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Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine: Here’s what experts are saying about the new data – Global News

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Pfizer released an early snapshot of its Phase 3 trials for its coronavirus vaccine on Monday, and said the results look promising with data suggesting it’s 90 per cent effective at preventing the virus.

The company and its collaborator BioNTech may now be on track to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators in late November, as previously stated.

Read more:
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine may be 90% effective, early data suggests

However, the announcement does not mean a vaccine is fast approaching, experts warn.

“We aren’t doing terribly well in the fight against COVID-19. The numbers just keep rising in Canada and around the world,” said Kerry Bowman, a professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto.

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“This is wonderful news to hear. … Psychologically we needed some good news. However, we have to be quite cautious, as the data is not complete and there are still some lingering questions.”

This is because Pfizer provided only a glimpse of the data and cautioned the initial protection rate might change by the time the study ends.






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What does the Phase 3 COVID-19 data say?

Monday’s interim analysis, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the volunteers who had either received two doses of the vaccine or a placebo.

The Phase 3 clinical trial of the vaccine, called “BNT162b2” began on July 27 and has enrolled 43,538 participants — 38,955 of whom have received a second dose of the vaccine candidate as of Nov. 8.

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“Approximately 42 per cent of global participants and 30 per cent of U.S. participants have racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds,” Pfizer said in its release.

READ MORE: Pfizer may ask for emergency approval of its OCIVD-19 vaccine in late November

According to the findings, the trial found that fewer than 10 per cent of infections were in participants who had been given the vaccine, a strong signal of efficacy. More than 90 per cent of the cases were in people who had been given a placebo.

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Pfizer said that the vaccine provided protection seven days after the second dose and 28 days after the initial dose of the vaccine.

The company also said that — so far — no participant has become severely ill.

What wasn’t revealed?

“There are still some questions hanging in the air,” Bowman said. “How long does the vaccine work for? We don’t know that, but let’s hope it’s at least one year.”

Bowman said there is also a chance that participants in the trial may have contracted the virus but aren’t showing symptoms.

According to Pfizer, participants were tested only if they developed symptoms, leaving unanswered whether vaccinated people could get infected but show no symptoms and unknowingly spread the virus.

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Infection control epidemiologist Colin Furness, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, said there is still a lot of data that needs to be reviewed. He said he would like to know what the experience was for participants who received the COVID-19 vaccine and still got the virus.

“I would like to know whether or not it was a mild case of coronavirus,” he said. “All of this data should be released, such as the demographics, who got sick, and obviously what the side effects of the vaccine are. Pfizer needs to be very transparent about this.”

The data has yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. Pfizer said it would do so once it has results from the entire trial.

‘Cautiously optimistic’

Although the data is promising, Bowman said it’s best that everyone remains “cautiously optimistic” as there are still a lot of unknowns.

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“We have to be quite cautious. We are looking at public relations from a pharmaceutical company whose primary goal is marketing and profit,” he said. “I am not saying I don’t believe it, but you have to realize that the full data has not been released. They are telling us what the data says, so experts still need to review it.”

But, he said, by the end of November, Pfizer could be publishing more of the results, and then “we will be able to review the larger picture.”

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He also stressed the importance of not rushing a vaccine due to “hesitancy” surrounding inoculation.

Furness agreed.

Because “political interference” could lead to rushing a vaccine, Furness said, companies like Pfizer are aware that “public trust may be shaky.”

“So they have to counter that by being very transparent, let everyone know the data, release all the information,” he said. “Usually pharmaceutical companies want to protect their research. It’s the way of the business … but transparency is very important in this case.”

What comes next?

Pfizer said it doesn’t plan to stop its study until it records 164 infections among all the volunteers, a number that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed is enough to tell how well the vaccine is working. The agency has made clear that any vaccine must be at least 50 per cent effective.

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“The study also will evaluate the potential for the vaccine candidate to provide protection against COVID-19 in those who have had prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2, as well as vaccine prevention against severe COVID-19 disease,” the company’s statement said.

The company predicts that its “safety data” following the second and final dose of the vaccine, will be available by the third week of November.






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“Based on current projections we expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021,” the company said (enough to vaccinate 650 million people as it is a double dose).

Canada has signed a deal with Pfizer in August to secure 20 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine in 2021.

Speaking at a media conference on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he hopes to have the vaccine rollout in early 2021.

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Bowman said because coronavirus rates are skyrocketing in places like the U.S. and Canada, this means there is a silver lining — more people can volunteer for the trials. He remains optimistic that not only with Pfizer have positive results, but other companies, too.

READ MORE: Pfizer to include participants as young as 12 in COVID-19 vaccine trials

“This could be very good news, and other vaccines could start working too, so we may have a situation where there is a combination of vaccines or you can ‘take your pick,’” he said.

However, he stressed that despite Pfizer’s promising data, it does not mean that it’s over. It means we are on an “uphill trend,” he said.

“We are not going back to normal life yet. It’s going to take time and research — but boy, did we need this good news.”

— With files from the Associated Press

© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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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.

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

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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)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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

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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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