Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[zang]

Yes but the US and UK are much farther along the vaccine rollout.

And both are seeing resistance to moving too early.

New cases per day in the UK are still about 2000 a day, with the Indian variant set to become the predominant version going around.

And the US (as usual) seems to think freedoms will protect them from everything.

 

[Northern Light]

My family health practice sent out an email at 10:59am this morning saying vaccinations were available for the next 3 calendar days starting tomorrow.

I had a link for online booking.

I had an appointment 3 minutes later.

 

[Northern Light]

Overall the process was easy and efficient. (it showed all availabilities at one click, and you just picked the one you wanted.

In terms of barriers....to some.......

Obviously you had to be a rostered patient, signed up for emails/electronic booking to begin with.

The form did indicate a mobile phone number was mandatory. That could be a barrier to a portion of the population.

Albeit with the best of intentions, I think the biggest barrier might be the long winded 'advise your doctor if' statement in the email itself.

I could see it promoting vaccine hesitance in some.

I think some of it is probably necessary/useful.......thought asking the average person if they have an allergy to polyethylene glycol, tromethamine or polysorbate, when I expect most people wouldn't know if they were.......
is a more curious choice.

 

[Videodrome]

CityNews

www.680news.com

Let's go!

 

[Richard White]

CityNews

www.680news.com

Let's go!

Who knows we may be 75% fully vaccinated by August.

 

[Admiral Beez]

And both are seeing resistance to moving too early. New cases per day in the UK are still about 2000 a day, with the Indian variant set to become the predominant version going around.

I don’t think case counts is the metric to track in heavily vaccinated countries like the UK, but instead look at hospitalizations and deaths.

 

[DSC]

Ontario is reporting 1,588 cases of #COVID19 and over 38,400 tests completed.

More tests and fewer positives,, looking better but NOT TIME TO DECLARE VICTORY JUST YET!!

 

[SubHuman]

An unusual plane at Pearson transporting vaccines. I didn’t know there was still an Eastern Airlines.

 

[lenaitch]

An unusual plane at Pearson transporting vaccines. I didn’t know there was still an Eastern Airlines.

The Interweb says the aircraft is owned by the Patriots owner and was purchased from American. It is operated by Eastern which came out of bankruptcy as a much smaller company with only a handful of aircraft. It seems they have done quite a bit of Covid-related freight and repatriation work. Interesting, when operated transporting the team, the callsign is 'underdog'.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Ontario is reporting 1,588 cases of #COVID19 and over 38,400 tests completed.

More tests and fewer positives,, looking better but NOT TIME TO DECLARE VICTORY JUST YET!!

View attachment 320853

Your text and your image are contradictory.

 

[Quint]

I don’t think case counts is the metric to track in heavily vaccinated countries like the UK, but instead look at hospitalizations and deaths.

Exactly! ICU hospitalizations and deaths are the ONLY metrics that matter! Death rates have been plummeting and there is no evidence that ICU's are being overwhelmed. The number of people testing positive is not informative. The fact is many more asymptomatic people are being tested today than a year ago and we also know that the commonly used PCR tests have a very high false-positive rate.

Increased "cases" ≠ more hospitalizations and DEATHS

 

[Quint]

Another GTA plant is being expanded to be able to produce vaccines, up to 640M does of MRNA vaccines per annum, when complete in 2024.

200M in Federal dollars to help make it happen.

Ottawa is putting up almost $200 million to help a Mississauga company mass produce vaccines

The money covers about half of the cost of Resilience Biotechnologies’ expansion project that should give the company the capacity to crank out up to 640 million doses of mRNA vaccines every year.

www.thestar.com

The plant will only be completed in 2024 - three years from now. I am certain that long before 2024 the United States will be fully vaccinated (many times over) and will be more than happy to ship to Canada all of the Pfizer, ModeRNA and J&J vaccines that we need (and any other vaccine they have invented in the interim) .

Up until now the US has refused to share their vaccines with their neighbor to the North banning all exports of vaccines to Canada as well as all other countries (as Canadian's we should NEVER FORGET this! ).

Given the above I don't see how this 200M investment will help us. It seems like too little too late too say the least. A year ago the Trudeau government should have committed whatever it would take - committing BILLIONS even - to ensure that a covid vaccine would be manufactured IN CANADA and that we would not be at the mercy of our "friends" down south to share their supply

 

[Northern Light]

The plant will only be completed in 2024 - three years from now. I am certain that long before 2024 the United States will be fully vaccinated (many times over) and will be more than happy to ship to Canada all of the Pfizer, ModeRNA and J&J vaccines that we need (and any other vaccine they have invented in the interim) .

Up until now the US has refused to share their vaccines with their neighbor to the North banning all exports of vaccines to Canada as well as all other countries (as Canadian's we should NEVER FORGET this! ).

Given the above I don't see how this 200M investment will help us. It seems like too little too late too say the least. A year ago the Trudeau government should have committed whatever it would take - committing BILLIONS even - to ensure that a covid vaccine would be manufactured IN CANADA and that we would not be at the mercy of our "friends" down south to share their supply

I don't think anyone imagines this is the answer to Covid, belatedly.

Its arguably a way to address the next pandemic, by making sure we have the capacity to address such a situation in Canada.

Its also, arguably, an industrial strategy, as the plant will be able to make a wide range of vaccines both for the domestic and international markets.

****

Is it a sound strategy? What are the terms? Is the owner required to maintain that capacity indefinitely or for a fixed period of time?

What if they don't end up finding a market for their services in non-pandemic times? Will Ottawa subsidize or purchase that capacity?

Was 200M in Federal largess necessary to make it happen?

****

I would venture to say that securing this capacity is in our long-term interest as a nation; whether this was the manner or the deal by which that should be done is perhaps more debatable.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Exactly! ICU hospitalizations and deaths are the ONLY metrics that matter! Death rates have been plummeting and there is no evidence that ICU's are being overwhelmed.

In heavily vaccinated countries yes, but not in Canada, where ICU due to Covid are still at near record highs. Screen grabs from CBC below.

 

[lenaitch]

The plant will only be completed in 2024 - three years from now. I am certain that long before 2024 the United States will be fully vaccinated (many times over) and will be more than happy to ship to Canada all of the Pfizer, ModeRNA and J&J vaccines that we need (and any other vaccine they have invented in the interim) .

Up until now the US has refused to share their vaccines with their neighbor to the North banning all exports of vaccines to Canada as well as all other countries (as Canadian's we should NEVER FORGET this! ).

Given the above I don't see how this 200M investment will help us. It seems like too little too late too say the least. A year ago the Trudeau government should have committed whatever it would take - committing BILLIONS even - to ensure that a covid vaccine would be manufactured IN CANADA and that we would not be at the mercy of our "friends" down south to share their supply

Seeing as there was apparently no attention given to the matter of domestic drug production and security by either the various levels of government or general public prior to March 2020-ish, the federal government could have thrown the entire cookie jar at it and it still wouldn't have mattered. Designing, building and staffing this type of facility takes time. What is does do is better position us for a domestic supply, either for the 'next big one' or the array of other vaccines. One question is its ongoing commercial viability once the panic subsides. We need to view this as a matter of national security.