Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
Canada's chief public health officer says without vaccines the third wave of COVID-19 in Canada would have been much deadlier.
Dr. Theresa Tam said Tuesday as vaccines began to roll out she was in awe of how well they began to ease the impact the pandemic was having on Canada's elderly.
"We saw the numbers of cases, but also the serious outcomes declined very quickly in those populations," said Tam.
A Canadian Press analysis of epidemiology data posted online by Health Canada shows in January, when the second wave of COVID-19 peaked, more than 4,000 Canadians over the age of 80 died from it.
In April, when the third wave peaked and most Canadians over 80 had at least one dose of vaccine, the number of deaths in that age group fell below 500.
The number of cases confirmed in people over 80 averaged more than 470 a day in January, and 122 in April.
While Canada's slower than hoped vaccine rollout rankled throughout the winter, the emphasis was on getting vaccinations first to the people most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Less than one-tenth of Canadians over 80 had their first dose of vaccine by the end of January, but by the end of April almost 90 per cent had at least one dose and more than 15 per cent were fully vaccinated. In long-term care homes, where many of the worst outbreaks occurred, full vaccinations were largely completed by April.
That helped limit the outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care this spring.
As of June 19, only six per cent of people over 80 were not even partially vaccinated, and two-thirds are fully vaccinated.
"If you imagine this third wave without the vaccine, the mortality impact would have been much higher," said Tam.
The death toll in the second wave averaged more than 150 deaths a day for part of January. In the third wave, the highest average death count was about one-third of that.
The lack of vaccinations among kids may also now be playing out in the spread of COVID-19.
Children and teenagers now account for the largest share of Canada's total COVID-19 cases for the first time. Canadians in their 20s have accounted for the largest share of cases since last summer, but as of June 25, people under 19 now account for 19.3 per cent of the 1.4 million cases confirmed in Canada, slightly ahead of the 19.16 per cent for 20 to 29 year olds.
More than 60 per cent of teenagers now have at least one dose of vaccine, but children under 12 aren't eligible for vaccinations yet. That fact, combined with the more transmissible Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, is a conundrum for health policy-makers and politicians deciding what advice to give fully vaccinated adults.
New federal guidance issued by Tam's office Friday suggests fully vaccinated people can take off their masks and socialize in close quarters with other people who are fully vaccinated. But families whose kids can't be vaccinated were left wondering what that meant for them.
"More and more of us are asking when can we hug our loved ones, in particular grandparents, aunts and uncles are looking for advice for when they can share hugs with the kids in their lives," Tam said.
"The answer is because children under 12 are not eligible for vaccinations yet, there is still a risk they can get infected with COVID-19 and pass the virus on to others. However, if you and everyone else around them are fully vaccinated, the risk is lower."
Tam was less clear about what the new variants mean for lifting public masking requirements. Alberta intends to cancel its provincewide mask mandate on Canada Day. Saskatchewan will follow on July 11.
The World Health Organization said Friday fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks in public because the vaccines aren't preventing infections entirely.
Tam said the Delta variant will mean more people need to get fully vaccinated to prevent a punishing fourth wave this fall. Federal modelling released Friday incorporate the data on Delta for the first time, including that it is 1.5 times as infectious as the Alpha variant now dominant in Canada, and twice as virulent.
But Tam said if 80 per cent of Canadians between 12 and 54 are fully vaccinated by the fall, it should prevent another surge in hospitalizations.
Nationally, COVID-19 hospitalizations are at an eight-month low, with about 900 people currently in hospital. The number of people in intensive care is below 500 for the first time since November.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2021.
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
World Food Programme executive director Cindy McCain says people living in Gaza are “wasting” as famine concerns continue amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.