Coronavirus

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Moderna sues Pfizer over patents behind COVID-19 vaccine

Moderna claims Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago

(Black Press Media Creative)
A worker installs parts on the production line at Chrysler’s plant, in Windsor, Ont., on January 18, 2011.Temporary changes to the employment insurance program made during the pandemic are set to expire in a month, putting in jeopardy access to jobless benefits for automotive workers in Windsor expecting to be out of work in the fall, says a Unifor leader.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins

Temporary changes to EI made during pandemic are set to expire late next month

Measures not expected to be extended and some may be affected by tighter framework

A worker installs parts on the production line at Chrysler’s plant, in Windsor, Ont., on January 18, 2011.Temporary changes to the employment insurance program made during the pandemic are set to expire in a month, putting in jeopardy access to jobless benefits for automotive workers in Windsor expecting to be out of work in the fall, says a Unifor leader.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins
Clinic volunteer Kelly Brown draws out Moderna vaccine during a drive through COVID-19 vaccine clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., on January 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Canada buys up millions more doses of Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine

Canada purchased 4.5 million new doses and pushed up the delivery date for another 1.5 million doses

Clinic volunteer Kelly Brown draws out Moderna vaccine during a drive through COVID-19 vaccine clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., on January 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
A jar full of empty COVID-19 vaccine vials is shown at the Junction Chemist pharmacy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. As the U.K. has kicked off the global race to greenlight an updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine, anticipation is mounting for Canada to follow suit as fall threatens to usher in a new wave of infections. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

As fall COVID-19 surge looms, is it worth waiting for an Omicron-tailored vaccine?

Health Canada is currently reviewing bivalent booster candidates from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech

A jar full of empty COVID-19 vaccine vials is shown at the Junction Chemist pharmacy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. As the U.K. has kicked off the global race to greenlight an updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine, anticipation is mounting for Canada to follow suit as fall threatens to usher in a new wave of infections. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Omar Alghabra rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, June 20, 2022. The transport minister will testify today before the House of Commons transport committee on airport and airline delays that have wreaked havoc on travelers over the past several months.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

COVID-19 to blame for Canada’s airport delays, says transport minister

Industry is grappling with a surge in customers this summer, compounded by staffing shortages

Omar Alghabra rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, June 20, 2022. The transport minister will testify today before the House of Commons transport committee on airport and airline delays that have wreaked havoc on travelers over the past several months.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old. Tam speaks during a technical briefing on the COVID pandemic in Canada, Friday, January 15, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Pfizer booster dose approved for kids between five and 11 years old

NACI: high-risk kids “should” be offered one and others “may” be offered one

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old. Tam speaks during a technical briefing on the COVID pandemic in Canada, Friday, January 15, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
A man wears a protective face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as he walks past a billboard from the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver Thursday, April 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. COVID cases undercounted 100-fold amid less PCR testing, modelling group says

The B.C. COVID-19 Modelling Group did have some good news: the BA.5 wave appears to have peaked

A man wears a protective face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as he walks past a billboard from the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver Thursday, April 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered what they are calling a “weak spot” in the virus that causes COVID-19. This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the virus, isolated from a patient in the U.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/NIAID-RML via AP

B.C. scientists find ‘weak spot’ in COVID-19 virus that could lead to new treatments

“Key vulnerability” is found in all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered what they are calling a “weak spot” in the virus that causes COVID-19. This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the virus, isolated from a patient in the U.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/NIAID-RML via AP
A protestor wears a helmet decorated as a COVID-19 virus at the Los Angeles “Defeat the Mandate” rally to protest vaccination mandates designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 outside Los Angeles City Hall Sunday, April, 10, 2022. California battled a deadly winter coronavirus surge linked to the omicron variant but began easing masking and vaccination requirements this year as caseloads and hospitalization rates fell, which public health officials largely attributed to widespread vaccination and other safety measures. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Is COVID losing its fangs and becoming more like the flu?

COVID-19 fatality rates substantially lower, approaching that of the annual flu

A protestor wears a helmet decorated as a COVID-19 virus at the Los Angeles “Defeat the Mandate” rally to protest vaccination mandates designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 outside Los Angeles City Hall Sunday, April, 10, 2022. California battled a deadly winter coronavirus surge linked to the omicron variant but began easing masking and vaccination requirements this year as caseloads and hospitalization rates fell, which public health officials largely attributed to widespread vaccination and other safety measures. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Lianna McDonald, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection based out of Winnipeg, poses in Winnipeg on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Geraldine Malone

‘A wake-up call’: Online crimes see stark increase during COVID-19 pandemic

Threats and harassment are moving online, according to police

Lianna McDonald, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection based out of Winnipeg, poses in Winnipeg on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Geraldine Malone
Kansas City Royals’ Andrew Benintendi leaves the batter’s box on an RBI single during the third inning of the team’s baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

COVID-19 vaccinations add new twist to MLB trade deadline

Toronto Blue Jays have by far the toughest constraints

Kansas City Royals’ Andrew Benintendi leaves the batter’s box on an RBI single during the third inning of the team’s baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, a passenger wears a face mask she travels on a flight. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

B.C. COVID cases, hospital admissions down this week

There are 29 new deaths for the week of July 17 - 23

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, a passenger wears a face mask she travels on a flight. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
(Metro creative stock photo)

B.C. COVID hospitalizations down for the first time in weeks, new cases continue to rise

There are 406 people currently in hospital with COVID-19

(Metro creative stock photo)
A passenger arrives from New Delhi at Pearson Airport in Toronto on April 21, 2021. Infectious disease experts are at odds over the value of testing random travellers into the country for COVID-19 as the federal government relaunched its airport test program Tuesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Questions raised about value of random COVID-19 tests for travellers

Randomly selected air travellers at those airports must now report to off-site locations for tests

A passenger arrives from New Delhi at Pearson Airport in Toronto on April 21, 2021. Infectious disease experts are at odds over the value of testing random travellers into the country for COVID-19 as the federal government relaunched its airport test program Tuesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Mandatory random COVID-19 testing resumes today for travellers coming in through Canada's four major airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. A passenger from Air India flight 187 from New Delhi arrives at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Wednesday April 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Random COVID-19 testing resumes at four major airports; tests to be done offsite

Actual tests will be completed through an in-person or virtual appointment outside the airport

Mandatory random COVID-19 testing resumes today for travellers coming in through Canada's four major airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. A passenger from Air India flight 187 from New Delhi arrives at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Wednesday April 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
FILE - World Health Organization Director for Europe Hans Kluge speaks during a press conference at a vaccination center in Bucharest, Romania, April 7, 2021. The World Health Organization said Tuesday. July 19, 2022 that coronavirus cases have tripled across Europe in the past six weeks, accounting for nearly half of all infections globally. Hospitalization rates have also doubled, although intensive care admissions have remained low. In a statement on Tuesday, Kluge described COVID-19 as “a nasty and potentially deadly illness” that people should not underestimate. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)

WHO: COVID triples across Europe, hospitalizations double

Intensive care cases remain low as super-infectious relatives of the omicron variant drive new waves

FILE - World Health Organization Director for Europe Hans Kluge speaks during a press conference at a vaccination center in Bucharest, Romania, April 7, 2021. The World Health Organization said Tuesday. July 19, 2022 that coronavirus cases have tripled across Europe in the past six weeks, accounting for nearly half of all infections globally. Hospitalization rates have also doubled, although intensive care admissions have remained low. In a statement on Tuesday, Kluge described COVID-19 as “a nasty and potentially deadly illness” that people should not underestimate. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
Louis Brier Home and Hospital is a long-term care facility in Vancouver, pictured in 2019. CEO David Keselman said guidelines need to reflect how care has become more complex since he first became a nurse roughly 30 years ago. (Photo: Google Street View).

‘We are still not prepared’: B.C. care home advocates call for action amid recommendations

Experts say it is time to re-evaluate staffing ratio guidelines in the province

Louis Brier Home and Hospital is a long-term care facility in Vancouver, pictured in 2019. CEO David Keselman said guidelines need to reflect how care has become more complex since he first became a nurse roughly 30 years ago. (Photo: Google Street View).
A nurse administers the coronavirus vaccine last year. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Boost now or wait? What you should know as B.C. counts down to its next COVID shots

B.C. is only officially recommending second boosters now for older and extremely vulnerable people

A nurse administers the coronavirus vaccine last year. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
B.C. required people to present a vaccine passport for various indoor events during part of 2021. (Black Press Media file photo)

6-month suspension for B.C. nurse who created fake vaccine cards

Sarah Jones of Castlegar made 4 fake cards in 2021

B.C. required people to present a vaccine passport for various indoor events during part of 2021. (Black Press Media file photo)
Positive, left, and negative COVID-19 antigen rapid tests are picture in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. As research suggests that COVID-19 has infected roughly half of the Canadian population, the emergence of an even more contagious version of the virus is raising concerns that some people may be in for another round.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Already had COVID-19? Here’s what we know about reinfections

About half of Canadians have had COVID-19 so far, research suggests

Positive, left, and negative COVID-19 antigen rapid tests are picture in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. As research suggests that COVID-19 has infected roughly half of the Canadian population, the emergence of an even more contagious version of the virus is raising concerns that some people may be in for another round.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh