Did you get your vaccine in Ontario? If you’ve been fully vaccinated, you’ll be eligible to download the province’s new enhanced vaccine certificate in QR code form this weekend. The rollout will happen over three days, and will be available for download by everyone who has been vaccinated starting Oct. 18 at 6 a.m. When…
Category: Community News
Have mixed doses, won’t travel? Canadians who got two different COVID jabs worry U.S. border rules could exclude them
Patsy Nunes was glad to get the AstraZeneca vaccine when she called around looking for appointments last April, and she’s glad to have it now. She just wishes the U.S. officials were as happy about her two-dose combo as she is. With one dose of AstraZeneca, and one dose of Pfizer, she and her husband…
Have mixed doses, won’t travel? Canadians who got two different COVID jabs worry U.S. border rules could exclude them
Patsy Nunes was glad to get the AstraZeneca vaccine when she called around looking for appointments last April, and she’s glad to have it now. She just wishes the U.S. officials were as happy about her two-dose combo as she is. With one dose of AstraZeneca, and one dose of Pfizer, she and her husband…
COVID vaccines for children are almost here. How well have we protected the kids so far?
Vaxx Populi: The answer varies by province, but some jurisdictions could do a lot more when it comes to masking and rapid testing “How are the kids doing?” is a question whose answer depends on where one lives. In British Columbia, before classrooms reopened, the rate of infection for those under 10 years of age stayed below…
New details emerge on Ontario’s upcoming vaccine certificate app
A vaccine certificate verification app will launch next week as fully vaccinated Ontarians will be able to load their current status and allow establishments to verify a QR code to confirm proof of vaccination. New details about the app called “Verify Ontario” are coming to light, including that the system will accept QR codes from British…
Ontario’s proof of vaccination requirement could eventually be made voluntary for businesses: sources
TORONTO — Ontario’s proof of vaccination requirements could eventually be downgraded to a voluntary program, as the provincial government considers a new set of measures to ease businesses out of pandemic restrictions. Sources with knowledge of the plan say the Ford government is working on a post-Step three strategy that will lift capacity limits on…
Premier Doug Ford wants Ottawa to clamp down on exemptions for unvaccinated travellers
Premier Doug Ford is stepping up his campaign to have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clamp down on exemptions for unvaccinated travellers, the Star has learned. Ford is expected to use a Friday press conference to announce new “guidelines” for arrivals to Ontario. “The double-vaccinated who have a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test are not the problem,” said a…
‘We are flying blind’: With hundreds of COVID-19 cases in Ontario schools, why numbers alone don’t tell the whole story
Just days into the school year, mother Marie Tattersall’s heart sank when she opened the email from Toronto’s King George Junior Public School saying it had its first COVID-19 case. “And so it begins,” thought Tattersall. “I was kind of shocked it happened so fast.” She had hoped the school would make it to Thanksgiving without a…
The TTC wants to attract more ridership after the pandemic — they should try making transit cheaper
The TTC’s in trouble. My colleague Ben Spurr reported last week on the transit agency’s many pandemic-linked challenges. Ridership is way down. People are worried about catching COVID on the trains and buses. Others have ditched the TTC because they’re working from home all or most of the time now. Fare revenue has fallen off a…
The pathway to better mental health is getting more literal
Walk-and-talk counselling has gone from quirky offering to timely solution for the pandemic era The pandemic has propelled many Canadians toward an activity that heretofore was mainly the domain of characters on The West Wing and stroller-pushing new parents. As the feet move, so do the lips. For more than a year, meeting for chit-chat at one’s…