Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
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.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
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.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
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.