Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot joins a growing arsenal of vaccines that include shots from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca to protect Canadians against COVID-19.
“At this time, we consider all available vaccines to be effective,” said Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical advisor, at a press conference on Friday.
“Our advice to Canadians is to get whichever vaccine is available to you.”
Here’s a closer look at all the vaccines that Canada has approved so far:
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Johnson & Johnson
Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson shot is an adenovirus-based vaccine.
It was built using a kind of virus, which causes colds in chimpanzees.
The adenovirus is altered to carry a gene for the coronavirus protein, which can then train a person’s immune system to recognize the actual coronavirus if it ever enters the body.
0:41 Coronavirus: Health officials urge people to take whichever vaccine available regardless of efficacy rate
Coronavirus: Health officials urge people to take whichever vaccine available regardless of efficacy rate
It only requires one dose and has been approved for use in individuals aged 18 and older and is effective in older adults, Sharma said.
“Almost 20 per cent of the participants in the clinical trials were 65 years of age and older, and no differences in the safety or efficacy were seen compared to the younger groups,” she said.
The shot is significantly easier to ship and store, as it can be kept in a refrigerator (between 2 C and 8 C)for at least three months — much longer than the Moderna vaccine — rather than a freezer.
In clinical trials, it showed an overall efficacy of 66 per cent in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, Sharma said.
Canada has pre-ordered 10 million doses of the vaccine, with options to order up to 28 million more.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca’s two-dose shot was approved for use on Feb. 26.
Like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, this is also an adenovirus-based vaccine and can be stored at normal fridge temperature — meaning the doses are much easier both to ship and to keep.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was found to be 62 per cent effective in a two-dose clinical trial.
But Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is not currently recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine for people 65 or older “due to limited information on the efficacy of this vaccine in this age group at this time.”
The first two phases of AstraZeneca’s trials did not include people over the age of 65.
Canada has purchased 20 million doses — enough to vaccine 10 million Canadians.
Moderna
Moderna’s mRNA vaccine was the second COVID-19 shot approved for use in Canada back on Dec. 23.
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Moderna’s shot was manufactured using mRNA-based technology, a relatively new way to make vaccines.
Instead of injecting a deactivated form of the virus, the mRNA vaccine uses a component of the virus called messenger RNA that basically contains the genetic instructions for the human body to make the specific spike protein of the coronavirus.
2:17 Questions about safety of delaying second COVID-19 vaccine dose
Questions about safety of delaying second COVID-19 vaccine dose
By doing this, the immune system learns to recognize and respond to that specific protein, meaning it can more quickly mount a response if the virus enters the body.
The two doses are supposed to be given four weeks or 28 days apart, but many provinces are now extending that time to up to four months amid shortages, as recommended by NACI.
Clinical trials found Moderna’s vaccine to be 94.1 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19.
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The Moderna doses can be stored in a freezer between -25 C and -15 C. The Moderna doses can be stored in a freezer between -25 C and -15 C. Territories have been guaranteed priority access to this particular vaccine, as it’s easier to safely transport and store compared to Pfizer’s — which was approved first.
Canada’s agreement with Moderna is for 40 million doses — although the feds have the option of purchasing another 16 million in addition to that. The 40 million doses are enough to inoculate 20 million Canadians, over half of the population.
Pfizer
On Dec. 9, Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine became the first COVID-19 shot to get approval in the country.
Canada has 40 million Pfizer doses secured in its agreement with the manufacturer.
Like Moderna’s jab, this is also an mRNA vaccine and requires two doses — which the company recommends be given three weeks or 21 days apart, as done in clinical trials.
Pfizer’s clinical trials were only conducted on those over the age of 16, which means that until further studies are completed in younger age groups, anyone under 16 years old is ineligible for the jab.
Of the four vaccines, Pfizer is the most demanding about temperature. This vaccine requires ultra-cold storage, meaning it has to be transported and stored at -70 C. This makes the vaccine tricky to ship to remote regions, where the appropriate infrastructure is far more difficult to set up.
On Feb. 25, Pfizer-BioNTech requested a change to allow its COVID-19 vaccine to be kept at between -25 C and -15 C instead of the earlier approved storage condition of between -80 C and -60 C.
While Health Canada still endorses ultra-cold storage conditions for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the department “after conducting a thorough review” said on Wednesday that the doses can now be stored and shipped “at standard freezer temperatures” for up to 14 days.
0:40 Coronavirus: Health Canada rules Pfizer vaccine can be stored at standard temperatures
Coronavirus: Health Canada rules Pfizer vaccine can be stored at standard temperatures
In terms of effectiveness, Pfizer takes the gold. At 95 per cent, it narrowly edges Moderna for a photo-finish.
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Still, at the end of the day, Canadians should feel confident that any one of the three approved vaccines will cut off COVID-19’s claws and protect them from the worst outcomes of the virus.
“All vaccines will help Canadians to fight the pandemic,” said Health Canada’s Dr. Marc Berthiaume at Friday’s press conference.
“The efficacy rates may vary depending on the design and studies, but we feel that overall these are very good vaccine choices.”
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.
