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Lancet study finds Pfizer vaccine effectiveness wanes over time – Toronto Sun

Published

3 years ago

October 7, 2021

Harry Miller

But it remains effective at keeping people out of hospital

Author of the article:

Scott Laurie

Publishing date:

Oct 05, 2021 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read • 8 Comments

Syringe and vial are seen in front of displayed new Pfizer logo in this illustration taken, June 24, 2021. Photo by DADO RUVIC /REUTERS

The effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine in preventing infection from COVID-19 wanes after six months, according to a study published Tuesday in The Lancet.

But the study also shows full vaccination prevents people from getting so sick they have to be admitted to a hospital.

“Our results show high effectiveness of (Pfizer-BioNTech) against hospital admissions up until 6 months after being fully vaccinated,” the authors wrote. “Effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infections waned during the 6 months of this study.”

Doctors tracked 3.5 million people vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech. They found, after a second shot, the vaccine was 73% effective in preventing infection.

That fell to 47% after five months.

The vaccine was 93% effective at preventing hospital admissions and remained at that level.

“Is there waning over time? The answer is probably yes. There probably is some degree of vaccine effectiveness that wanes with time,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, of the University Health Network. “This study probably over-estimates the degree of how much the vaccine wanes.”

When it comes to tackling the dominant Delta variant in Canada, the study found Pfizer was 93% effective at first.

After four months, that fell to 53%.

The medical community has been discussing whether booster shots are necessary.

The Lancet study touched on that, saying: “Our findings underscore the importance of monitoring vaccine effectiveness over time and suggest that booster doses might eventually be needed to restore the high levels of protection observed early in the vaccination program.”

Bogoch said Canada does not need a broad booster campaign right now.

“There might be a point where we all need a third dose, but that time is not now,” he said. “It’s currently only select populations that would benefit from a third dose.”

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He added that with Ontario 82% fully vaccinated and 86% with at least a single dose, the province is in a much better position than some to weather the fourth wave.

Some countries have already started administering booster shots.

The study’s authors admitted their survey has limitations because it did not take into account post-vaccination behaviours such as whether people continued to wear masks and maintained social distancing when around others.

“This is what’s called an observational study,” Bogoch said. “It is not a randomized control trial.”

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Business

TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

Published

18 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

Published

18 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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Canada Goose reports Q2 revenue down from year ago, trims full-year guidance

Published

18 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.

The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.

Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.

It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)

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