Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
The federal government has signed deals with Pfizer and Merck to purchase their antiviral medications, pending Health Canada approval of the products.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi said Ottawa has placed an initial order for one million of Pfizer’s antiviral pills, and 500,000 of Merck’s pills, with an option for 500,000 more.
Tassi made the announcement during a press conference on Friday.
“As soon as these drugs are authorized for use, the government will work on getting them to provinces and territories as quickly as possible so that health-care providers can help Canadians who need it most,” said Tassi.
“I will keep working to ensure that we have the supplies Canada needs to finish the fight against COVID-19.”
On Wednesday, Pfizer initiated a rolling submission to Health Canada of its drug PAXLOVID, intended for use in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases in adults at increased risk of hospitalization or death.
Its trial enrolled non-hospitalized adults aged 18 years and older.
The drug maker said in a press release that the pill is designed to block the activity of an enzyme in SARS-CoV-2 that is essential for the virus to replicate itself, and also help to slow the breakdown of the pill’s ingredients in order to help combat the virus for longer. Part of the pill uses ritonavir, an existing drug that has been used in combination with other antiviral medications before.
Merck submitted its request for approval of its twice-daily drug molnupiravir in August. The antiviral agent is intended for use in those 18 years old and above and is to be taken five days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
Merck’s study tracked 775 adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who were considered to be at higher risk for severe disease because of health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease. Among patients taking molnupiravir, 7.3 per cent were either hospitalized or died at the end of 30 days, compared with 14.1 per cent of those who received the placebo.
Health Canada has already approved four COVID-19 treatments. They include: remdesivir, bamlanivimab, casirivimab and imdevimab combination, and sotrovimab.
Tassi said antivirals should be viewed as a “complement” to vaccines.
“It’s another tool that we have available in order to fight this fight against COVID-19. It in no way takes away from the importance to ensure that we get the vaccinations but it’s an important tool because it prevents, for those that do get infected by COVID-19, from having effects and impacts,” said the minister.
Duclos further specified that therapeutics are the government’s fourth tool in the toolbox, after personal protective equipment, testing, and vaccines.
He said that the these treatments aren’t just beneficial at the patient level, but also to prevent overwhelmed hospitals.
Health Canada's chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma has said an approval will only be granted when all evidence has been reviewed.
With a file from Brooklyn Neustaeter, Avis Favaro, and Elizabeth St.Philip
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.