With European states turning to mandatory national vaccination regimes to deal with record COVID-19 infections, experts in Canada say that while science and the law may back the Liberal government if it chose to follow suit, it might not be the panacea the public is hoping for.
There are significant challenges to imposing a national mandatory vaccination program for all Canadians, the first of which is the age-old jurisdictional battle between the federal government and the provinces.
Under the Constitution, the provinces are responsible for delivering health care, and a vaccine mandate would fall under that remit. If the federal government wanted to take over that responsibility, it would have to either use the Emergencies Act or pass legislation giving it the authority to act.
“To do that, all hell would break loose from the provinces,” Michael Behiels, a constitutional law expert at the University of Ottawa, told CBC News. “It’s theoretically possible, but this would go to court immediately, and they would have to prove that the crisis is in fact a national crisis.”
Behiels said a federal government taking this route would likely win any challenge in court, providing it could prove that the rate of infections, the death rate and ongoing mutations were creating a threat only a national response could mitigate.
Even in victory, he said, the move would likely create a backlash among provincial governments that see the step as unnecessary at this stage of the pandemic.
“Up until this moment in Canada, there has not really been a need to consider it,” Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, told CBC News.
“We’re not back to normal, but we’re getting there — and there’s no guarantee that we’ll be right back to normal even if everybody is vaccinated because there are breakthrough infections,” said McGeer, who is also a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
Context is everything
Behiels said a national vaccine mandate could not only create bad blood between the unvaccinated and the federal government but also between the provinces and Ottawa that could undermine the vaccination effort.
If the situation were different, he said, with a much higher death rate or a more aggressive infection rate, making that move might be easy and the provinces might even ask for the intervention if the situation got bad enough. But experts are not sure Canada has reached that point just yet.
European countries such as Austria and Greece appear to believe they have, and they’re moving in the direction of national vaccine mandates because they are seeing infection rates three times higher than at any other time during the pandemic, and vaccination programs have stalled.
Protesters against COVID-19 measures in Vienna on Nov. 20. European countries such as Austria and Greece are moving in the direction of national vaccine mandates because they are seeing infection rates three times higher than at any other time during the pandemic, and vaccination programs have stalled. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)
In January, Greeks over the age of 60 who are not yet vaccinated will be subject to a monthly fine of 100 euros ($140 Cdn). Slovakia is looking at taking the opposite route and offering 600 euros ($844) to encourage people to get their shots.
Austria, with one of the lower vaccination rates in the European Union, is looking at plans that, if implemented, would fine unvaccinated Austrians more than 7,000 euros ($9,880). There are already signs that enforcing that mandate will be a challenge; late last month some 40,000 protesters turned up in Vienna to challenge the new rules.
Only 67 per cent of the EU’s population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Our World in Data, while in Canada, 76 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated. Greece sits at 64 per cent, while Austria’s population is only 66 per cent fully vaccinated.
Germany isn’t much better at 68 per cent, and countries such as Hungary have some of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe at just 61 per cent.
Both Germany and Hungary are experiencing record infection rates, and both are turning to strict national policies to try to turn the tide. For now, Germany is only talking about mandatory vaccination. Hungary, however, is allowing companies to impose the policy on employees and compel any unvaccinated staff to take unpaid leave until they get immunized.
In Canada, by comparison, all passengers travelling on planes and trains must be fully vaccinated, as must the staff working in those sectors. All federal employees must also be fully vaccinated.
Reasons for hesitancy
McGeer and other infectious disease physicians, such as Dr. Isaac Bogoch of the University of Toronto and Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of the division of infectious diseases at Queens University in Kingston, Ont., all agree that the goal some European states are pursuing — a fully vaccinated population — is a worthy one.
But they also agree that imposing mandatory vaccination regimes across the population might cause an uproar, stress the goodwill between Canadians and their government and, in the end, not deliver the desired results.
“Say it works and you actually get huge numbers of people now being vaccinated because of the imposition of fines or restrictions. The fact of the matter is that it would help, it would have an impact,” Evans said.
“If we had 95 to almost 100 per cent of the population vaccinated, this virus would have one devil of a time trying to maintain itself in the environment.”
Health-care workers who oppose mandatory vaccinations and the suspension from work for those who refuse to get the shots chant slogans during a protest outside the Greek parliament in Athens in November. (Petros Giannakouris/The Associated Press)
Bogoch agreed with the sentiment that more vaccinations are necessary, but he remains unsure that a mandatory vaccine regime would have the desired effect.
“There are multiple reasons why people remain unvaccinated, and understanding those reasons and tailoring your response to those reasons is usually a more effective approach so you don’t further alienate people in an already polarized world,” he said.
Bogoch says there are typically four types of unvaccinated Canadians. The first two are people who intend to get vaccinated but have not gotten around to it yet and people who work multiple jobs or are single parents and have not had the time or opportunity to get vaccinated. Bogoch says these groups likely wouldn’t be put off by a vaccine mandate.
But the other two — people with lingering concerns and anxieties and people who have been influenced by misinformation campaigns — might be pushed further away from vaccination by a mandate, he says.
One size does not fit all
Within those groups, experts say, there are subgroups turned off of vaccination for different reasons.
“People who are white, rich, highly educated and born in Canada have much more faith in the public health system and have much more willingness to believe their government, so we get higher vaccination rates,” McGeer said.
“Racialized communities who already are at strikingly higher risk of being infected with COVID are the very people who have more trouble in deciding to get vaccinated and with good reason.”
She added, “Vaccine mandates are systemically inequitable, and you can work to mitigate it, but you can’t fix it.”
Bogoch says the best way to increase vaccination rates is to understand why each group won’t get vaccinated and then try to meet them on their ground: If they can’t get to a vaccination clinic because they are too busy, use mobile clinics, he says. If they still have lingering questions, sit them down with health professionals and try to answer their questions. If they have been influenced by misinformation, try to combat those false narratives. But don’t, Bogoch says, try to motivate everyone with the same approach.
“There is not a one-size fits all solution to this problem,” he said.
Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua has announced he’ll miss the start of training camp following surgery for testicular cancer.
Joshua said in a statement posted to social media by the team Tuesday that he felt a lump on one of his testicles this summer and later had surgery to successfully remove the tumour.
The 28-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., said he plans on returning to play “as soon as possible” and is “working hard every day” to rejoin his teammates.
Joshua said the last several weeks have been “extremely challenging” and encouraged men to get checked regularly for testicular cancer.
The six-foot-three, 206-pound forward had a career-high 18 goals and 14 assists in 63 games for the Canucks last season and signed a new four-year, US$13-million deal with Vancouver at the end of June.
The Canucks are set to open their training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Coach John Herdman isn’t putting too much stock in the fact that Toronto FC, since losing 4-0 in Columbus on July 6, has posted a better league record than the defending MLS champion.
Toronto, which beat visiting Austin 2-1 on Saturday, has won four of six league outings (4-2-0) since that setback at Lower.com Field while the Crew are 3-2-2.
“I don’t put any credence (in that),” said Herdman. “I just look at their squad and I salivate.”
Its easy to see why.
Columbus provided a league-high five players to the MLS all-star game on its home field in July in defenders Rudy Camacho and Steven Moreira, midfielder/captain Darlington Nagbe and forwards Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi.
Herdman sees layers of talent behind those all-stars.
“You see the way that they’re able to almost carbon-copy players. One comes in, another goes out … and they feel like they have a very similar profile. So to be able to take (Christian) Ramirez out and then bring (Canadian forward Jacen) Russell-Rowe in as a power forward, you look and go ‘Whoa, that’s good to have.'”
Federico Bernardeschi was Toronto’s lone all-star.
Columbus (14-5-8) comes to BMO Field on Wednesday in third place in the Eastern Conference, five places and 14 points ahead of Toronto (11-15-3). A playoff position already clinched, the Crew are hoping to leapfrog Cincinnati into second spot.
Coach Wilfried Nancy is looking forward to matching wits against Herdman.
“John is going to cook (up) something,” the Frenchman said with a belly laugh. “I know John. When we played a game in (the) pre-season, it wasn’t a pre-season game. It was a real game. But this is John. That’s why I like him, because he’s intense all the time.”
“They’re going to try to go all-in. They’re going to try to press us, they’re going to try to match us,” he added. “They know exactly the way we want to play so we’ll have to be clever and creative also.”
Herdman, meanwhile, says TFC will have to play error-free football.
While the Crew have failed to score in their last two outings (a 4-0 loss to visiting Seattle and 0-0 draw at rival FC Cincinnati), Toronto is hurting in its backline.
Nicksoen Gomis and Henry Wingo both left the Austin game early with hamstring injuries with Herdman estimating that Gomis will be out three to four weeks and Wingo 10-12 days. Veteran Kevin Long missed the Austin game after tweaking his hamstring in training and will undergo a fitness test ahead of the game.
Shane O’Neill, meanwhile, is suspended for yellow-card accumulation.
“A tricky situation,” said Herdman.
The Crew are a formidable opponent.
Columbus is tied with Real Salt Lake for fifth in the league in averaging 1.93 goals a game. Only Inter Miami (2.32), Portland Timbers (2.00), Los Angeles Galaxy (1.97) and Colorado Rapids (1.96) score more.
And Columbus boasts the league’s stingiest defence, conceding 1.04 goals a game. In contrast, the Toronto defence is tied for 22nd at 1.76 goals a game.
Toronto has conceded 51 goals, 23 more than Columbus, which has collected more points (7-3-4, 25 points) on the road in league play this season than Toronto has at home (7-7-0, 21 points).
Columbus’ roster also includes Canadian wingback Mo Farsi, who scored in the July win over Toronto.
The Columbus game is the first of four in an 11-day stretch that will see TFC club visit Colorado on Saturday, Vancouver on Sept. 25 in the Canadian Championship final and Chicago on Sept. 28. Toronto will then close out the regular season at home to the New York Red Bulls on Oct. 2 and Inter Miami on Oct. 5.
If the playoffs were to start tomorrow, Toronto would face ninth-place D.C. United in a wild-card matchup with the winner advancing to take on the East’s top seed — currently Miami — in the best-of-three first round.
Herdman would like a different scenario, with his eyes set on overtaking seventh-place Charlotte, which has two points and a game in hand over Toronto. The seventh-place side takes on No. 2 — currently Cincinnati — in the first round.
“We’re looking up, not down at the moment,” said Herdman. “It’s a good motivation for the lads to see that next level on the table. And it has been raised. If we’re able to get to that point, it means you’re not headed down to Miami in the heat, which is a tough place to go.”
“We’ll take whatever comes,” he added. “But the critical part is to get into these playoffs. That’s the key mission at the moment.”
Toronto has not made the post-season since 2020 when, after finishing second overall in the Supporters’ Shield standings, it was upset by Nashville after extra time at the first hurdle.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins placed Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve Tuesday after the quarterback was diagnosed with his third concussion in two years.
Tagovailoa will be sidelined for at least four games. He will be eligible to return in Week 8 when the Dolphins host Arizona, but has to complete a series of tests and assessments required by the NFL’s concussion protocol before he can return to the field.
Tagovailoa was hurt last Thursday night when he collided with Buffalo defensive back Damar Hamlin. He ran for a first down and then initiated the contact by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding.
Players from both teams immediately motioned that Tagovailoa was hurt, and as he lay on the turf the quarterback exhibited some signs typically associated with a traumatic brain injury. He remained down on the field for a couple of minutes, got to his feet and walked to the sideline. The Dolphins diagnosed him with a concussion a few minutes later.
Coach Mike McDaniel has since cautioned against speculation on the quarterback’s future, stressing that he’s more focused on Tagovailoa getting healthy than what this latest concussion means for the team or for his career. Tagovailoa this week began the process of consulting neurologists about his health amid reports that he has no plans to retire.
Others around the NFL have offered their opinions on Tagovailoa’s future, including Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, who suggested he should retire.
“As far as Tua’s career is concerned, I think it’s an utmost priority of mine for Tua to speak on Tua’s career,” McDaniel said Monday. “Reports are reports. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just worried about the human being and where that’s at day to day. I’ll let Tua be the champion of his own career.”
McDaniel said Tagovailoa was at the team’s practice facility on Monday, greeting teammates and working with trainers.
“He’s doing good, man. Talked to him, he’s in good spirits,” receiver Jaylen Waddle said Monday. “(He’s) got the team in good spirits and everybody praying for him and hoping (for his) health.”
Head injuries have become a familiar, scary occurrence throughout Tagovailoa’s career.
In a September 2022 game against the Bills, he took a hit from linebacker Matt Milano, which caused him to slam to the ground. He appeared disoriented afterward and stumbled as he tried to get to his feet. He was cleared to return to that game and later said it was a back injury that caused the stumble. He was not diagnosed with a concussion.
Four days later, he got hit again during a Thursday night game at Cincinnati in which he was briefly knocked unconscious and was taken off the field on a stretcher. As he lay on the turf, his fingers appeared to display the “fencing response,” an involuntary motion typically associated with a brain injury. That time, he was placed in the concussion protocol.
The NFL and the players’ union made changes to the concussion protocol after those two incidents with Tagovailoa. Players who have problems with balance or stability are now prohibited from returning to a game.
Tagovailoa briefly considered retirement, but instead returned and studied ways to better protect himself on the field, including taking jiu-jitsu classes ahead of the 2023 season.
Tagovailoa has said he spoke to numerous neurologists who told him they did not believe he would be more susceptible to head injuries than any other player moving forward, nor would he be at a higher risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head. He was also diagnosed with a concussion while in college at Alabama.
With Tagovailoa sidelined, the Dolphins will go with backup Skylar Thompson when play at Seattle on Sunday. Miami also signed Tyler Huntley off the Ravens’ practice squad.
