Moderna CEO says data for Omicron-specific shot likely available in March
Moderna Inc's vaccine candidate against the Omicron coronavirus variant will enter clinical development in the next few weeks and the company expects to be able to share data with regulators around March, CEO Stephane Bancel said on Monday.
"The vaccine is being finished ... it should be in the clinic in coming weeks. We are hoping in the March timeframe to be able to have data to share with regulators to figure out next steps," Bancel said at the World Economic Forum's virtual Davos Agenda conference.
Moderna is also developing a single vaccine that combines a booster dose against COVID-19 with its experimental flu shot.
Bancel said the best case scenario was the combined COVID/flu vaccine would be available by the fall of 2023, at least in some countries.
"Our goal is to be able to have a single annual booster so that we don't have compliance issues where people don't want to get two to three shots a winter."
Many countries are already offering a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to their citizens, especially to older individuals and those who are immunocompromised, while Israel has started offering its citizens a fourth dose.
Earlier in January, Moderna's CEO said people may need a fourth shot in the fall of 2022 as the efficacy of boosters against COVID-19 was likely to decline over the next few months.
However, booster programs have met with skepticism from some disease experts over whether, and how widely, additional doses should become available, including the European Union's drug regulator, which has expressed doubts about the need for a fourth booster dose.
Speaking at the same event, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said there was no evidence that repeat booster doses would overwhelm the immune system.
"Giving boosters at different times, there is really no evidence that's going to hinder (immune response)."
Fauci said the goal should be to have a booster that induces a response against multiple potential variants.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru Editing by Mark Potter)
COVID-19 COVERAGE
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Monkeypox in Canada: Expect to see more cases, health officials warn
With 26 cases of monkeypox now confirmed in Canada, health officials warn that number will likely grow in the coming days and weeks. However, one expert says the outbreak can be stopped if the country works quickly to get it under control.
BREAKING | Supreme Court rules Quebec City mosque killer to be eligible for parole in 25 years
Canada's highest court has ruled Alexandre Bissonnette, who murdered six people at the Quebec City mosque in 2017, will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
New firearms bill coming imminently from federal public safety minister
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will imminently be tabling new firearms legislation, according to advance notice given to the House of Commons.
Brokenhearted husband dies after wife slain in Texas rampage
Fourth-grade teacher Irma Garcia was killed in her Texas classroom on Tuesday, massacred along with her co-teacher and 19 students. Two days later, a family member says her brokenhearted husband died.
She smeared blood on herself and played dead: 11-year-old reveals chilling details of the massacre
An 11-year-old survivor of the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, feared the gunman would come back for her so she smeared herself in her friend's blood and played dead.
Man fatally shot by police near Toronto elementary school; SIU says BB gun recovered
One man is dead after being shot by police near a Toronto elementary school on Thursday afternoon. The incident sent hundreds of students into lockdown.
Canadian gymnast alleges sexual, emotional abuse by coach
Former Canadian gymnast Abby Pearson Spadafora said on Thursday she had suffered years of abuse at the hands of Olympic coach Dave Brubaker and his wife Elizabeth and called for an independent investigation of the sport.
Stars and royalty watch ABBA's return in digital stage show
Four decades after the Swedish pop supergroup last performed live, audiences can once again see ABBA onstage in an innovative digital concert where past and future collide.
NRA opens gun convention in Texas after school massacre
The National Rifle Association begins its annual convention in Houston on Friday, and leaders of the powerful gun-rights lobbying group are gearing up to "reflect on" -- and deflect any blame for -- the deadly shooting earlier this week of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Canada
-
BREAKING
BREAKING | Supreme Court rules Quebec City mosque killer to be eligible for parole in 25 years
Canada's highest court has ruled Alexandre Bissonnette, who murdered six people at the Quebec City mosque in 2017, will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
-
Hydro Ottawa 'still set for the bulk of customers' to have power this evening
As of Friday morning, 33,000 Hydro Ottawa customers remain without power in all neighbourhoods of the city.
-
Canadian Blood Service seeks to scrap lifetime ban on sex workers donating blood
Canadian Blood Services wants to scrap a lifetime ban on sex workers giving blood in a further move to make blood donation more equitable. The blood-donation service this month recommended to Health Canada that it abolish the lifetime ban on donation by people who have taken money or drugs in exchange for sex.
-
Advocates warn of spread of LGBTQ2S+ stigma in monkeypox response
Advocates warn that stigma could pose a public health threat as a cluster of monkeypox cases stokes concern in the LGBTQ2S+ community.
-
11th person dies from weekend storm, tens of thousands Ontarians still without power
The death toll from the destructive storm that swept across Ontario over the weekend rose to 11 on Thursday, with police reporting another fatality.
-
1 dead after ammonia leak in Kamloops, B.C., industrial park
One person is dead following an ammonia leak at an ice-making business in Kamloops, B.C., on Thursday morning.
World
-
Al Jazeera says it will go to ICC over killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
The Al Jazeera news network says it will submit a case file to the International Criminal Court on the killing of reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead earlier this month during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.
-
China's Pacific plan seen as regional strategic game-changer
China is reaching out to the Solomon Islands and nine other island nations with a sweeping security proposal that, even if only partially realized, could give it a presence in the Pacific much nearer Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and on the doorstep of the strategic American territory of Guam.
-
3 more funerals for Buffalo victims in week of goodbyes
Three victims of the racist attack on a Buffalo supermarket will be laid to rest Friday, in a week filled with goodbyes for family and friends.
-
U.S. wins latest legal battle to seize Russian superyacht in Fiji
The United States on Friday won the latest round of a legal battle to seize a US$325-million Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji, with the case now appearing headed for the Pacific nation's top court.
-
China and Russia veto new UN sanctions on North Korea
China and Russia vetoed a UN resolution sponsored by the United States on Thursday that would have imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea for its spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches that can be used to deliver nuclear weapons.
-
Senate GOP blocks domestic terrorism bill, gun policy debate
Democrats' first attempt at responding to the back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, failed in the Senate Thursday as Republicans blocked a domestic terrorism bill that would have opened debate on difficult questions surrounding hate crimes and gun safety.
Politics
-
New firearms bill coming imminently from federal public safety minister
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will imminently be tabling new firearms legislation, according to advance notice given to the House of Commons.
-
Lifting sanctions against Russia to move Ukrainian grain exports not an option: Ukraine PM
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the West must not give in to Russian pressure to ease sanctions in order to restart the flow of agricultural exports.
-
Trudeau signals new gun-control changes coming; here's what the Liberals have promised
In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled that the Canadian government will be moving ahead on new gun-control measures 'in the coming weeks.' In previous Parliaments, the Liberals have made changes to Canada's gun laws, but in the 2021 federal election, Trudeau promised to go further.
Health
-
Canadian Blood Service seeks to scrap lifetime ban on sex workers donating blood
Canadian Blood Services wants to scrap a lifetime ban on sex workers giving blood in a further move to make blood donation more equitable. The blood-donation service this month recommended to Health Canada that it abolish the lifetime ban on donation by people who have taken money or drugs in exchange for sex.
-
The next pandemic? Why monkeypox isn't the new COVID
Health experts say that the monkeypox virus isn’t likely to have a similar impact to SARS-CoV-2, mainly because it isn’t a new virus and doesn’t spread the same way.
-
Monkeypox cases near 200 in more than 20 countries: WHO
The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the unusual disease, but described the epidemic as 'containable' and proposed creating a stockpile to equitably share the limited vaccines and drugs available worldwide.
Sci-Tech
-
Hubble identifies unusual wrinkle in expansion rate of the universe
Measuring the expansion rate of the universe was one of the Hubble Space Telescope's main goals when it was launched in 1990. Over the past 30 years, the space observatory has helped scientists discover and refine that accelerating rate -- as well as uncover a mysterious wrinkle that only brand-new physics may solve.
-
Unique optical phenomena puts on colourful show in Maritime sky
Circumhorizontal arcs put on a colourful show in parts of the Maritimes Thursday.
-
Here's what happened during Boeing's 'nail-biting' spacecraft docking
Boeing managed to dock a spacecraft at the International Space Station late last week, but it was not without several minor hangups.
Entertainment
-
Movie reviews: 'Top Gun: Maverick' is a high-flying sequel with a need for speed
This week, pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews new movies: 'Top Gun: Maverick,' 'The Bob’s Burgers Movie' and 'The Middle Man.'
-
Crown, defence expected to make closing arguments today in Hoggard sex assault trial
Prosecutors and defence lawyers are expected to make their final pitch today to jurors hearing the sex assault trial of Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard.
-
'Goodfellas' co-stars, many others pay tribute to Ray Liotta
Actors are paying tribute to Ray Liotta, best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in 'Goodfellas' and baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson in 'Field of Dreams.'
Business
-
Russia slams sanctions, seeks to blame West for food crisis
Moscow pressed the West on Thursday to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis that has been worsened by Kyiv's inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products due to the conflict.
-
'Negative trajectory' in consumer confidence shows Canadians increasingly anxious about economy
Dropping consumer confidence numbers show that Canadians are growing increasingly anxious about the direction of the economy, said Nanos Research pollster Nik Nanos.
-
Wall Street points to first weekly gain in almost two months
Wall Street edged higher before markets opened early Friday, putting major benchmarks in a position for their first week of gains after a seven-week losing streak.
Lifestyle
-
Kim Kardashian 'Chief Taste Consultant' in Beyond Meat campaign
Kim Kardashian is using her star power to promote Beyond Meat in a campaign that finds her with a a fancy new title - Chief Taste Consultant.
-
Laverne Cox becomes first trans person honoured with Barbie doll
Mattel is honouring Laverne Cox with a Barbie doll in her likeness to celebrate the Emmy-winning actress and trans rights advocate’s 50th birthday.
-
'One ticket is all it takes': OLG reveals winner of $60-million jackpot
A woman from Hamilton, Ont. is now a multimillionaire after she won the $60-million Lotto Max jackpot.
Sports
-
Oilers knock off Flames in OT to advance to Western Conference final
The Edmonton Oilers defeated their Alberta rival Calgary Flames 5-4 in overtime in Game 5 of their second-round NHL playoff series Thursday night to advance to the Western Conference final.
-
Canadian gymnast alleges sexual, emotional abuse by coach
Former Canadian gymnast Abby Pearson Spadafora said on Thursday she had suffered years of abuse at the hands of Olympic coach Dave Brubaker and his wife Elizabeth and called for an independent investigation of the sport.
-
CFL Players' Association ratifies new contract with CFL
The CFL Players' Association ratified its new collective bargaining agreement with the CFL on Thursday night.
Autos
-
Indy 500 drivers find crypto craze fuels needed sponsorship
At Indy, where culture is traditionally steeped in bricks more than bitcoin, the shift to cryptocurrency sponsorship may still be a curious concept to the almost 300,000 fans who will pack the track Sunday. But inside the paddock -- and locker rooms around the sports world - new forms of digital money help pay the bills and salaries for teams and athletes.
-
'Hurts like hell': What goes into the price of gas in Canada
With the price of gas rising above $2 per litre and setting new records in Canada this year, CTVNews.ca looks at what goes into the price per litre of gasoline and where the situation could go from here.
-
Lawsuit accuses 3 automakers and parts maker in air bag case
A class action lawsuit is accusing three automakers and a parts manufacturer of knowingly selling vehicles containing air bag inflators that are at risk of exploding. Two deaths and at least four injuries have been linked to such explosions.
