Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
For anyone who loves freedom and hates mask mandates or remote learning, Dr. Jerome Adams has a blunt message: Get vaccinated.
"More mitigation is coming. Whether it's masking, or whether it's closures or whether it's your kids having to return to virtual learning, that is coming," the Trump administration surgeon general told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
"And it's coming because this pandemic is spiraling out of control yet again. And it's spiraling out of control because we don't have enough people vaccinated."
As of Sunday, only 49.1% of Americans have been fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That's nowhere near enough vaccinations to stop the spread of the Delta variant, the most contagious strain of novel coronavirus ever identified.
In 48 states, the rate of new COVID-19 cases this past week jumped by at least 10% compared to the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
In 34 of those states, the rate of new cases increased by more than 50%.
Hospitals are filling up again with COVID-19 patients -- except now, patients are younger than before, said doctors in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Missouri.
"The thing that's making this possible is the fact that we are dealing with the most transmissible version of Covid-19 that we've seen to date," current U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said.
So eligible Americans who want to prevent more mask mandates, business closures and a return to remote learning need to do their part and get vaccinated, said Adams, the Trump administration official.
"It's going to help every single American enjoy the freedoms that we want to return to," he said.
The COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. don't have any coronavirus in them, but they do require an immune system response to work.
So millions of Americans who are immunocompromised or take drugs that suppress the immune system might not get as much help from a vaccine as others do.
While there's been much speculation as to whether (or when) booster shots might be needed, the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said this month that "Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time."
But that could change as the data evolves, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
If a booster dose of vaccine is needed, people with suppressed immune systems might be the first to get one, Fauci told CNN on Sunday.
Those with suppressed immune systems can include transplant patients, those undergoing cancer chemotherapy, people with autoimmune diseases and those who are taking immune-suppressing drugs, Fauci said.
Like with many other vaccines, a small fraction of vaccinated people have gotten breakthrough infections.
But more than 97% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last week.
Within the tiny percentage of US hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were fully vaccinated, a study found 44% of them were immunocompromised people.
The CDC and the FDA are "exploring multiple options" for how to make a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine possible for immunocompromised people if needed, according to a statement Friday.
"Emerging data show there is an enhanced antibody response after an additional dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in some immunocompromised people," the CDC said in a statement to CNN on Friday.
"While early data show some potential benefit to administering an additional dose, more evidence is needed to determine safety and effectiveness in immunocompromised people."
Those who are immunocompromised and vaccinated against Covid-19 might still want to keep wearing masks, Murthy said.
In California, San Diego County and Los Angeles County both reported their highest number of cases since February, and hospitalizations in LA County have more than doubled in two weeks.
In Florida, state health data shows that new case positivity nearly doubled in two weeks, from 7.8% the week of July 2 to 15.1%.
And Louisiana now has the highest increase in cases per capita in the U.S., state officials said Friday.
"We know that more than 80% of these are the Delta variant -- that is what's causing this surge," Gov. John Bel Edwards said.
"And what's enabling the surge is a very low percentage of people who have been vaccinated."
In the rare case that a fully vaccinated person later gets infected, that infection will likely result in mild or no symptoms at all, Murthy said.
"If you do get a breakthrough infection -- which itself will be unusual -- it will be more likely to be mild or asymptomatic," the surgeon general said.
As the rate of vaccination plummets in Florida, the rate of new COVID-19 infections has soared.
The state reported 73,199 new COVID-19 cases this past week -- up from 45,603 the previous week, according to data from the Florida Department of Health.
And the number of new vaccinations dropped by more than two-thirds over the past few months, from more than 769,000 doses given the week of May 14 to around 245,000 this past week.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava urged concertgoers at the three-day Rolling Loud Festival this weekend to help slow the spread.
The vaccine site was set up in conjunction with the state Department of Health and will offer both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines until midnight Sunday, according to the county's website.
"Our community is experiencing a dangerous spike in COVID cases," the mayor tweeted, "and if you aren't vaccinated, you can get the shot at a Rolling Loud vaccine pop-up all weekend."
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
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A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
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.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.