We’re answering your questions about the pandemic. Send yours to COVID@cbc.ca, and we’ll answer as many as we can. We publish a selection of answers online and also put some questions to the experts during The National and on CBC News Network. So far, we’ve received more than 59,000 emails from all corners of the country.
Now that a COVID-19 vaccine has been approved in Canada and the first shots are set to be given, lots of you have questions about vaccines: If I’ve previously tested positive for COVID-19, should I still get vaccinated? Is the vaccine safe for pregnant women, children and people who are immunocompromised? Where can I find the ingredients list? Can I choose which vaccine to get? We talked to the experts to get you some answers.
Once someone is vaccinated, do they still have to wear a mask and physically distance?
Dr. Zain Chagla, an associate professor of medicine at McMaster University and an infectious disease physician in Hamilton, Ont., said yes, in the short-term, for two reasons.
The first is, during such a large immunization, not everyone will get vaccinated at the same time. Some will be vaccinated while others are still waiting and need to be protected by wearing masks, physical distancing, frequent hand-washing and other safety measures.
“Plus, it takes time for the immune response to actually build up and kick in,” Chagla said.
WATCH | How we’ll learn more about the effectiveness of the vaccine over time:
Health Canada chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma spoke with the CBC’s Tom Parry during a briefing on Wednesday. 2:06
Given that the vaccines will be rolled out in a step-wise fashion starting with the most vulnerable populations, the health-care workers who serve them and then scaling up to the general public, Dr. Tasleem Nimjee, an emergency department physician in Toronto, suspects that we’ll see a parallel drawing back on public health measures such as wearing masks and staying apart.
“It’s not going to be a sort of, ‘Now we can all take off our masks,'” Nimjee said on The National’s virtual town hall, Confronting COVID.
Instead, shedding masks will likely be more gradual.
Can you still carry and spread the virus if you’ve been vaccinated?
That’s not something most of the clinical trials were designed to test, said Dr. Michael Gardam, a Toronto infectious disease physician who is currently the senior medical adviser for Health PEI.
In the recently published study on the clinical trial results for the AstraZeneca vaccine, the efficacy against asymptomatic infection was just 27 per cent — suggesting those vaccinated generally can still transmit the disease — but the number of cases was quite small to draw conclusions.
WATCH | Why vigilance and patience will still be required in 2021:
As vaccinations get underway, the World Health Organization’s technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, makes an impassioned appeal for people to protect themselves and loved ones from COVID-19 in 2021. 1:48
Moderna says it does plan to check if its vaccine prevents more than just symptomatic infection.
Gardam said because it’s something that still needs to be figured out, “for now, getting vaccinated does not automatically mean that you couldn’t potentially pass COVID-19 on to someone else.”
That’s another reason he expects we’ll be wearing masks for a while, he said.
Will those who have tested positive for COVID get the vaccine or will they be deemed to have immunity? Is there any danger if they do get the vaccine?
There’s not enough information yet to answer the first question, said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease doctor in Toronto and a member of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force.
“But my inkling,” he said, “is that they should be vaccinated.”
Bogoch said there have been reports of people getting reinfected with COVID-19 as soon as four months after recovering from their previous infection, and those are probably the tip of the iceberg. He said he expects most people who have recovered from COVID-19 will be eligible for vaccination.
As to whether getting the vaccine poses a risk to those who have been previously infected, Gardam said no, there is no danger.
He said vaccines are routinely given to people without testing if they have been exposed to the disease, because it’s logistically easier to just vaccinate everyone.
What if only half the population is vaccinated? How much of the population has to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity?
Herd immunity is the point at which the virus can’t find enough people to infect in order to continue the chain of infection.
Vaccinating half the population probably won’t be enough.
The percentage required to achieve herd immunity depends on how many people a single infected person spreads the disease to on average. For COVID-19, this is thought to be between two and three, so about 60 to 70 per cent of the population will need to be immune in order to achieve herd immunity.
WATCH | What to expect with the vaccine rollout:
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti says Health Canada’s approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a ‘historic moment’ that will trigger the first wave of a countrywide immunization campaign. 6:00
In other words, if a vaccine is 100 per cent effective, then 60 to 70 per cent of the population would need to be vaccinated.
However, the COVID-19 vaccines have been less than 100 per cent effective in clinical trials, and may be even less so in the real world, said Dr. Zain Chagla of McMaster University. That’s because the trials didn’t include people with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, or transplant recipients, to name a couple examples.
So, how effective are the vaccines when they’re given to all kinds of people?
“That’s really what’s going to determine how long it takes to get to true herd immunity,” Chagla said.
Will the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines work for people on chemo or suffering from autoimmune diseases or taking an immunosuppressant drug? Will they be able to take these vaccines?
Bogoch said those conditions are all different, and it’s important for anyone who has them to talk to their doctor about their unique situation.
“But, in general, it’s very likely that those with an immunocompromised state will be eligible for this vaccine,” he said.
It’s possible that they won’t generate the same level of immunity as a healthy person, he said, “but some protection is better than nothing.”
Gardam said there may be concerns about giving a vaccine containing live viruses to an immunocompromised patient, but the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines contain only genetic material.
“There’s nothing live in that. So, typically, people who are immunocompromised can get vaccines like that.”
Could a person get a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for their first dose and the Moderna vaccine for their second?
Right now, you can’t take shots of two different vaccines, Bogoch told CBC News Network.
“If you start with Moderna, you end with Moderna,” he said. “I doubt anything would happen if you mixed and matched, but it’s not going to happen. You shouldn’t be doing that.”
“I suspect we won’t have the luxury of doing that, at least in the early stages,” said Dr. Susy Hota, an infectious disease specialist at the University Health Network and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto.
Quantities of the vaccine will be limited for now.
“We’ll probably have to get whatever’s available at that time,” she said.
WATCH | COVID-19 vaccinations off to a quick start in the U.K.:
Thousands of people across the U.K. received the first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, but officials are warning there is still a long way to go before the end of the pandemic. 3:10
Where can I find a list of ingredients for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine?
Do I still need to take the flu shot if I get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Absolutely, Chagla says.
The reason is, the flu and COVID-19 are caused by different viruses and need different vaccines.
“The time is probably now to get your flu shot in,” Chagla said.
Will we need to take this vaccine yearly like the flu shot?
Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease physician at the University of Alberta, said we don’t have an answer yet because immune responses to the vaccines haven’t been studied long enough to know.
We’ll get a better sense of whether the coronavirus vaccines prevent people from transmitting and shedding the virus as they roll out to millions of people worldwide, doctors say. (Bryan Woolston/Reuters)
Gardam said there’s been a lot of discussion about whether vaccines to protect against COVID-19 will be needed each year.
“The only way we’re going to know that is by following people along over the next nine months to a year to see if they still have good immunity or not,” Gardam said.
I suffer from severe trypanophobia. Is there an oral or nasal COVID-19 vaccine in the works?
Trypanophobia is fear of medical procedures involving injections or needles. Those who suffer from it will be happy to know that a number of oral and nasal COVID-19 vaccines are in development. In fact, there are research groups in Canada working to develop both those kinds of vaccines, and the oral vaccine from Symvivo has begun clinical trials. There is also a nasal spray from Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy and Xiamen University that is in Phase 2 clinical trials, according to the World Health Organization’s tracker.
What constitutes a ‘history of serious allergic reactions?’ Once?
Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic response by the body to a substance in a food, medicine or vaccine.
Chagla said people with anaphylaxis can get very short of breath and their blood pressure can drop.
The experience of a single episode that required epinephrine, such as from an EpiPen or other auto-injector, constitutes a “history of serious allergic reaction.”
WATCH | Investigating adverse events after vaccinations:
British regulators say people who have a ‘significant history’ of allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Two adverse reactions occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. 4:45
Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman of McMaster University’s clinical immunology and allergy department said the U.K. regulators temporarily paused delivery of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to people with a history of anaphylaxis after two adverse events occurred among health-care workers with such a history who carried auto-injectors.
Both received the vaccine and then experienced reactions that doctors and regulators call adverse events until any cause-and-effect relationships are sorted out. The two people were treated immediately and recovered without needing to be hospitalized.
“There’s a lot of different kinds of reactions and we need to clarify exactly what happened,” such as what components of the vaccine might be responsible, Abdurrahman said.
The adverse events could be coincidences that weren’t caused by the vaccinations. The events are under investigation and further guidance could come from regulators, Chagla said.
How many vaccines can our bodies tolerate?
Dr. Noni MacDonald, a professor of pediatrics at Dalhousie University who specializes in vaccine safety and communication, said she’s been getting this question for at least 25 years. Vaccines contain antigens — generally viruses, bacteria or parts of them — that trigger an immune response similar to those triggered by the microbes themselves.
Dr. Noni MacDonald says your immune system is designed to deal with significant amounts of antigens that trigger an immune response. (Dalhousie University)
“I think what people don’t know is how much we are bombarded by antigens … every day,” MacDonald said. Those include the microbes in your gut, in your food, in the air you breathe. “The amount of antigens that are in these vaccines is extraordinarily limited.”
And such small amounts are not going to overwhelm your immune system, she said.
And as Chagla points out, our bodies are programmed to deal with multiple pathogens and immune triggers at the same time.
“In everyday life, it’s not like every bacteria and virus takes a break because one other bacteria and virus has affected you. You can get a cold and then eat something that gives you food poisoning.”
In fact, infants receive a number of vaccines in a single product.
“We’re able to take multiple vaccines,” Chagla said.
Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.
The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.
Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.
The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.
Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”
“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.
“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”
Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.
The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.
It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.
Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.
It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.
“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.
Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.
The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.
Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.
The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.
“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.
Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.
“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.
“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”
Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.
On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.
That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.
Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”
“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.
“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”
French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.
“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.
“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
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.
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.
