Authorities in Canada are seeking to reassure the public that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is safe, after several more European countries suspended the vaccine over reports of blood clots.
The situation has resulted in confusion and concern among the public and delays at vaccination sites in Montreal where health-care workers have been trying to explain the merits of the vaccine to those who are set to receive it.
Here is a look at what we know and what we don’t.
Authorities in Canada say vaccine is safe
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday the AstraZeneca-Oxford is safe and Canadians should have no concerns about receiving it.
“Health Canada and our experts have spent an awful lot of time making sure every vaccine approved in Canada is both safe and effective,” Trudeau said.
“The best vaccine for you to take is the very first one that is offered to you. That’s how we get through this as quickly as possible and as safely as possible.”
Trudeau said regulators are “following what has been happening with a specific batch used in Europe.” He said none of the AstraZeneca doses deployed in Canada have come from that batch.
European countries suspend vaccine out of caution
Nearly a dozen countries including Germany, France and Italy have all temporarily suspended their use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine after reports last week that some people in Denmark and Norway who got a dose developed blood clots, even though there’s no evidence that the shot was responsible.
Authorities in the Netherlands — like those elsewhere — said their suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine was strictly precautionary.
“We must always err on the side of caution, which is why it is sensible to press the pause button now as a precaution,” said Hugo de Jonge, the Dutch health minister.
In response to the suspensions of its vaccine, AstraZeneca said it had carefully reviewed the data on 17 million people who received doses across Europe and found there were 37 cases where people developed blood clots. It said there was “no evidence of an increased risk” of blood clots in any age group or gender in any country.
“This is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar across other licensed COVID-19 vaccines,” the company said.
No evidence vaccine leads to blood clots
In a statement last week, Health Canada said there is no indication the vaccine has had any adverse effects on people in Canada.
“Health Canada authorized the vaccine based on a thorough, independent review of the evidence and determined that it meets Canada’s stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements,” the department said on March 11.
In Britain, where 11 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered — which is more than any other country — there have been reports of about 11 people developing blood clots after getting a shot. None were proven to have been caused by the vaccine.
Experts back that claim
Experts have pointed out that since vaccination campaigns started by giving doses to the most vulnerable people, those now being immunized are more likely to already have health problems. They say that could make it difficult to determine whether a vaccine shot is responsible.
“Remember that millions of people have gotten the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe,” said Dr. Christopher Labos, a Montreal cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology.
“So, when you look at the number of people who have gotten blood clots versus the number of people who have been vaccinated, well that’s just the baseline risk.”
WATCH | Have questions about the AstraZeneca vaccine? This epidemiologist has answers:
Dr. Christopher Labos, a Montreal cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology, clarifies details about the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, and explains why he believes it’s safe. 5:04
Labos said some people would have gotten blood clots anyway, even without getting the vaccine, especially those who are older with pre-existing medical conditions.
“One of the great ironies is that COVID does seem to increase your risk of getting blood clots, so even if there was a small theoretical risk with the vaccine, it would probably be lower than the risk of getting COVID,” he said.
Benoit Barbeau, a virologist in the department of biological sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal, said the Quebec government must make it clear the vaccine remains safe.
He said people were also apprehensive and concerned about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine until those concerns were debunked.
“It has been studied and in several clinically based trials and there are millions of doses out there which have been distributed, and there’s been very few cases of these blood clot problems. So the issue remains a very low number, and I think that needs to be taken into consideration.”
Guidelines changing
CBC News learned on Monday that Canada will change its guidelines on the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to recommend it be given to those over 65.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) had previously recommended Canadians over 65 not receive the shot, despite emerging evidence from around the world demonstrating its ability to prevent severe COVID-19 in older adults.
Quebec had already decided to administer the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to seniors.
The province’s vaccine expert committee said the vaccine is safe and “provides more flexibility in immunization efforts, especially for priority groups aged 70 to 79.”
In Quebec, it is primarily being administered to those in home care, but also is being used in some vaccination clinics, while Pfizer-BioNtech’s is being administered in clinics and Moderna’s in pharmacies.
Some Quebecers turning down the shot
As the situation unfolds, some residents are refusing to get their shot when they learn they are getting the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.
As of March 11, Quebec had received 113,000 doses of the Covishield branded version of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine (compared with 606,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 133,000 doses of Moderna).
In the CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, roughly 12 per cent of people refused the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, while in Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal roughly eight per cent of people who signed up refused, according to authorities.
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé took to Twitter on Sunday to say the vaccine is safe and effective. He also thanked health-care workers at vaccination clinics for taking the time to explain the benefits.
“The vaccine is the solution, no matter which one,” he said.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine had already been under scrutiny for questions about its efficacy rate. It has an efficacy rate of 62 per cent, compared to around 95 per cent for Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna.
Despite different efficacies, trials have shown that those who did become infected after getting vaccinated experienced only mild illness, experts say.
Of the thousands of participants in trials for the vaccines, not a single person who received a shot died or was hospitalized from COVID-19, Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease specialist in Mississauga, Ont., recently told The Canadian Press.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
