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Science says AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe. But will that ease concerns? – Global News
After initially saying AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine shouldn’t be given to people above the age of 65, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) reversed its stance on Tuesday, announcing that the vaccine was safe for seniors.
The news comes as several countries around the world have temporarily paused their rollout of AstraZeneca’s doses and the Canadian government tries to quell fears about its safety emanating from reports of blood clots and apparent confusion over the vaccine’s safety.
“People can can get confused quite easily, especially if recommendations change,” said Dr. Saverio Stranges, who chairs Western University’s department of epidemiology and biostatistics.
But “we also need to acknowledge that science evolves, especially in the midst of a pandemic where we are creating new information all the time.”
How did we get here?
The decision was a sharp reversal of guidelines made earlier this month, which advised against giving the vaccine to seniors because of “limited information on the efficacy of this vaccine in this age group” at that time.
However, now there is enough “real-world evidence” to show the vaccine is safe for seniors, Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, who chairs NACI, announced on Tuesday.
The AstraZeneca vaccine became the third COVID-19 shot authorized for use by Health Canada in anyone 18 years or older in late February, joining mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Results from AstraZeneca’s clinical trials demonstrated an average efficacy of approximately 62 per cent in participants ranging from 18 to 64 years old.
Canada has inked a deal with the Serum Institute in India to manufacture two million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which have already begun to arrive. Another 20 million doses already secured with AstraZeneca will start shipping in the spring.
Why the change, NACI?
Those at higher risk of severe illness, death and exposure should be prioritized for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, however Quach-Thanh said AstraZeneca is on par with the mRNA vaccines when it comes to real-world effectiveness after just a first dose.
New studies from the U.K., which has administered the AstraZeneca vaccine to tens of thousands of citizens already, demonstrated the doses were safe and effective in older adults, she said, including “in adults over the age of 80 with significant medical comorbidities.”
Dr. Matthew Tunis, executive secretary to NACI, said future changes could come “days after a decision” has been announced if better evidence emerges.
“It might be that the evidence comes days after a decision. It might be weeks after a decision or months. We have no control over where the data is coming from and it’s impossible to predict the future,” he said.
In one pre-print of a study referenced by Quach-Thanh, a single dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine reached an effectiveness of 70 per cent in participants aged 80 years and older between 28 and 34 days before plateauing. Two weeks after receiving a second dose, researchers said the vaccine’s effectiveness rose to 89 per cent.
The study, published in medxRxiv, found similar results in participants at least 70 years old. Those who had received their first shot saw vaccine effectiveness reach 61 per cent before plateauing between 28 and 34 days after being administered the first shot. That number increased to 73 per cent 28 to 34 days after receiving their booster injection.
Director of the Bureau of Medical Science at Health Canada Dr. Marc Berthiaume also weighed in.
He said information reviewed by the agency showed the number of “thromboembolic adverse events,” which are blood clots formed due to blood changes, were lower than would be expected.
“Overall, Health Canada considers that the benefits of the vaccines, considering the risk of contracting COVID infection and its associated complications, outweigh any risk that (could) potentially be associated with the vaccine,” he said.
Addressing vaccine hesitancy
Social media like Instagram and Twitter have made it easier for officials to get their messages across, but Stranges said it has also made it easier for misinformation to filter through, and for officials’ advice to get misconstrued.
“It’s a difficult scenario because people get information from the sources they feel more comfortable with, and those sources are not necessarily official, public health sources,” he said.
Experts have expressed concerns the sudden change in guidance has only added contention to the negative image of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which has been mired by suspicions that it may cause blood clots.
A slew of European countries have temporarily suspended use of the vaccine after reports surfaced of people suffering from embolisms formed by blood clots who had recently received the shot.
In a review of more than 17 million people who have received the vaccine across the EU and Britain, AstraZeneca said it found 37 cases of blood clots.
“Obviously you assess that there is a correlation between that specific event and the vaccination, but the correlation does not necessarily mean that there is a causal link,” said Stranges.
According to AstraZeneca, this number is no larger than what is expected within a general population. However, Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease physician at Trillium Hospital in Mississauga, Ont., said facts will hold little sway with people whose hesitancy is rooted in mistrust.
He cautioned against “beat(ing) people over the head with facts.”
“Sometimes data and facts is not what people want,” Chakrabati said.
“They want the truth, of course, but they also just want the reassurance…. Sometimes it is just fear, sometimes it’s mistrust of the government, or some people in general are mistrustful of any kind of medical therapy or the medical field in general.”
Zain Chagla, an infectious disease specialist at Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s Hospital, noted that “even if all of the dust settles on all of this stuff and it’s (proven) effective in 65-year-olds and it’s actually 80 per cent effective and there’s no clot risk, you’ve already introduced three strikes that are hard to wash away from people who are already hesitant to take this vaccine over Moderna and Pfizer.”
The reports have triggered an investigation led by The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is expected to release its results on Thursday. In the meantime, the EMA has urged governments not to halt the use of the vaccine, claiming it is still “firmly convinced” that the “benefits” of the vaccine “outweigh” the risks.
The results of the investigation are expected Thursday.
Dr. Horacio Bach, an infectious disease specialist teaching at the University of British Columbia, emphasized how important it is the public understand that there is no evidence that the AstraZeneca vaccine causes blood clots, or would be harmful to seniors. He encouraged Canadians to get vaccinated as quickly as possible.
“It’s very important that at this stage in the middle of a pandemic, everyone should take whatever is available,” he said.
“The more people (who) vaccinate, the less chance the virus (has) to find a new host, meaning a new person, (to) infect.”
— With files from the Canadian Press
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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Gas prices have not been this high since August 2022
Published Apr 17, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 1 minute read
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Gas in Ontario, including the GTA, will go up 14 cents a litre overnight for customers filling up on Thursday, says Dan McTeague, the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
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“So going from $1.65.9 (per litre) going to $1.79.9,” said McTeague adding the increase will affect the entire province except for northwestern Ontario, which gets its prices from the prairies market.
“That’s the highest level since August, 2022, almost two years ago,” he added.
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McTeague said the reason for the price hike is that stations are switching over to summer-blend gasoline.
“Around this time of year prices go up to reflect the new blend of gasoline, which is more expensive to make,” he explained. “Butane is used in the winter, for gasoline, whereas in the summer it’s alkyaltes. Alkyaltes are extremely expensive.”
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“In the winter you want your ignition to start quickly in cold temperatures, you uses volatile butane. You take that out in the summer. That’s a big difference. This is going to be around for awhile and it could get higher,” McTeague said.
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McTeague also blamed the rise in gas prices in Canada on the carbon tax increase, the rising price of oil, and the weak Canadian dollar.
“It just makes a bad situation worse,” he said. “It’s just another brick in the wall, another load on the camel’s bank. The cost of denying our resources, blocking pipelines, is one of the most significant reasons why the Canadian dollar is so weak.”
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CALGARY — A wildfire in west-central Alberta that was sparked by a natural gas pipeline rupture is under control, but an investigation into what caused the pipeline to break could take months or even years.
As of Wednesday morning, there was very little fire activity left in Yellowhead County, where a 10-hectare fire burned on Tuesday about 40 kilometres northwest of Edson.
“But for it to be considered extinguished, we’re going to have to hot spot,” said Caroline Charbonneau, area information co-ordinator with Alberta Forestry and Parks.
“That means we’ll have to dig into the ground, look and feel for hot spots, and then douse it with water. And that could take several days.”
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The fire on Tuesday, which occurred as much of Alberta is dealing with extremely dry early spring conditions, was sparked when a natural gas pipeline owned by TC Energy Corp. ruptured.
There were no injuries, and the fire was never a threat to any surrounding communities. The affected pipeline segment was isolated and shut in and there is no more gas leaking from the pipeline.
The Canada Energy Regulator had inspectors on site Wednesday to monitor the company’s response and the Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
According to CER, there have been 12 natural gas pipeline ruptures in Canada since 2008, and Tuesday’s incident near Edson was the first rupture on that particular pipeline within that time period.
The 36-inch diameter pipe that ruptured is part of TC Energy’s NGTL pipeline system, which transports natural gas from Alberta and northeast B.C. to domestic and export markets. The system spans 24,631 kilometres and connects with TC Energy’s Canadian Mainline system, Foothills system and other third-party pipelines.
The NGTL pipeline system is like a web made up of different lines that have been developed in stages.
In 2022, there was a rupture on a separate part of the system that resulted in an explosion and fire near Fox Creek, Alta. There were no injuries.
A TSB investigation into that incident took more than 14 months, and concluded that the pipeline ruptured due to reduced pipe wall strength caused by external corrosion.
While the primary risk of a crude oil pipeline leak is an oil spill that harms the local ecosystem, natural gas pipeline ruptures can and do result in fires or explosions, said Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a U.S.-based non-profit organization.
“The chances are extremely high that a molecule of natural gas that enters a pipeline will go through that pipeline without a failure. Pipelines are quite safe, and when you look at incident rates compared to other modes of transportation like rail or truck, they are much less likely to have a failure,” Caram said.
“But what you don’t get a sense of by looking at the risks of pipelines in that way is how catastrophic a failure can be when it does happen.”
According to the TSB, there were 19 recorded incidences of fires related to pipelines in Canada between 2012 and 2022.
The TSB’s most recent report on pipeline transportation safety in Canada states that in 2022 there were 100 companies transporting either oil or gas or both in the federally regulated pipeline system, which includes approximately 19,950 km of oil pipelines and approximately 48,700 km of natural gas pipelines.
That year, there were 67 pipeline transportation accidents and incidents on federally regulated pipeline systems, according to the report.
That number was well below the 10-year average of 112 occurrences, and was also the lowest number of occurrences since 2019, when 52 pipeline accidents or incidents were recorded by the TSB.
The TSB defines a pipeline “accident” as an incident that results in a person being injured or killed, a fire or explosion, or significant damage to the pipeline affecting its operation.
Less severe pipeline events that involve the uncontrolled release of a commodity or a precautionary or emergency shutdown are classified by the TSB as “incidents.”
There have been no fatal accidents directly resulting from the operation of a federally regulated pipeline system since the inception of the TSB in 1990.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)
Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
At a news conference Wednesday on the one-year anniversary of the heist, police confirmed that five suspects were arrested and four others are facing charges in connection with the largest gold theft in Canadian history.
Police said the suspects face a total of 19 charges and Canada-wide warrants have been issued for the arrest of three of the suspects who have not yet been apprehended. All of the suspects arrested in connection with the heist have been released on bail, police confirmed in a news release issued Wednesday.
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the heist was “carefully planned” by a “well-organized group of criminals.”
“This story is a sensational one and one which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series,” he said.
Police said 6,600 gold bars were stolen from Air Canada’s cargo facility on the evening of April 17, 2023 by a suspect who arrived at the warehouse in a five-tonne delivery truck.
The gold, along with about $2.5 million in foreign currency, had been shipped to Toronto from Zurich in the hull of an Air Canada plane and was offloaded to an Air Canada cargo facility shortly after the flight landed at Pearson Airport that afternoon.
Police allege that the suspect came into possession of the stolen gold and bank notes after presenting Air Canada personnel with a fraudulent airway bill.
“The airway bill was for a legitimate shipment of seafood that was picked up the day before,” Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity, the major case manager for the joint investigation, dubbed Project 24K, told reporters on Wednesday.
“This duplicate airway bill was printed off from a printer within Air Canada cargo.”
A suspect and suspect vehicle are pictured during a news conference about a gold heist at Perason Airport. (Handout /Peel Police)Mavity said a forklift arrived a short time later and loaded the stolen gold and currency into the back of the truck. The suspect then drove off with the gold bars, which were estimated to be worth about $20 million.
Brinks Canada, which was hired to provide security and logistics services for the transportation of the shipment, showed up at the facility a few hours later to pick up the items, police said.
According to investigators, when Air Canada employees tried to locate the container, they realized it was missing and quickly launched an internal investigation. Police were notified about the stolen goods shortly before 3 a.m. the following day, Mavity said.
Air Canada launches probe
An exhaustive investigation followed, police said, with officers reviewing video surveillance footage from 225 businesses and residences in an effort to track the path of the truck, which has since been recovered.
Mavity said that last summer, they identified 25-year-old Durante King-McLean as the driver of the truck but were unable to locate him.
In September 2023, Mavity said King-McLean was stopped in rental vehicle by Pennsylvania State Police near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
“After a brief foot chase, he was detained and troopers located 65 illegal firearms in the vehicle,” Mavity said Wednesday.
According to Mavity, investigators believe that the stolen gold was melted down and sold and the proceeds were used to purchase illegal guns for a firearms trafficking operation.
He said members of Project 24K have been liaising with the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau (ATF) with respect to this aspect of the investigation.
Speaking at the news conference on Wednesday, a representative from the ATF said the law enforcement agency believes the 65 guns seized during the arrest of King-McLean were bound for Canada.
While King-McLean is currently in custody in the United States, he is now wanted on multiple charges in connection with the gold theft.
“We are alleging that some individuals who participated in this gold theft are also involved in aspects of this firearms trafficking,” Mavity added.
Gold taken during a heist at Pearson airport is shown being loaded into the back of the suspect’s truck in this image taken from surveillance footage released by police. (Peel Regional Police)Officers in Peel Region executed 37 search warrants in connection with Project 24K and police said only small quantity of the gold was recovered. Six gold bracelets, worth about $89,000, were seized, jewelry that police believe was made out of some of the gold that was stolen. Police said $434,000 in Canadian currency was also seized during the investigation. Officers believe that money was obtained through the sale of some of the stolen gold.
Two “debt lists” were found by investigators at separate locations during the investigation, police said.
“A common term in drug trafficking investigations, we believe these lists actually show where the money was distributed when the gold was sold by the suspects,” Mavity said.
He said the names on both lists are “consistent” and police are trying to identify all of those identified.
Six pure gold bracelets worth an estimated $89,000 were recovered as part of an investigation into a gold heist at Toronto Pearson airport and are displayed in this image from Peel police. (Handout)
‘They needed people inside Air Canada’
Police said one current Air Canada employee, identified as 54-year-old Brampton resident Parmpal Sidhu, has been charged with theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. A Canada-wide warrant has been issued 31-year-old Simran Preet Panesar, who police said resigned from his position as a manager at Air Canada back in the summer.
“He has been known to us since early on in the investigation. He actually led a tour for Peel Regional Police before we knew his involvement,” Mavity said Wednesday.
He added that police have an idea where Panesar may be but did not elaborate on a possible location.
Mavity said he believes the suspects needed employees on the inside to carry out the heist.
“Because of their position within Air Canada, in my opinion, yeah they needed people inside Air Canada to facilitate this theft,” he said.
A map showing the alleged movements of vehicles during a gold heist at Toronto Pearson Airport is displayed during a news conference Wednesday November 17, 2024. (Handout /Peel police)
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