Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) stock has rallied by over 75% since the beginning of 2021 and currently trades at levels of around $185 per share. So what’s driving these gains?
Firstly, demand for Moderna’s Covid-19 shot is strong. For example, in late January, the company said that it was in talks with the U.S. government to sell 100 million more doses of its vaccine. Moderna’s shot appears more effective compared to some rivals that recently reported data and also against new strains of Covid-19. Last month, Johnson & Johnson
JNJ
noted that its single-dose Covid-19 shot was 66% effective in preventing moderate-to-severe cases of Covid-19 based on a large global trial, putting its overall efficacy below Moderna’s shot. Separately, new strains of the Covid-19 have been spreading rendering vaccines less effective. For example, South Africa stopped administering AstraZeneca’s vaccine, after trials showed that it only provided minimal protection against a strain spreading across the country. However, Moderna has said that its shot will provide protection against the South African strain, and has noted that it was testing if a booster dose of its vaccine could provide additional protection. Moderna should possibly be able to address new strains of the virus more quickly compared to rivals, by adapting its vaccine using its messenger RNA technology.
Secondly, Moderna said that it was expanding its drug pipeline, developing three new vaccine candidates against seasonal flu, HIV, and the Nipah virus. Although this is somewhat of an ambitious effort, considering that some of these diseases have eluded traditional vaccines so far, Moderna is hoping that it can address them with its mRNA technology, which has proven highly effective against Covid-19. The upside from these potential vaccines could be sizable, helping the company grow beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
See our indicative theme of Covid-19 Vaccine stockswhich includes U.S.-listed pharma and biotech companies. The theme is up about 5x over the last 2 years.
[1/11/2021] What’s Happening With Moderna Stock?
Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) stock rose by about 4% over the last week to levels of around $113 per share. Here’s a quick rundown of the developments for the company over the last week. Firstly, Moderna raised the low-end of its global production estimate for its vaccine from 500 million doses to 600 million doses in 2021, and also signed a new agreement for fill-finish operations for its vaccine, with Swedish contract manufacturer Recipharm. The company is looking to produce as many as 1 billion doses of its vaccine for the full year. Secondly, the European Union’s drug regulator approved the Moderna vaccine for use, with the first doses expected to arrive this week. The vaccine was also approved by the U.K, which has ordered about 17 million doses of the shot, which will likely be delivered by Spring. Separately, Moderna’s CEO said that people inoculated with its vaccine were likely to be protected against Coronavirus for at least a couple of years, as the antibody decay generated by the vaccine in humans reduces very slowly. This should put to rest potential concerns that people would require a Covid-19 vaccine every year like a flu shot.
[1/6/2021] How Is Moderna’s Production Scaling Up?Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) provided updates on the manufacturing of its Covid-19 vaccine, noting that it was increasing the baseline production estimate for this year to 600 million doses, 100 million more than it had initially projected. The company also said that it was continuing to invest and add staff to potentially produce as much as 1 billion doses for the full year. This is positive news, considering that Moderna has no real manufacturing track record and has never produced or sold a commercial drug prior to the Covid-19 shot. Moreover, the mRNA technology that Moderna (and Pfizer) are using requires specialized manufacturing equipment.
Separately, Swiss regulators have reportedly allowed Moderna’s contract manufacturer Lonza Group to start producing its Covid-19 vaccine at a plant in Switzerland, which will apparently have a capacity to produce 800,000 doses a day. [1] Lonza is also producing the vaccine in the U.S. at its New Hampshire facility. Once the vaccine is produced, the fill-finish operation – which is the process of filling vials and packaging the vaccine for distribution – is handled by Catalent in the U.S., and by ROVI and Recipharm outside the U.S.
See our indicative theme of Covid-19 Vaccine stockswhich includes U.S.-listed pharma and biotech companies. The theme is up about 3x over the last 2 years.
[12/10/2020] Can Moderna Rise To The Manufacturing Challenge?
As we’ve said before, Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is likely to emerge as the most sought-after vaccine in developed markets, considering its stellar efficacy rates and relative ease of storage. So how is the company going to meet demand? While Moderna intends to produce between 500 million to 1 billion doses of its vaccine over 2021, it has no real manufacturing track record and has never produced or sold a commercial drug to date. However, there are a couple of factors that could help the company scale up quickly.
Moderna’s vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology – which has never been used in a vaccine before but could be easier to scale up. Unlike traditional vaccines which use a virus protein that needs to be grown over the course of weeks, mRNA molecules – which instruct the body to produce virus proteins by itself – are less complex and are produced via a chemical process (rather than a biological process) making mass production much quicker. [2]
Moderna is working with multiple partners to produce its vaccine. Switzerland-based Lonza, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical services companies, will produce the key mRNA active ingredient for the vaccine in New Hampshire and Switzerland. Germany’s CordenPharma will produce the lipids – which are used to deliver the mRNA. The vial filling and packaging will be handled by Catalent, a contract manufacturing company. That being said, some hiccups are to be expected as the company works with a tight timeline. For instance, even Pfizer, which also uses mRNA technology and has an established manufacturing base, had to halve its initial vaccine production target for this year to 50 million doses due to some supply chain constraints. [3]
See our indicative theme of Covid-19 Vaccine stocks – which includes U.S.-listed pharma and biotech companies. The theme is up by about 877% year-to-date versus about 14% for the S&P 500.
NDAQ
: MRNA) published final results from its 30,000-person phase 3 trial of its Covid-19 vaccine and indicated that it would apply for emergency use authorization with the U.S. FDA. The vaccine was over 94% effective in preventing Covid-19 and 100% effective in preventing severe cases of infection – meaning that no one who received the vaccine developed a serve case of the infection. Investors cheered the news, sending Moderna stock up by about 20% on Monday’s trading. The stock has more than doubled over the last month as the company began publishing efficacy data. Is this jump warranted? We think it largely is, but there are some risks as well.
Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine could emerge as the most sought-after vaccine, particularly in developed markets – considering the high levels of efficacy as well as manageable refrigeration requirements, unlike Pfizer’s candidate which is also highly effective but needs to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures. The vaccine is likely to be priced at between $25 to $37 per dose, with two doses required per person. We estimate that the vaccine will add roughly $6 to Moderna’s EPS each year over 2021 and 2022. (related: How Will The Covid-19 Vaccine Impact Moderna’s EPS?) While Moderna’s stock trades at about $150 per share, its valuation still looks reasonable at about 25x our projected 2020 EPS. That’s below the S&P 500 that trades at about 26x projected earnings. [4] However, it should be noted that sales of the vaccine will be significantly front-loaded. There is a lot of competition in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine, and it’s likely that there will be multiple successful candidates from other companies. Once a large percentage of the global population is vaccinated (likely by 2022 or 2023) the earnings potential of the Covid vaccine will diminish.
While the EPS impact of the Covid-19 vaccine could be fleeting, the validation of Moderna’s messenger RNA (mRNA) technology could be far more consequential for investors. mRNA offers significant flexibility with vaccine and potentially drug development. Once the genetic code of a virus is available, Moderna essentially adapts messenger RNA to trigger the immune system to produce protective antibodies without using the actual part of the virus, unlike traditional vaccines. For perspective, the Covid-19 vaccine was apparently designed within a few days. [5] The speed and the efficacy of the Covid vaccine also indicate that Moderna could leverage this technology to develop new lines of vaccines against a variety of viruses.
That said, Moderna’s success with Covid doesn’t guarantee that its vaccines and therapeutics in other areas, such as cancer, will be as effective. For example, not all viruses are similar to Covid, which mRNA might be better at mimicking. mRNA-based Covid vaccines focused on the novel coronavirus’ spike protein – which is on the outside of the virus – but there are other viruses whose harmful regions are hidden, making it more difficult for mRNA to address. [6] There could be challenges in areas such as Immuno-Oncology as well, where Moderna is betting big. If Moderna’s success is for some reason limited to certain infectious disease vaccines, its long term outlook might not be as promising, given the lower margins that vaccines typically command.
[11/27/2020] What’s Happening With Moderna Stock?Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) stock rallied by over 10% on Wednesday’s trading after the European Union agreed to buy 80 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, with an option to buy up an additional 80 million doses. The company already has supply agreements with the U.S., Canada, Japan, the U.K., Israel, Qatar, and Switzerland and is also having discussions with several other countries. There are a couple of reasons why Moderna’s vaccine is much sought after.
While there are two other vaccines by drug majors Pfizer and AstraZeneca that have reported phase 3 results, it looks like Moderna’s vaccine offers the best balance of efficacy and ease of storage and distribution. Pfizer’s vaccine is about 95% effective based on phase 3 data, but it needs to be stored at extremely cold temperatures of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, calling for specialized freezers. AstraZeneca’s vaccine, on the other hand, faces concerns regarding some gaps in its trial data, which could undermine its reported results. [7] Moderna’s vaccine offers an efficacy that’s similar to Pfizer’s and can apparently be stored at refrigerator-like temperatures for 30 days.
There are still some concerns though. Firstly, supply will remain an issue in the near-term. Moderna indicates that it could have about 20 million doses of its vaccine ready by this year and expects to produce between 500 million to 1 billion doses next year in collaboration with Switzerland-based Lonza. Being a clinical-stage biotech, Moderna also lacks the sophisticated supply chain of big pharma companies such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. Moderna’s vaccine will also be more expensive than rivals, as it is likely to cost between $25 and $37 per dose, depending on the volume of the order, compared to about $19 per dose for the Pzifer vaccine.
See our indicative theme of Covid-19 Vaccine stocks – which includes U.S.-listed pharma and biotech companies. The theme is up by about 721 % year-to-date versus about 13% for the S&P 500.
[Updated 11/17/2020] What The Covid Vaccine Means For Moderna Stock
On Monday, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) stock rallied by over 10% after the company said that its Covid-19 vaccine – which is based on messenger RNA technology – was 94.5% effective based on preliminary data. Investors have good reason to be optimistic about Moderna for multiple reasons. Firstly, the efficacy compares favorably with Pfizer’s Covid vaccine, which reported efficacy of 90%. Although the number could change as more data comes in, it is nevertheless indicative of a highly effective vaccine. Secondly, Moderna’s vaccine should be easier to distribute compared to Pfizer’s, as it can likely be stored at refrigerator-like temperatures for 30 days, unlike Pfizer’s vaccine which requires much colder temperatures of around -94 degrees Fahrenheit – limiting its use to more developed parts of the world. Overall, Moderna’s vaccine could offer the best of both worlds – high effectiveness and easier logistics, although it could be slightly more difficult to manufacture compared to Pfizer’s. (related: How Will The Covid-19 Vaccine Impact Moderna’s EPS?)
More importantly for Moderna investors, the vaccine’s results also bode well for the rest of the company’s pipeline, which is entirely based on mRNA technology which has never been used previously in commercial drugs. The strong efficacy and the speed at which the vaccine was developed should essentially reduce the perceived risk surrounding the rest of Moderna’s pipeline of 21 vaccines and therapies for rare diseases. (related: A Look At Moderna’s Pipeline Beyond The Covid Vaccine)
See our indicative theme of Covid-19 Vaccine stocks – which includes U.S.-listed pharma and biotech companies. The theme is up by about 640% year-to-date versus about 13% for the S&P 500.
[Updated 11/11/2020] Why Pfizer’s Vaccine Data Is Good News For Moderna
While Pfizer‘s (NYSE: PFE) surprisingly strong initial Covid-19 vaccine efficacy readout likely marks the beginning of the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, it probably doesn’t mean too much for Pfizer stock, given the limited potential profits and challenges with distribution. In fact, we think that the strong data from the vaccine – which is developed using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology could actually mean a lot more for Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), another Covid-19 vaccine player, whose entire drug pipeline is based on mRNA technology.
While messenger RNA (mRNA) based vaccines were touted to be more potent and quicker to deploy compared to traditional vaccines, they have never been used commercially to date. Now the initial data from Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech’s Covid-19 vaccine appears to confirm this, with the vaccine’s efficacy standing at 90% based on initial data, versus the U.S. FDA’s baseline efficacy requirement of just 50% for the approval for Covid-19 vaccines. The vaccine will also be the first to seek emergency use approval from the FDA. While Moderna has a Covid vaccine of its own in the works, with efficacy data expected any time now, the strong response of Pfizer’s mRNA bodes well not just for Moderna’s Covid efforts, but also for the rest of the company’s sizable pipeline which is focused mostly on vaccines and therapies for rare diseases. The company has 21 programs underway, around 13 of which are in the clinical stage. Moderna’s Cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine, which is currently in phase 2 studies and could move to phase 3 in 2021, is likely to be the company’s first candidate for approval after its Covid-19 vaccine.
See our indicative theme of Covid-19 Vaccine stocks – which includes U.S.-listed pharma and biotech companies. The theme is up by about 540% year-to-date versus about 10% for the S&P 500.
[Updated 11/10/2020] What Does Pfizer’s Vaccine Readout Mean For Its Stock?Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and its German partner BioNTech indicated that their Coronavirus vaccine, dubbed BNT162b2, was over 90% effective at preventing Covid-19 infections among volunteers, based on early data from phase 3 trials. The results are surprisingly strong, considering that the U.S. FDA had set a baseline efficacy of just 50% for the approval for Covid-19 vaccines. While there is a possibility that the efficacy rate of Pfizer’s vaccine could change as more data comes in, the numbers are no doubt encouraging. The companies are on track to file an emergency use application with the U.S. FDA later this month if pending data indicates that the vaccine is safe. [1] The companies intend to manufacture up to 50 million doses this year, and as much as 1.3 billion doses in 2021. Two shots of the vaccine will be required per person.
While Pfizer stock was up by almost 8% following the news, we think it’s unlikely that the vaccine will meaningfully move the needle for the company for multiple reasons. (Related: Are Covid Vaccine Stocks Worth Investing In?) For perspective, Pfizer has agreed to supply the U.S. government with the vaccine at about $19.50 per dose, and it’s possible that average prices could be well below this, considering that pricing might be lower in emerging markets. Also, vaccines traditionally have lower profitability versus prescription drugs. Combined with the large public interest in facilitating vaccine access, these margins may face even more downward pressure. Considering that the vaccine is co-developed with BioNTech, any profits will likely be shared.
Competition is also likely to mount as there are likely to be several more successful vaccine candidates from other companies in the coming quarters. For example, clinical-stage biotech Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), which also uses an mRNA-based technology like the Pfizer vaccine, is slated to report efficacy data in the coming weeks. (related: How Will The Covid-19 Vaccine Impact Moderna’s EPS?) Pfizer’s vaccine could also face logistical issues, considering that the vaccine needs to be stored at a temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, vaccines being developed by the likes of Oxford- AstraZeneca, Novavax, and others can be held at regular refrigerated temperatures. This could potentially limit the use of Pfizer’s vaccine to clinics and hospitals that have the appropriate storage facilities.
[Updated 11/4/2020] Covid-19 Vaccine stocks
Our indicative theme of Covid-19 Vaccine stocks – which includes a diverse set of U.S.-based pharma and biotech companies developing Covid vaccines – is up by about 560% year-to-date, on an equally weighted basis, compared to the S&P 500 which has gained just about 4% over the same period. While most vaccine stocks declined last week, amid a broader sell-off in the markets, they are likely to come back into the spotlight as efficacy data from late-stage trials is expected from frontrunners Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) in the coming weeks. Below is a bit more on the companies in our theme of Coronavirus Vaccine stocks and their relative performance.
Novavax (NVAX), a vaccine development company, began late-stage trials of its Covid vaccine in the U.K in September, and large-scale phase 3 trials are due to begin in the U.S. and Mexico this month. While the company doesn’t have any other products on the market yet, its flu vaccine NanoFlu could be ready for potential FDA approval. The company has received about $1.6 billion in funding from the Federal government. The stock has soared 2,000% year-to-date.
NVAX
Moderna (MRNA) , a clinical-stage biotech company, is carrying out phase 3 trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, completing enrollment of 30,000 participants. The company is likely to have data on whether its vaccine works or not by this month, and has noted that it would seek emergency approval from the FDA if the vaccine is at least 70% effective. The stock is up 253% this year.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Unlike most other vaccine candidates, which are likely to require two shots, J&J is targeting a single-dose vaccine. While the company had to pause trials in mid-October after an illness was reported in a volunteer, the company is now preparing to resume trials. The stock is down by -5.1% this year.
Pfizer (PFE) is working with German partner BioNTech on a Covid-19 vaccine. The company is likely to have efficacy data from late-stage trials available shortly. The company could supply about 40 million doses in the United States in 2020 if the data is positive and regulators approve the vaccine. The stock is down by about -7.6% this year.
Trefis
What if you’re looking for a more balanced portfolio instead? Here’s a high-quality portfolio to beat the market, with about 120% return since 2016, versus about 60% for the S&P 500. Comprised of companies with strong revenue growth, healthy profits, lots of cash, and low risk, it has outperformed the broader market year after year, consistently.
Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting
Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group.
In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis.
“These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season.
There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes.
Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent.
Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59.
In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.
Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.
New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.
The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.
Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.
Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.
“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”
McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.
But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.
The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.
He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.
“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.
“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.
McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”
McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.
He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.
“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
