Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
Canada's envoy to the United Nations says Canada needs to share more of its COVID-19 vaccine surpluses with less fortunate countries.
Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the UN, told The Canadian Press on Thursday that while Canadians may have been looking inward lately because of the federal election, they can't lose sight of the fact the pandemic won't end unless more is done to help less fortunate countries.
“We have to recognize that we have to continue to look for ways in which we can distribute more of any surpluses that we have now in Canada,” Rae said.
It is in Canada's national interest to do more internationally because of the fact the country's economy is dependent on international trade and the rise of new variants, Rae said.
“Half of our GDP comes from trade. We are as impacted as any country in the world, because of our level of integration, not only with the American economy, but with other economies around the world,” Rae said in an interview from New York, where the UN General Assembly meeting of world leaders is taking place this week.
“We know these variants are spreading and growing in good measure because we have not been able to get enough vaccines into enough arms around the world. And I'm hoping that there will be an increased recognition in domestic public opinion of the fact that the problem that Africa has, or that Asia has, is actually not their problem.
“It's our problem as well.”
According to the Our World In Data project which is tracking COVID-19 cases and vaccinations globally, 49.87 per cent of people in Asia have received at least one vaccine dose, while 35.14 are fully vaccinated. Africa stands at 6.29 per cent with at least one dose, and 4.08 per cent fully vaccinated.
In Canada, 75.8 per cent of total population has received at least one dose while 69.8 per cent of the total population is fully vaccinated.
The UN meetings included a Wednesday pandemic summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden to spearhead a global vaccination rate of 70 per cent by this time next year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took part in the pandemic summit and backed Biden's initiative.
Edwin Ikhuoria, the African executive director of the international advocacy group, the ONE Campaign, said Biden's summit was an important step in highlighting the ongoing problem of low vaccine rollout in poorer countries.
“Too many front-line health workers around the world still do not have their first doses. That means the curve is not flattened, the virus will continue to spread, mutate, and threaten the global community,” said Ikhuoria.
“Countries like Canada have made pledges to share their extra vaccines, and we celebrate those promises, but they must be followed with deliveries and transparency.”
Ottawa has promised to donate a total of 40 million doses so far but won't say exactly how many have been delivered.
Canada needs about 11 million doses to fully vaccinate all Canadians over 12 who aren't yet vaccinated, and has more than 18 million doses in hand to cover that. Vaccines for children under 12 aren't yet authorized.
Documents published by the COVAX vaccine-sharing alliance, the Pan American Health Organization and some individual country websites suggest Canada has already donated almost three million doses of vaccine to 10 countries in Africa, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, but Canada has only publicly confirmed a donation of 82,000 doses to Trinidad and Tobago.
More than two million of those doses came from the allotment Canada purchased via COVAX, while the rest were direct donations of Canada's own supply of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through bilateral agreements.
An official in International Development Minister Karina Gould's office couldn't explain why Canada had not publicized any of the donations other than the 82,000 doses of AstraZeneca sent to Trinidad and Tobago on Aug. 12. The official was speaking on the condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to discuss the issue publicly.
The Canadian official said there was no deadline for the 40-million dose commitment, and that the timing depended on a number of factors, including legal agreements with recipient countries and vaccine suppliers, and ensuring the capacity of the recipient country to administer the vaccines before they expire.
But in the Thursday interview, Rae suggested that the time for delays had come and gone.
“We've got to get on with it. We've got to deliver on what we said we would do. We've got to understand the importance of doing more.”
As the former premier of Canada's largest province, Ontario, and an ex-interim leader of the federal Liberal party, Rae said he recognizes the domestic pressure that all government's face to vaccinate their own populations first and foremost, before looking abroad to help others.
“But I think we also have to understand that it's actually in our global self-interest, as well as in our moral interest to make sure that everyone is vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2021.
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Investors considering where to park their money have a choice: go with a traditional financial adviser or trust in an algorithm. Here are the pros and cons of both.
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Nathaly Paola Castro Torres has a rare disorder called Laron syndrome that is caused by a genetic mutation. It stunts her growth but also provides a hidden silver lining: Her body is protected from chronic diseases such as cancer that often take life away long before old age.
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
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.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
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.