Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
A panel of health experts advising the Hong Kong government has recommended children aged 12-17 should get only one dose of BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine after reports of heart inflammation as a side effect.
Professor Lau Yu-lung, who chairs the health committee advising the government on its vaccination program, told public broadcaster RTHK the side effect was more prevalent than originally thought.
He said experts decided it was better for teenagers to get only one dose to "greatly reduce the chance of heart inflammation." Hong Kong's low COVID-19 risk also means that one dose should offer sufficient protection, he said.
The Asian financial hub has largely controlled the coronavirus, with no locally transmitted cases in many weeks.
Government data shows that 41 cases involving heart inflammation have been reported from people who took the BioNTech vaccine as of end-August, or just 0.0009 per cent.
Among these cases, 16 involved adolescents aged 12-15 or 0.008 per cent of those vaccinated in that age group. Their symptoms resolved after treatment.
Hong Kong has been using two COVID-19 vaccines, namely the Sinovac and BioNTech shots. But people aged 12-17 are eligible only for the BioNTech vaccine.
Hong Kong has administered 448,800 doses for this age group and around 65 per cent, or 290,000 adolescents, have had at least one vaccine dose.
Regulators in the United States, the European Union and the World Health Organization have said that mRNA vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer and by Moderna are associated with rare cases of myocarditis or pericarditis, but that the benefits of the shots outweigh the risks.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can limit the organ's ability to pump blood and can cause changes in heartbeat rhythms. Pericarditis is an inflammation of the lining around the heart.
Pfizer has said it recognized there could be rare reports of myocarditis after vaccinations but that such side effects were extremely rare.
BioNTech and its Chinese sales agent, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
The risk of myocarditis was 18.5 per million doses given among people aged 18 to 24 after their second Pfizer dose, and 20.2 per million for that age group for recipients of a Moderna second dose. The risk decreases with age, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The British government on Monday said England would begin vaccinating those aged 12-15 next week, using the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, but that second doses would not be offered to the age group until at least spring, as its top medical advisers wait for more data from around the world.
Norway said earlier this month it would also begin to offer a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to those aged 12-15 and a decision on second doses would come later.
Around 65 per cent of Hong Kong's residents have had their first vaccine dose, but the take-up by older people remains low due to concerns about side effects.
Hong Kong has recorded around 12,100 COVID-19 cases and 213 deaths.
(Reporting by Farah Master; Additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Lincoln Feast and Tom Hogue)
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada Goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.