The federal government is set to announce Friday that Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.LM Otero/The Associated Press
Health Canada is expected to announce on Fridaythat it has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for children under 12, setting in motion a new national vaccination campaign that will help protect kids from the virus and could reduce overall transmission rates in Canada.
The vaccine, produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, is the same mRNA formulation as the one given to those 12 and older, but the dosage has been reduced to 10 micrograms, one-third the amount in the original version. Children tend to have robust immune responses, so reducing the dosage ensures kids will have high levels of protection while minimizing the risk of side effects.
Nearly three million doses of the vaccine, or one for every child aged 5 to 11 in Canada, are expected to arrive imminently. Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon said this week that the province expects to have vaccines available for children as soon as a week after Health Canada gives the go-ahead.
Once the vaccine is approved, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization will issue recommendations to provinces on administering the shots, including guidance on how much time to leave between the first and second doses. In its application to Health Canada, Pfizer/BioNTech requested a three-week interval. But it’s likely that NACI will recommend an eight-week interval,the same time period it recommends for the adult version of the vaccine. Studies have shown that extending the interval to eight weeks helps ensure a strong and lasting immune response.
It’s unclear if children will need boosters, but it’s likely they will be recommended at some point. Studies show that immunity tends to wane after the second dose.
What do we know about the efficacy of the vaccine?
Pfizer/BioNTech’s study of its COVID-19 vaccine’s effects on kids aged 5 to 11 was published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this month.
Researchers gave the 10 microgram version of the vaccine to 1,517 children, while 751 children received a placebo. The children received second doses three weeks after the first.
At the end of the study, three children who received the vaccine became infected with COVID-19 seven days or more after their second doses, compared with 16 kids in the placebo group. That means the vaccine efficacy rate is about 91 per cent, similar to the strong protection seen in older age groups.
What are the side effects?
Injection site pain was the most common side effect reported in children during the study, followed by fatigue and headache. Side effects were generally mild, and they usually lasted one to two days, according to the study’s authors.
There were three serious adverse events reported in two children who participated in the study, but the authors say none of the harm was actually caused by the vaccine. One child who received a placebo suffered abdominal pain and pancreatitis after an unrelated injury, and a child who received the vaccine suffered an unrelated arm fracture.
What about the risk of heart inflammation?
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines have been tied to rare cases of heart inflammation – myocarditis and pericarditis. The group that appears to be most at risk is young men who have just received second doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in kids aged 5 to 11 didn’t find any cases of heart inflammation. But it’s possible that some young people will experience it after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, which is why officials will be monitoring the situation closely.
The majority of cases of heart inflammation tied to vaccines are mild and resolve with medication.
Experts have highlighted the fact that the health risks associated with actually becoming sick with COVID-19 are much greater than any risks associated with vaccines. The virus itself can cause heart inflammation.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, as of Nov. 5 nearly 59 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in the country. There had been 5,899 reports of serious adverse reactions. Those serious side effects included anaphylaxis and heart inflammation.
How and where can my child get vaccinated?
The federal government is in charge of approving vaccines and procuring them. Provinces and local health authorities are responsible for determining where the vaccines will be given and the logistics of how to run clinics.
Health experts say the mass immunization clinics seen earlier in the pandemic likely aren’t the best fit for kids, who may be more sensitive to the sights and sounds of others being vaccinated around them.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Thursday that the province’s booking system will be ready to take appointments for kids 5 to 11 next week. In many parts of the province, it’s unclear where vaccine clinics will take place, but Toronto Public Health has said it will use a combination of mobile school clinics, pharmacies and other health clinics to help vaccinate kids.
Is it safe to combine the COVID-19 vaccine with other immunizations?
Research shows that it’s safe to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as a flu shot, which means parents can have their children immunized against both infectious diseases at the same time. Experts say it’s particularly important to get as many people as possible immunized against the flu this year, because the ailment is poised to make a big comeback as more people gather indoors.
Will vaccines be mandatory for school attendance?
No province has said it will require children to be vaccinated in order to attend school. However, many universities and workplaces have introduced vaccine mandates in order to control virus spread. Some health experts believe that school vaccine requirements are inevitable.
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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.
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