Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization is recommending an eight-week interval between doses for the newly approved Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between five and 11 years of age, rather than the three weeks approved by Health Canada. It will ultimately be up to provinces to decide which interval is best.
On Friday, Health Canada authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children, making it the first in the country to receive regulatory approval for that age group. A total of 2.9 million doses are expected arrive by the end of next week.
Although Health Canada, and Pfizer, say the vaccine can be offered three-weeks apart, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended an eight-week interval between doses.
NACI notes that while there is no direct evidence on an optimal interval for children, it cited evidence in adults that a longer gap may improve immune response.
"We see that NACI has made a different recommendation based on … their own analysis of the data," Fabien Paquette, vaccines lead for Pfizer Canada, told CTV News.
"So at the end of the day, either from a NACI standpoint or for any … provincial jurisdictions, it remains their decisions to apply the immunization programs the way they feel is most appropriate for their population."
Paquette said through discussions with federal authorities, particularly the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a three-week interval was agreed upon for Pfizer's clinical programs, as was the case for adolescents and adults.
Asked whether it would make any difference to the effectiveness of the vaccine, he said that data isn't available.
"What we have in our own data sets is really an interval of three weeks. A longer interval has not been studied with this age group," he said.
"Now, we can make some assumptions based on what we've seen in the … adult groups, and that's probably the way the analysis has been done by the public health authorities. But related to what we see right now, the data available are really with an interval of three weeks."
Paquette said it's too early to say whether pediatric vaccines for COVID-19 will be offered annually, but that more data will be gathered to ensure "the best decisions will be taken in that regard."
Paquette also called the Health Canada authorization a "day that many parents across the country have been eager to wait for" and a likely "game-changer" to further protect Canadians against COVID-19.
He said Pfizer submitted a "significant" amount of data to Health Canada, namely for the Phase 2 and 3 trials, with more than 4,600 children participating, resulting in 91 per cent effectiveness and few side effects.
He said there were no cases reported of myocarditis, a side effect noted with mRNA vaccines resulting in inflammation of the heart muscle, during the clinical trials. But he added that Pfizer is taking this seriously and will pay attention to any reporting that comes out as the vaccines are used in Canada and around the world.
Asked about parents on the fence about vaccinating their child, Paquette said it is "totally understandable."
"If you have children, five to 12 years of age, you want the best for them, and the best for them from what we see right now with the science available is clearly to present them with a vaccine that has been officially authorized by Health Canada. And I would say talk to your health-care providers," he said.
As far as vaccine mandates for children, Paquette said that is not for a pharmaceutical company to answer, but rather public health authorities.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.