Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Even people who had severe allergic reactions to their first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine can still safely get a second dose, according to Canada's vaccine advisory committee.
There have been 419 reports of anaphylactic reactions to mRNA vaccines in Canada as of Oct. 15, according to the latest data released by Health Canada, out of the roughly 58 million doses administered.
Anaphylaxis can cause people to go into shock, making it difficult to breathe.
For those who had a severe reaction to an mRNA vaccine, studies show the reaction often is not repeated with the second dose, however.
The second doses are well tolerated with either no reactions or just mild ones, NACI said.
“The bottom line is that we hope this is good news for people who've been worried about allergic reactions,” chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said at a media briefing Friday.
The Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial and territorial governments are keeping a careful eye on the rate of medical exemptions issued for people who can't get a COVID-19 vaccine in Canada.
“They're taking a close look at that, to make sure only really valid medical exemptions are issued for any type of adverse reaction for vaccines,” said deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo.
But the new recommendations don't necessarily mean people with allergic reactions can't get an exemption for places where vaccines are mandatory, Tam said.
“Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction to a component, is considered a severe side effect that could qualify potentially for medical exemption,” she said.
NACI encourages people who had an allergic reaction to a mRNA vaccine - those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna - to see an allergist before seeking the next dose.
People should also be observed for a longer period after their second dose to make sure the allergic reaction is not repeated. NACI suggests a half-hour waiting period as opposed to the usual 15 minutes.
The committee also released new advice about waiting longer for a second dose, suggesting that a longer gap between shots is more effective.
NACI now suggests waiting eight weeks between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and at least eight weeks between shots of AstraZeneca.
When figuring out dose intervals, the local transmission of the virus and the level of risk of contracting the virus also need to be considered, according to NACI's new advice. If transmission is high, an earlier second dose should be considered to offer immediate protection.
The advice also doesn't mean people who have had both shots with a shorter gap in between need to restart with another series of vaccines.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2021.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
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.