'Cybersecurity incident' shuts down London Drugs stores across Western Canada
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
The European Medicines Agency on Friday recommended authorizing Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 17, the first time the shot has been authorized for people under 18.
The EU drug regulator said research in more than 3,700 children aged 12 to 17 showed that the Moderna vaccine -- already given the OK for adults across Europe -- produced a comparable antibody response.
Until now, the vaccine made by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech has been the only option for children as young as 12 in North America and Europe.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently considering whether to extend the use of the Moderna vaccine to the same age group.
With global vaccine supplies still tight, much of the world is struggling to immunize adults. The World Health Organization and other agencies have urged rich countries to donate their doses to the developing world -- where fewer than 2 per cent of people have been vaccinated -- rather than moving on to inoculate their less vulnerable populations.
Hundreds of millions of Moderna doses already have been administered to adults, and the company says the two-dose vaccine is just as protective for adolescents. In a study of more than 3,700 12- to 17-year-olds, the vaccine triggered the same signs of immune protection, and no COVID-19 diagnoses arose in the vaccinated group compared with four cases among those given dummy shots.
Sore arms, headache and fatigue were the most common side effects in the young vaccine recipients, the same ones as for adults.
U.S. and European regulators caution, however, that both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines appear linked to an extremely rare reaction in teens and young adults -- chest pain and heart inflammation.
In the United States, children represent about 14 per cent of the nation's total coronavirus cases to date. And while the young are far less likely than the old to get seriously ill, at least 344 children have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. alone, according to a tally by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
So far in the U.S., just under half the population is fully vaccinated -- with the highest rates, not surprisingly, among older adults. Just a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds, who got access to Pfizer's vaccine starting in May, have had their second dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among those 16 and 17, about 37 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have begun testing in even younger children, from age 11 down to 6 months old. These studies are more complex: Teens receive the same dose as adults, but researchers are testing smaller doses in younger children. The first results from children of elementary school age are expected in September.
The EU drug regulator said it would continue to monitor the safety and efficacy of the Moderna vaccine in children as it is used in European member countries.
Although some countries have authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for children under 18, not all have decided to start using it, citing the minimal risks children face from the coronavirus.
In Britain, for example, regulator cleared Pfizer's vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds, but health officials have so far declined to recommend the vaccine for anyone under 18 unless they have medical conditions that warrant it.
------
Neergaard reported from Alexandria, Virginia.
------
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
Three women diagnosed with HIV after getting 'vampire facial' procedures at an unlicensed medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles.
Elias Lindholm scored 1:02 into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks came all the way back to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed wide devastation in part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging more than 140 buildings.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday described domestic violence as a 'national crisis' after thousands rallied around the country against violence toward women.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Vancouver Canucks when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday.
U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
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.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
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.