Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Health Canada's latest weekly report on vaccinations shows at least 1.3 million Canadians opted for a mixed-dose finish to their COVID-19 vaccination schedule in June.
The report, published Monday, shows of 6.5 million people who got their second shot between May 31 and June 26, one in five got a different vaccine than their first.
Some provinces began mixing the two mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as early as April, depending on what supplies were on hand. The practice became more common in the third week of June, when a delayed shipment from Pfizer pushed many provinces to turn to Moderna only for a few days.
Mixing the two types of vaccines -- an mRNA with the viral vector vaccine from Oxford-AstraZeneca -- only started in early June. That was after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said people who got AstraZeneca for their first dose could safely get an mRNA vaccine as their second.
NACI went further on June 17, when it said getting an mRNA vaccine after AstraZeneca was the preferred option. The committee cited the rare but serious risk of blood clots potentially linked to getting the AstraZeneca vaccine and evidence that mixing vaccine types produces a stronger immune response.
Health Canada, which has reported weekly on how many people get each type of vaccine Canada has authorized, added a "combination" category for people whose doses weren't the same, on June 5.
An analysis of that data by The Canadian Press shows at least 627,000 people got AstraZeneca first and then opted for either Pfizer or Moderna.
It appears that during the week when the Pfizer shipment was delayed, nearly 300,000 people who got Pfizer for their first dose were fully vaccinated with a different vaccine. The data does not specify which one.
Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases doctor at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, said many people seemed to take to heart the encouragement to get whatever vaccine they're being offered.
"I think people followed the evidence, they took the NACI suggestions, and it's good," he said. "That means there's more fully vaccinated people out there."
As of June 26, only 189,907 people are listed as being fully vaccinated with two doses of AstraZeneca. That data may be incomplete because Quebec is not providing Health Canada with a breakdown by first and second doses, and is only reporting data on people with at least one dose.
Dr. Christos Karatzios, a pediatric infectious diseases doctor at Montreal Children's Hospital, said if one thing is clear during COVID-19, it is that the vaccines are working and people are vulnerable until they get both doses of any two vaccines.
"Mixing and matching, who cares," he said. "Just get two vaccines into people."
He said it is more important than ever to get both doses as well, because the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is proving to be a little less affected by only one dose.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, said Tuesday that between May 15 and June 12, only 1.2 per cent of more than 29,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in his province were found in people with two doses of vaccine.
Conversely 83.2 per cent of cases were in people with not even one dose, and 15.6 per cent were in people with only a single dose.
Nationally, Canada has partially vaccinated at least 78 per cent of people over the age of 12, and fully vaccinated more than 42 per cent. Kids under 12 aren't yet eligible to get a vaccine.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2021.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.