Canada - Coronavirus COVID-19 #3

[tarabull]

COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU rates continue to climb in Alberta | Globalnews.ca

 

[tarabull]

Ontario switches COVID reporting to focus on cases by vaccination status | Calgary Sun

 

[tarabull]

CBC News:
Quebec to implement COVID-19 vaccine passport on Sept. 1 in the face of 'inevitable' 4th wave

 

[otto]

Now we know why Trudeau opened the USA border - he's planning to call an election this afternoon. He's probably going to spend his campaign talking about his miracle work with managing the pandemic.

 

[MrX]

Now we know why Trudeau opened the USA border - he's planning to call an election this afternoon. He's probably going to spend his campaign talking about his miracle work with managing the pandemic.

It's interesting - for all of the vociferous support for masks and distancing and closures, those things all appear to be poison at the ballot box. It seems like every hard core Covid Warrior leader that is faced with an electoral challenge instantly changes stripes. I'm guessing the calculus is that many people "go along to get along," but rarely use their secret ballot to vote in favor of restrictions.

 

[otto]

It's interesting - for all of the vociferous support for masks and distancing and closures, those things all appear to be poison at the ballot box. It seems like every hard core Covid Warrior leader that is faced with an electoral challenge instantly changes stripes. I'm guessing the calculus is that many people "go along to get along," but rarely use their secret ballot to vote in favor of restrictions.

Canadians across the country are worried about the economy. Opening the border brings money into the country, as well as some support for the tourism industry. The open border also helps families who have been separated by covid, regardless of whether family is from the USA or merely crossing the border from the USA.

I think that Trudeau opened the border for election reasons. The election is in late September. If numbers soar across the country between now and mid-September, that might backfire. However, my opinion is that Conservatives are in favour of no-mask, open border, return to normal (e.g.: Alberta). In that sense, opening the borders removes the possibility that people will vote Conservative to relax covid restrictions.

 

[LadyL]

Canada to donate 10M unused Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses to poor countries

 

[tarabull]

COVID-19 vaccine mandates are coming — whether Canadians want them or not

 

[tarabull]

Thousands march in Montreal to protest vaccination passports | Canoe.Com

 

[otto]

Thousands march in Montreal to protest vaccination passports | Canoe.Com

I think this "vaccine record" protest is full of ignorance. Every child born in Canada has a vaccine record for Small Pox, Diphtheria, German Measles, Rubella, Mumps, Measles, Scarlett Fever (?), Polio and other deadly illnesses. The difference between those vaccines and the covid vaccine is that those vaccines guaranteed that we would not catch the illness, and today's vaccines don't guarantee immunity.

It's not surprising that people are skeptical of a vaccine that has no longevity. Our mother's ensured that we were vaccinated against polio when we were too young to complain. Why don't the complainers of today think about that?

Yes, it sucks that the vaccine will need boosters, it sucks that the virus is like the "cold virus" that mutates every year.

My only hope with the covid virus is that I can look back on it. I'm no longer confident that this is an option ... perhaps for years, or at least until international travel is terminated for at least month.

 

[otto]

Furthermore, vaccine passports were required by all Canadians traveling abroad in 1972. Europe, at the time the EEC, required vaccine passports from foreigners from Canada and other countries.

What is the problem with providing vaccine history at any time, or during pandemic?

Are there people in Canada who have not had the small pox vaccine and, if not, why not. If they have had the vaccine, why the fuss about proving it?

Is this a situation where unvaccinated people want the same privileges as vaccinated people even though unvaccinated carriers could kill vaccinated people?

 

[musicaljoke]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...es-provides-back-to-school-guidance-1.6139832

Alberta public health measures set to expire on Monday will remain in place for another six weeks, while newly announced back-to-school guidelines don't mandate in-class masks but will include school-based vaccinations, Alberta's top public health doctor announced Friday.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, also announced that mandatory isolation for 10 days for those with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result will also continue until Sept. 27.

"We are not going backwards. We are pausing to monitor and assess before taking a next step forward," she said.

 

[musicaljoke]

Oh carp! It looks like we're in for an election. I hope covid management doesn't become a party platform. We can see the havoc that has caused in the US.

 

[otto]

It's unfortunate that the campaign is all about pandemic management. It's as though the Canadian political leaders want to imitate the situation South of the border where personal freedom versus social responsibility is a pandemic political divide.

 

[MrX]

It's unfortunate that the campaign is all about pandemic management. It's as though the Canadian political leaders want to imitate the situation South of the border where personal freedom versus social responsibility is a pandemic political divide.

The problem is that the debate quickly gets framed as the righteous verses the selfish, when it is way more nuanced. For example, how many people that advocated for the cancelation of the Olympics had grandchildren competing in those games? I've been accused of being a conspiracy nut simply because I refuse to stop eating in restaurants. Unfortunately, as long as there have been politicians there has been a need to keep people divided.

One thing to keep in mind is that compliance with every Covid restriction has to be compelled with the threat of force or sanction. What do you think Sydney's bars and restaurant would look like, tomorrow night, if they announced that there will be no enforcement of restrictions?

 

[otto]

Hopefully the Liberals and Conservatives will tone it down and focus on federal issues rather than mandating vaccinations. They certainly started off on the wrong foot. Canadians will decide for themselves whether they want to be vaccinated, wear masks, hide in the basement, or live life as they always did.

Provincial governments have handled pandemic management thus far, now is not the time for federal intervention.

"Canada's political leaders could do serious damage to the country's vaccination efforts if they engage in a charged and polarizing debate over vaccines during the federal election campaign, say people on the frontlines of outreach work and other experts.

"We don't want to see them using vaccinations and vaccines as a political toy," said Angela Carter, executive director of the non-profit Roots Community Services in Brampton, Ont., who helps organize vaccination clinics in Peel Region.

"I hope and I pray that our politicians, our leaders, are not that divisive."

The warnings come just a day after the Liberals and Conservatives clashed over whether COVID-19 vaccinations should be mandatory for federal public servants, with the Liberals in favour of the plan and the Conservatives opposed.
...

Maya Goldenberg, a University of Guelph expert in vaccine hesitancy, said framing vaccines as a debate of individual rights versus the public good will likely damage larger vaccination efforts. (Submitted by University of Guelph)"
​

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/politicizing-vaccines-campaign-1.6143269

 

[otto]

Israel is the test group because, as a country, they were fully vaccinated before any other country; starting in Dec 2020 with the older adult population. In August 2021, 8 months later, the Pfizer vaccine has a severely reduced effectiveness. This is the argument for booster shots starting approximately 6 months after second shot:

Now, the effects of waning immunity may be beginning to show in Israelis vaccinated in early winter; a preprint published last month by physician Tal Patalon and colleagues at KSM, the research arm of MHS, found that protection from COVID-19 infection during June and July dropped in proportion to the length of time since an individual was vaccinated. People vaccinated in January had a 2.26 times greater risk for a breakthrough infection than those vaccinated in April. (Potential confounders include the fact that the very oldest Israelis, with the weakest immune systems, were vaccinated first.)

"Israel, which has led the world in launching vaccinations and in data gathering, is confronting a surge of COVID-19 cases that officials expect to push hospitals to the brink. Nearly 60% of gravely ill patients are fully vaccinated.

At the same time, cases in the country, which were scarcely registering at the start of summer, have been doubling every week to 10 days since then, with the Delta variant responsible for most of them. They have now soared to their highest level since mid-February, with hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions beginning to follow. How much of the current surge is due to waning immunity versus the power of the Delta variant to spread like wildfire is uncertain.

What is clear is that “breakthrough” cases are not the rare events the term implies. As of 15 August, 514 Israelis were hospitalized with severe or critical COVID-19, a 31% increase from just 4 days earlier. Of the 514, 59% were fully vaccinated. Of the vaccinated, 87% were 60 or older. “There are so many breakthrough infections that they dominate and most of the hospitalized patients are actually vaccinated,” says Uri Shalit, a bioinformatician at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) who has consulted on COVID-19 for the government. “One of the big stories from Israel [is]: ‘Vaccines work, but not well enough.’”
​

A grim warning from Israel: Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat Delta

 

[Sundog]

Israel is the test group because, as a country, they were fully vaccinated before any other country; starting in Dec 2020 with the older adult population. In August 2021, 8 months later, the Pfizer vaccine has a severely reduced effectiveness. This is the argument for booster shots starting approximately 6 months after second shot:

Now, the effects of waning immunity may be beginning to show in Israelis vaccinated in early winter; a preprint published last month by physician Tal Patalon and colleagues at KSM, the research arm of MHS, found that protection from COVID-19 infection during June and July dropped in proportion to the length of time since an individual was vaccinated. People vaccinated in January had a 2.26 times greater risk for a breakthrough infection than those vaccinated in April. (Potential confounders include the fact that the very oldest Israelis, with the weakest immune systems, were vaccinated first.)

"Israel, which has led the world in launching vaccinations and in data gathering, is confronting a surge of COVID-19 cases that officials expect to push hospitals to the brink. Nearly 60% of gravely ill patients are fully vaccinated.

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At the same time, cases in the country, which were scarcely registering at the start of summer, have been doubling every week to 10 days since then, with the Delta variant responsible for most of them. They have now soared to their highest level since mid-February, with hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions beginning to follow. How much of the current surge is due to waning immunity versus the power of the Delta variant to spread like wildfire is uncertain.

What is clear is that “breakthrough” cases are not the rare events the term implies. As of 15 August, 514 Israelis were hospitalized with severe or critical COVID-19, a 31% increase from just 4 days earlier. Of the 514, 59% were fully vaccinated. Of the vaccinated, 87% were 60 or older. “There are so many breakthrough infections that they dominate and most of the hospitalized patients are actually vaccinated,” says Uri Shalit, a bioinformatician at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) who has consulted on COVID-19 for the government. “One of the big stories from Israel [is]: ‘Vaccines work, but not well enough.’”
​

A grim warning from Israel: Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat Delta

I wonder what the science is behind the CDC deciding to wait until October to give booster shots of the vaccine. Over 65 seniors in many states received their first two doses of Pfizer and Moderna in February and Early March, so the 6 month point is August, i.e. now. They should be implementing this plan now, not waiting until October for those over 65 who were vaccinated fully in February.

 

[JDG]

I wonder what the science is behind the CDC deciding to wait until October to give booster shots of the vaccine. Over 65 seniors in many states received their first two doses of Pfizer and Moderna in February and Early March, so the 6 month point is August, i.e. now. They should be implementing this plan now, not waiting until October for those over 65 who were vaccinated fully in February.

maybe the variants are expected to worsen as fall approaches, no point in taking the shot too early as you want the best result.

less people will get sick in the summer is the reasoning.

once we’re all back indoors, we may need the booster. IMO

 

[Tadpole12]

Ontario reports 348 new COVID-19 cases; 4 new deaths
Aug 17 2021

"Tuesday’s count took the seven-day rolling average of new cases to 473, up from 469 yesterday."

Sept 24 2020 the average was 461.