LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
As provinces and territories work to inoculate their populations against COVID-19, questions are swirling over whether booster shots will soon be required for individuals to be considered “fully vaccinated.”
In October, Israel announced that those with two doses of a COVID-19 shot would not be considered “fully vaccinated” unless they got a third jab.
What’s more, last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced people 65 and over would need to present proof of a COVID-19 booster shot by mid-December in order to receive their vaccination passport.
Currently, booster shots are not required in Canada to receive a vaccination passport, but campaigns are underway across the country to offer third doses to those most vulnerable to the disease.
Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine is an epidemiologist in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Asked by CTV’s Your Morning whether booster shots could become a requirement in Canada in order to be considered fully vaccinated, Muhajarine said it is an “evolving situation.”
He said the reason both Israel and France are now requiring booster shots in order for residents to considered fully vaccinated is because they began offering the third doses earlier than Canada.
“So they have had a long experience in boosting their population compared to Canada,” he explained. “That being said, I think, you know, give it two, three months, I can’t see how we will not follow a similar approach to Israel, and that is people who are eligible to get a third shot and completed that would be considered fully vaccinated at that time.”
However, Muhajarine said that won’t happen for a while.
“I think because there is a wide variety of ways that provinces [are] introducing their booster eligibility,” he said.
Muhajarine pointed to Saskatchewan which lowered its booster eligibility age to 50 on Tuesday.
Officials in the province announced COVID-19 boosters would be available for healthcare workers and residents 50 and older in Saskatchewan, and to anyone 18 or older who is living in the far north or in First Nations communities.
Researchers have found that the immunity from two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine wanes over time, meaning Canadians will require another dose to “boost” their immunity to the virus.
Asked whether the public will need booster shots every six months for the foreseeable future, Muhajarine said “I would think so.”
He said the growing consensus is that COVID-19 is “here to stay with us for a while.”
“And it will, kind of revolve into endemic situation meaning, low incidence or prevalence of this COVID-19, and it will become like a seasonal flu, hopefully,” he said. “And so, in order to actually protect ourselves, we would probably need to boost our immune system, seasonally speaking even from time to time.”
He said that is “probably the direction we are headed right now.”
The National Advisory Committee for Immunization (NACI) released updated guidance last week, outlining several sections of the Canadian population that it said should receive a booster shot at least six months after having had their primary vaccine series.
NACI said it “strongly recommends” an mRNA booster shot be offered to those over 50, seniors living in long-term care homes and other congregate living facilities, and to those who received a viral vector COVID-19 vaccine series such as AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson.
The committee also said it strongly recommends First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples and frontline healthcare workers should also be provided a booster shot.
NACI has also recommended booster doses for those between the ages of 18 and 49, at least six months after they received their primary vaccine series.
While NACI issues guidance and recommendations, it is ultimately up to provinces and territories to decide how vaccine rollout will work within their jurisdiction.
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
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.