Canada’s top doctor says employers must provide the best masks and ventilation possible Canada’s chief public health officer says this will not be the holiday season Canadians were hoping for, warning people that if they don’t reduce their contacts over the next several weeks, the country’s hospitals will be overwhelmed. Dr. Theresa Tam told The National’s Andrew…
Category: Community News
Why your rapid test negative doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe to go to that holiday dinner
With rapid COVID-19 tests, a positive is a positive but a negative result one day is not a guarantee you don’t have the virus, or won’t spread it to others at a later date, experts caution. If you plan on taking a rapid COVID test for peace of mind before heading to a holiday party or family…
Omicron is discouraging but a strong response now may bring the end in sight
With the arrival of the fast-moving Omicron variant, there’s much to be dejected about on the pandemic front. We’re seeing record COVID-19 case numbers in almost every province, and those disturbing daily case counts will likely continue for days or weeks. There is an alarming number of breakthrough cases too – infections in the vaccinated. Increased…
Booster shots are now available for people 18 plus in Ontario, but things are off to a bumpy start
Vaccine booking portals officially opened Monday so people 18 and older could book for third shots. Previously, only Ontarians 50 and older could get a third shot. All adults in Ontario are now able to book a third COVID-19 shot — but for many it’s not happening without a fight. Vaccine booking portals officially opened…
Rapid tests selling online for inflated prices highlights COVID-19 testing inequity in GTA
Rapid COVID-19 test kits are a hot commodity in the province right now. After LCBO stores across Ontario ran out of the initial 200,000 free test kits within one day of distribution, some kits started popping up for sale on online platforms like Craigslist and TikTok. According to an infectious disease expert, the long line ups for rapid…
Moderna: Initial booster data shows good results on omicron
Moderna said Monday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine should offer protection against the rapidly spreading omicron variant. Moderna said lab tests showed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able to fight omicron. And a full-dose booster was even stronger, triggering an 83-fold jump in…
Ontario will make booster shots easier to get
Politics Insider for Dec. 16, 2021: Feds scrambling over Omicron; Booster shots in Ontario; and no more gathering restrictions for unvaxxed Albertans The federal government announced a new travel advisory on Wednesday, as news about omicron got scarier, but behind the scenes the feds were scrambling to put in place a new plan to manage travel ahead of the…
Ontario sees the value of rapid tests for COVID—as ever, way too late
Patricia Treble: The delayed response is part of a frustrating pandemic pattern in Canada, where governments fail to recognize the blindingly obvious “You’re swearing a lot, Patricia,” a cousin recently observed. “I’ve been writing about the pandemic for nearly two years,” I responded, “It’s either a potty mouth or throwing something against a wall.” If…
Omicron versus booster shots: The high-stakes race in Canada is on
Most provinces off to a painfully slow start giving third doses of the vaccine, and one expert warns that new variant will make things ‘pretty ugly’ Dr. Andrew Morris isn’t surprised by the surge in COVID cases across the country, up from an average of 2,500 a day a month ago to 4,100 on Dec….
Will Omicron kill Christmas? Here’s how each public health unit in Ontario is responding
As people hunker down for the holidays and families look forward to getting together, Omicron is quickly rising in numbers and widely expected to becomethe dominant COVID-19 variant in Ontario. The province is expected to make an announcement Wednesday afternoon about new provincial guidelines, which some sources have said might include a more expedient expansion of the booster program, possible closures…