More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, announced that Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized to be used as a booster for children aged 5-11.
Tam said Health Canada has authorized 10 microgram booster doses for children, and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has released guidance on its use.
This is the first booster approved for children aged 5-11, with Moderna being authorized for just two doses of its vaccine for that age group.
NACI says children with underlying medical conditions or who are immunocompromised, and therefore at risk of more severe outcomes from the virus, should be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose at least six months following their second shot.
“This booster dose provides a great option to restore protection for this age group, especially for those who are at high risk of severe illness,” Tam said.
All other children in the 5-11 age group may also be offered the booster dose as of six months following their second shot, Tam said, adding that the risk of severe outcomes for them is “generally rare.”
“I like to remind parents that severe medical conditions in this age group should be rare,” she said. “So I think giving people the choice and providing parents and kids with information about the effectiveness of a vaccine and the importance of the booster can help them make this choice.”
The vaccination rate for children aged 5-11 is the lowest of any other cohort — with about 42 per cent having completed their primary series of two doses — compared to more than 99 per cent for the over-80 age group, and at least 83 per cent for every other group older than 12.
The announcement comes as Tam and Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo gave an update on both COVID-19 and monkeypox cases in Canada.
Tam said while many regions appear to be past the most recent peak in COVID-19 cases, with weekly case counts on the decline, there are some exceptions.
She said getting vaccinations up to date is a “top priority” to prepare for potential future waves in the fall, as students return to school, people return to work following summer vacations, and Canadians generally start making their way back indoors.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
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.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
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.”