial,” he said.
Dr. Eleanor Fish, an immunology professor at the University of Toronto, agreed. She pointed to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which both aim to induce an immune response directed at same viral target: the spike protein, which interacts with other proteins on human cells to encourage the virus to replicate.
“Both frontrunner vaccines appear to be more than 90 (per cent) effective, so equally effective,” she told CTVNews.ca on Tuesday.
Epidemiologist and health policy expert Cynthia Carr said a vaccine isn’t “like Tylenol, where you take two if you need more pain control.”
“The vaccine is teaching your immune system to respond to an invading pathogen. If the vaccine has identified the right protein molecule to target, you might need a ‘reminder’ second dose, but that is not the same as taking multiple different vaccines,” she told CTVNews.ca.
Moderna said Monday that its shots appear to be 94.5 per cent effective, according to preliminary data in an ongoing study. The announcement came one week after Pfizer said its vaccine appears to be 90 per cent effective, based on early but incomplete testing.
While Moderna seems to offer slightly more protection, at least from preliminary findings, Chakrabarti said that difference likely wouldn’t be noticeable in a real-world setting.
“Ninety-five per cent versus 90 per cent, it is a difference. But I think on the population level it’s not a big thing,” he said.
Even when multiple vaccines are approved, Fish said Canadians probably won’t be in a position to choose which one they want to take.
“I suspect that choice will not be an issue as the vaccines arrive in Canada. There will be a strategy to roll out vaccination, prioritizing the most vulnerable and front-line workers,” she said.
Unless a person has a medical condition or an allergy, there likely won’t be an option for which vaccine they’ll receive, Carr said, assuming there is a more suitable vaccine available.
Given the global population and number of doses needed, it won’t be up to individuals to decide which vaccine they’ll receive, Carr said. Instead, governments will likely make those decisions based on vaccine availability, effectiveness and how easily the doses can be distributed.
The back-to-back announcements from Pfizer and Moderna sparked optimism among scientists and prompted an immediate reaction on the stock market, with Pfizer’s CEO selling US$5.6 million in stock the day it announced the news and airlines getting a boost.
Both companies have inked deals with the federal government for more than 20 million doses and asked Health Canada to review their products once ready. In total, the federal government has committed to buy more than 100 million doses from several different companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Novavax Inc.
Rather than bet on one company’s success, the federal government has spread around its investments in hopes of securing the first successful COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. However, in order to vaccinate as many Canadians as possible, it will be necessary to have a variety of effective doses available and the ability to make more.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the strategy Tuesday, saying the plan to secure doses from a range of producers was to “give Canadians assurance that regardless of which vaccines landed first, which companies were more successful in developing an effective vaccine than others, Canadians would have access to tens of millions of doses of vaccines when they become available.”
The government has also pledged $126 million to build a facility capable of producing up to two million doses of any potential vaccine per month.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch said people will take one vaccine initially once vaccine programs roll out. After that, he said, there are still many unanswered questions about what will happen next.
“It is currently not clear how long immunity will last after vaccination, and, if re-vaccination is required, what vaccinations people will be offered,” he told CTVNews.ca on Tuesday.
Among those unanswered questions is how the vaccines will be transported. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at ultra-low temperatures of -70 C, which could make it challenging to transport, particularly to developing countries in warm climates. Moderna’s vaccine can be stored at -20 C, which the company says could be achieved through a regular freezer and eliminate storage issues.
With thousands of new cases reported every day in Canada, a safe and effective vaccine has long been one of public health officials’ top goals. Kelly Grindrod, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo’s school of pharmacy, said the hope is that Canada could begin administering vaccines to frontline healthcare workers in early 2021.
“The push right now is to have a broad definition of ‘front line’ to make sure we include doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, but also those in low paid healthcare positions who have high infection rates, such as personal support workers, nursing aids, and hospital cleaning staff,” she said in a statement.
“By having a broad definition of ‘healthcare worker,’ the early vaccines would reach the hardest hit communities first.”
But even if Canada approves and distributes millions of vaccines, experts have long warned that a vaccine won’t immediately end the pandemic. World Health Organization spokesperson Margaret Harris pointed out that vaccines don’t eliminate diseases outright.
“We’ve got lots of great vaccines for other diseases, but we still have the diseases,” Harris told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday.
“So people need to understand it’s a great tool and used widely and wisely, if it gets to all the people, that need to get it at the same time, it’s going to make a difference. But we also have to do all the public health measures that do work.”
Until a vaccine or vaccines are available, health experts are advising Canadians to follow the same rules: wear a mask, practice social distancing and wash your hands often. As of Tuesday morning, more than 302,000 people in Canada have contracted COVID-19 and more than 11,000 have died.
Most job search advice is cookie-cutter. The advice you’re following is almost certainly the same advice other job seekers follow, making you just another candidate following the same script.
In today’s hyper-competitive job market, standing out is critical, a challenge most job seekers struggle with. Instead of relying on generic questions recommended by self-proclaimed career coaches, which often lead to a forgettable interview, ask unique, thought-provoking questions that’ll spark engaging conversations and leave a lasting impression.
Your level of interest in the company and the role.
Contributing to your employer’s success is essential.
You desire a cultural fit.
Here are the top four questions experts recommend candidates ask; hence, they’ve become cliché questions you should avoid asking:
“What are the key responsibilities of this position?”
Most likely, the job description answers this question. Therefore, asking this question indicates you didn’t read the job description. If you require clarification, ask, “How many outbound calls will I be required to make daily?” “What will be my monthly revenue target?”
“What does a typical day look like?”
Although it’s important to understand day-to-day expectations, this question tends to elicit vague responses and rarely leads to a deeper conversation. Don’t focus on what your day will look like; instead, focus on being clear on the results you need to deliver. Nobody I know has ever been fired for not following a “typical day.” However, I know several people who were fired for failing to meet expectations. Before accepting a job offer, ensure you’re capable of meeting the employer’s expectations.
“How would you describe the company culture?”
Asking this question screams, “I read somewhere to ask this question.” There are much better ways to research a company’s culture, such as speaking to current and former employees, reading online reviews and news articles. Furthermore, since your interviewer works for the company, they’re presumably comfortable with the culture. Do you expect your interviewer to give you the brutal truth? “Be careful of Craig; get on his bad side, and he’ll make your life miserable.” “Bob is close to retirement. I give him lots of slack, which the rest of the team needs to pick up.”
Truism: No matter how much due diligence you do, only when you start working for the employer will you experience and, therefore, know their culture firsthand.
“What opportunities are there for professional development?”
When asked this question, I immediately think the candidate cares more about gaining than contributing, a showstopper. Managing your career is your responsibility, not your employer’s.
Cliché questions don’t impress hiring managers, nor will they differentiate you from your competition. To transform your interaction with your interviewer from a Q&A session into a dynamic discussion, ask unique, insightful questions.
Here are my four go-to questions—I have many more—to accomplish this:
“Describe your management style. How will you manage me?”
This question gives your interviewer the opportunity to talk about themselves, which we all love doing. As well, being in sync with my boss is extremely important to me. The management style of who’ll be my boss is a determining factor in whether or not I’ll accept the job.
“What is the one thing I should never do that’ll piss you off and possibly damage our working relationship beyond repair?”
This question also allows me to determine whether I and my to-be boss would be in sync. Sometimes I ask, “What are your pet peeves?”
“When I join the team, what would be the most important contribution you’d want to see from me in the first six months?”
Setting myself up for failure is the last thing I want. As I mentioned, focus on the results you need to produce and timelines. How realistic are the expectations? It’s never about the question; it’s about what you want to know. It’s important to know whether you’ll be able to meet or even exceed your new boss’s expectations.
“If I wanted to sell you on an idea or suggestion, what do you need to know?”
Years ago, a candidate asked me this question. I was impressed he wasn’t looking just to put in time; he was looking for how he could be a contributing employee. Every time I ask this question, it leads to an in-depth discussion.
Other questions I’ve asked:
“What keeps you up at night?”
“If you were to leave this company, who would follow?”
“How do you handle an employee making a mistake?”
“If you were to give a Ted Talk, what topic would you talk about?”
“What are three highly valued skills at [company] that I should master to advance?”
“What are the informal expectations of the role?”
“What is one misconception people have about you [or the company]?”
Your questions reveal a great deal about your motivations, drive to make a meaningful impact on the business, and a chance to morph the questioning into a conversation. Cliché questions don’t lead to meaningful discussions, whereas unique, thought-provoking questions do and, in turn, make you memorable.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
CALGARY – Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported a third-quarter profit of $2.27 billion, down from $2.34 billion in the same quarter last year.
The company says the profit amounted to $1.06 per diluted share for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 compared with $1.06 per diluted share a year earlier.
Product sales totalled $10.40 billion, down from $11.76 billion in the same quarter last year.
Daily production for the quarter averaged 1,363,086 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 1,393,614 a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, Canadian Natural says it earned 97 cents per diluted share for the quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1.30 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 90 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
CALGARY – Cenovus Energy Inc. reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year as its revenue edged lower.
The company says it earned $820 million or 42 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $1.86 billion or 97 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $14.25 billion, down from $14.58 billion in the same quarter last year.
Total upstream production in the quarter amounted to 771,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 797,000 a year earlier.
Total downstream throughput was 642,900 barrels per day compared with 664,300 in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Cenovus says its funds flow amounted to $1.05 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from adjusted funds flow of $1.81 per diluted share a year earlier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
With thousands of new cases reported every day in Canada, a safe and effective vaccine has long been one of public health officials’ top goals. Kelly Grindrod, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo’s school of pharmacy, said the hope is that Canada could begin administering vaccines to frontline healthcare workers in early 2021.
