A team of doctors at Hamilton’s McMaster University is preparing to test blood samples from across Canada in search of a rare type of clot linked to the Astra-Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
There have been no cases of vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT) in Canada, but there have been cases in Europe. Since those cases, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended pausing administration of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to those under age 55.
The McMaster team is preparing to screen blood samples of Canadian patients who may have had VIPIT.
In the meantime, clinical hematologist Meneka Pai, among doctors involved in the McMaster testing, says she likes the idea of pausing the vaccine for “more study” into its safety.
“Ten days ago, we didn’t know that this condition existed, so things are moving really fast,” Pai told CBC News.
Dr. Menaka Pai, a clinical hematologist at McMaster University Menaka Pai and a member of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, says ‘things are moving fast’ when it comes to vaccine-related findings. (Submitted by Menaka Pai)
“I think when things are moving so fast, just taking this brief pause [allows us to] figure out what’s going on … gather more data, tighten up those estimations and continue doing surveillance in Canada to make sure we’re not seeing these cases.”
When a blood clot occurs, the flow of blood stops, said Pai.
“In many blood clots, it’s platelets, little sticky cells — they basically turn on and they form a jam. If you get a blood clot, it stops healthy blood from flowing to the area. And it actually stops deoxygenated blood from draining, so there’s a problem with flowing in and flowing out,” said Pai.
“In VIPIT, what happens is that patients get the vaccine, and then it seems that four to 20 days later, their body makes a molecule called an antibody and that antibody actually attacks the person’s own platelets. These platelets switch on and they get sticky. Now you have these sticky cells and they start to form clots.
“So the real key with VIPIT is there’s this predisposing factor of the vaccine, and then the immune response revs up, and then four to 20 days later, we see this very dangerous antibody forming,” the hematologist said.
More women than men, but why?
Pai, who is also a member of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, said while there have been no vaccine-induced VIPIT cases in Canada, the majority of them elsewhere involved people under 55, and more often women.
But Pai said it’s not known if this is a predisposition, because countries in Europe preferentially gave the AstraZeneca vaccine to younger people and health-care workers. There are more women in the latter group.
“We don’t know if it’s true that it’s women under age 55 who are very at-risk, or is it just because this is who got the AstraZeneca vaccine in the countries that are reporting? So, we’re waiting on data,” she said.
“Is the U.K. going to tell us something different, because they vaccinated older people? We’re sort of keeping our ears open but right now.”
Dr. Donald Arnold, medical director of the Platelet Immunology Laboratory at McMaster University, says the school’s lab is ‘very equipped’ to do special testing for platelet disorders. (Submitted by Jessica Clarke)
Dr. Donald Arnold, medical director of the Platelet Immunology Laborotory at McMaster, said preliminary reports from Europe show people who develop VIPIT had “very positive tests in what’s called platelet activation assays.”
He said the McMaster lab is “very equipped” to do those tests. The lab runs specialized tests for different types of platelet disorders, including screening for Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).
Know the risks
People with HIT sometimes develop a low platelet count and blood clots.
“As it turned out, this vaccine-induced syndrome called VIPIT is very similar to Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and the testing is quite similar as well,” Arnold told CBC News.
“We’re the only reference lab in Canada that does this whole battery of testing. It has, up until now, been a fairly niche area and not a common test that’s been required although it had its own place in medicine, looking for this type of disorder called HIT.”
Arnold said the lab is offering “confirmatory testing” for anyone in Canada suspected of developing vaccine-induced VIPIT.
“I think what really has to happen with this vaccine is people who get it, and doctors who are giving it or overseeing it, have to be aware that this is a potential risk and know what signs and symptoms to look out for.”
Symptoms include headaches and seizures
Arnold added: “If a person does end up presenting with some of those signs and symptoms, they should be investigated with routine tests first and then a consultation with a hematologist should happen.
“If there is still a suspicion that this could be a real case of vaccine-induced VIPIT, then they should send the sample to us to do the confirmation.” The lab will be able to detect VIPIT in two or three days.
“We just want to give clinicians and Canadians the best information on how to detect this and treat this — that’s the goal of the science table,” said Pai.
“We’re not making vaccine policy. We’re here to tell people we know what this is, we know how to treat it, if it happens you’re going to be ready to give the patient really good care.”
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.
