Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
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.
Three-quarters of eligible Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and some are now able to receive an additional booster shot. But the virus still poses a great threat to more than 70 million eligible people who remain unvaccinated.
"The most vulnerable are those unvaccinated," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday.
The CDC on Friday approved a third shot of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to an expanded group of Americans.
"Starting today, if you are six months out from your last dose of the Pfizer vaccine, you are eligible for a booster if you fall into one of three high-risk groups," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said during a briefing.
"Number one: You are 65 or older. Number two: You have a medical condition that puts you at high risk of severe illness with COVID and these conditions include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and others. And Number three: You work or live in a setting where you are at high risk of exposure to Covid. This includes health care workers, teachers, those living in shelters or prisons and grocery store workers," Murthy said.
Boosters have not yet been endorsed for the two other vaccines offered in the U.S. -- those from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Health officials are working to determine next steps for recipients of those vaccines.
The Food and Drug Administration "is working with Moderna and J&J to get and process their data as quickly as possible with the goal of making booster recommendations for Moderna and J&J recipients in the coming weeks," Murthy said.
Walensky acknowledged that even with more Americans becoming eligible for Pfizer boosters, the country must ramp up initial vaccination numbers for the pandemic to subside.
"I want to be clear: We will not boost our way out of this pandemic," she said Friday.
The U.S. has fully vaccinated more than 55 per cent of all residents as of Friday, CDC data shows, while 75 per cent of the vaccine-eligible received at least one dose of inoculation.
A recent CNN analysis showed the average rate of COVID-19 deaths in the 10 least vaccinated states was more than four times higher over the past week than the rate in the 10 most vaccinated states.
CDC vaccine advisers had recommended that Pfizer booster shots should be made available for people over 65 and those with health risks -- stopping short of expanding that threshold to include those who may be disproportionally exposed to the virus at their jobs. But Walensky moved to account for the occupational exposure group in her guidance.
"Some people really voted ... with enthusiasm to say our health care workers, our frontline workers, people who were vaccinated early, people who work in congregate settings, in correctional facilities, grocery workers, really do merit the vaccine," Walensky told CNN's Erin Burnett on Friday. "The question wasn't 'yes or no,' the question was 'wait or do now,'" she added.
Ultimately, the decision for boosters was about "providing rather than withholding access" and the need to protect society as a whole, Walensky said.
The boosters are already available, with CVS Health announcing Friday that nearly 6,000 of its locations started offering appointments for a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Those who choose to go for the booster shot will be asked to "self-attest to their eligibility" outlined by public health officials, CVS said. They also must be recipients of Pfizer's initial two doses.
In California, Los Angeles County on Friday also began offering the booster shots to its residents who show proof of vaccination and affirm their eligibility, the county's public health department said in a news release.
The headaches facing school officials and parents were underlined in a study released Friday on the impact so far of the pandemic on in-person learning.
About 1,800 schools closed between August 1 and September 17 because Covid-19 cases were detected, which affected the education and well-being of 933,000 students, according to the CDC study.
Nearly 60,000 teachers in 44 states were also affected by closures, and the number of closures was highest in the South, the study found.
Examining data from 8,700 districts nationwide, the CDC study found that "the largest number of districts with full remote learning (14) were in the West Census Region, followed by the South (11). Seven Midwest and two Northeast districts offered full remote learning."
The study noted that the timing of return to school may be a factor in school closures because the schools in the South returned earlier in August than other parts of the country-- which typically start in late August or early September.
COVID-19 outbreaks forced 300 Tennessee schools to close, the study shows, noting that was the most in the nation-- followed by Georgia, Kentucky, Texas and South Carolina.
The CDC recommends that people in schools wear masks even if they're vaccinated as well as screen testing and physical distancing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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.
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
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.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.
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.
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.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.