Today’s coronavirus news: NACI advice to mix vaccines gets varied reaction from AstraZeneca double-dosers; Quebec targets 18-to-39 age group with new incentives to get their shots - Toronto Star

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Friday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

9:40 a.m. There’s a big difference between a nod, and a nod with a smile.

Just ask Jess Cole, who’s worked as a bartender and server at Ottawa’s Chez Lucien for the past seven years.

A nod with a smile, she says, can put customers at ease. I see you, it might say, or I’ll get there as soon as I’m done with these other folks.

The nod alone, however — often the only option when you’re wearing a mask in the middle of a pandemic — can come across as curt and dismissive.

“It can be the difference between good service and bad service — that’s how it feels,” she says.

Read the full story from the Star’s Steve McKinley

9:20 a.m. Canadians are once again navigating a strange new normal.

Vaccines offer protection, but what are the rights of those who choose to not get jabbed?

When Erin Pepler, a Burlington, Ont. resident, recently booked massage therapist and osteopath appointments, vaccination status was on her mind.

“I didn’t really want to flat out ask if they’ve been vaccinated because it felt invasive, but my RMT freely shared this information during an appointment and it definitely made me feel much better about continuing treatment,” she said.

“There are high-risk individuals in my household. If a health-care worker told me they were unvaccinated by choice, I’d definitely question their judgment and consider finding a different practitioner.”

Read the full story from the Star’s Joanna Chiu

9:15 a.m. Toronto’s subway may have emptied out during the pandemic, but the system has been anything but quiet.

Despite ridership sinking to a fraction of normal levels after COVID-19 hit last spring, service disruptions caused by assaults against employees and customers jumped significantly, according to a Star analysis of publicly available TTC subway delay data.

The number of service interruptions attributed to other troubling behaviour like disorderly passengers and people walking on the tracks also rose.

The union representing subway operators reports incidents that have become more frequent include physical violence, verbal assaults, riders throwing drinks at workers, knife threats and spitting on operators.

Read the full story from the Star’s Ben Spurr

9:10 a.m. Many Americans are relaxing precautions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic and resuming everyday activities, even as some worry that coronavirus-related restrictions were hastily lifted, a new poll shows.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that majorities of Americans who were regularly doing so before the pandemic say they are returning to bars or restaurants, traveling and attending events such as movies or sports.

Just 21 per cent are very or extremely worried about a COVID-19 infection in their inner circle — the lowest level since the pandemic began — and only 25 per cent are highly concerned that the lifted restrictions will lead to additional people being infected in their community.

Andrea Moran, a 36-year-old freelance writer and mother of two boys, said she feels both relief and joy at the chance to resume “doing the little things,” such as having drinks on a restaurant patio with her husband.

“Honestly, I almost cried,” Moran said. “It’s such a feeling of having been through the wringer, and we’re finally starting to come out of it.”

Still, 34 per cent of Americans think restrictions in their area have been lifted too quickly, while somewhat fewer — 27 per cent — say they were not lifted quickly enough. About 4 in 10 rate the pace of reopening about right.

9 a.m. Spain got its most experienced player back at the European Championship on Friday.

The Spanish soccer federation said Sergio Busquets tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, so he was allowed back with the team after being in isolation since testing positive on June 6.

The Barcelona midfielder will be in Seville for Spain's match against Poland on Saturday, though he is not likely to play after not practicing regularly while in isolation.

Busquets received a warm welcome from his teammates, who lined up to wait for him at the entrance to the team's training center in Madrid. He hugged each one of them as they applauded.

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” Busquets said. “Thank you very much for all the messages expressing your concern. You made me feel like I was here even though I had to be at home for a few days. I'm very proud of all of you. We have a long road ahead of us but I'm certain that it will all be OK.”

Busquets said it was “almost impossible” to stay positive after hearing the news from the team doctors about his positive result.

“You start thinking if you are going to be OK, if you are going to be back in time," Busquets said. “There were a lot of questions without answers going through my mind during a difficult moment."

Spain opened its Euro 2020 campaign with a 0-0 draw against Sweden in Group E.

8:45 a.m. AstraZeneca is claiming victory in a court tussle with the European Union over allegations that the coronavirus vaccine-maker was not producing shots fast enough.

AstraZeneca said in a statement Friday that the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, had requested that the drug-maker deliver 120 million vaccine doses in total by the end of June 2021, but that a judge in Brussels ordered delivery of 80.2 million doses by 27 September 2021.

AstraZeneca was seen as a key pillar of the 27-member EU’s vaccine rollout. Its contract with the Commission foresaw an initial 300 million doses being distributed, with an option for another 100 million.

“The judgement also acknowledged that the difficulties experienced by AstraZeneca in this unprecedented situation had a substantial impact on the delay,” the company said.

“AstraZeneca now looks forward to renewed collaboration with the European Commission to help combat the pandemic in Europe.”

8:15 a.m. Much of Ashby Monk’s career has been devoted to one question — relatable, yet thorny: how do you get people to make better financial decisions?

Saving for retirement, for example, is hard. The options are confusing, there is a major cost — in that case, literal money — and the payoff can be so far away as to seem theoretical.

Then it hit him — give them a chance to win prize.

That’s the genesis story of Monk’s startup company, Long Game, which, through partnerships with banks, uses an app to reward customers for saving real money by giving them virtual coins that can be used to play games and, theoretically, win more (real) money.

That idea, of using something enjoyable — such as gambling — to convince people to do something less enjoyable — save for retirement — was also why the treasurer of the state of Oregon came knocking last spring.

Read the full story from the Star’s Alex Boyd

7:40 a.m. War, violence, persecution, human rights violations and other factors caused nearly 3 million people to flee their homes last year, even though the COVID-19 crisis restricted movement worldwide, the U.N. refugee agency said in a report Friday.

In its latest Global Trends report, UNHCR said the world's cumulative number of displaced people rose to 82.4 million — roughly the population of Germany and a new post-World War II record.

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations' high commissioner for refugees, said conflict and the fallout from climate change in places such as Mozambique, Ethiopia's Tigray region and Africa’s Sahel area were key drivers of refugees and internally displaced people in 2020.

Such factors added hundreds of thousands to the overall count, the ninth consecutive annual increase in the number of forcibly displaced people. The millions who have fled countries such as Syria and Afghanistan due to protracted wars or fighting have dominated the U.N. agency's tally for years.

“This is telling, in a year in which we were all locked down, confined, blocked in our homes, in our communities, in our cities,” Grandi said in an interview before the report's release. “Almost 3 million people have had to actually leave all that behind because they had no other choice.”

“COVID-19 seems to have had no impact on some of the key root causes that push people to flee, he said. “War, violence, discrimination, they have continued, no matter what, throughout the pandemic.”

UNHCR said 1 per cent of all humanity is now displaced, and there are twice as many forcibly displaced people than a decade ago. Some 42 per cent of them are under 18, and nearly 1 million babies were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020.

7:23 a.m. (updated) Toronto is opening 30,000 new COVID-19 vaccine appointments for next week at city-run immunization clinics.

The appointments for Moderna vaccine will go live in the provincial booking system for eligible adults “later today”, the city said in a news release Friday morning. No exact time was given.

Then, on Monday, another 60,000 Moderna appointments for eligible adults will open for the week starting June 28.

The new blocks of appointments are among several that have opened in recent days thanks to large new supplies of Moderna flowing into Canada, augmenting shipments of the other approved mRNA-technology vaccine, Pfizer.

Read the full story from the Star’s David Rider

5:55 a.m.: Canadians are once again navigating a strange new normal.

Vaccines offer protection, but what are the rights of those who choose to not get jabbed?

Ottawa says it is planning to lessen quarantine requirements for travellers who have had both jabs of any two-dose vaccine, but governments have not yet issued specific guidelines around the use of “vaccine passports” in private sectors of the economy.

To seek some clarity, the Star reached out to employment lawyers, labour boards and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Read the full story by the Star’s Joanna Chiu.

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5:36 a.m.: Israel said Friday it will transfer around 1 million doses of soon-to-expire coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for a similar number of doses the Palestinians expect to receive later this year.

Israel, which has reopened after vaccinating some 85% of its adult population, has faced criticism for not sharing its vaccines with the 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The agreement was announced by the new Israeli government that was sworn in on Sunday. It said it would transfer Pfizer vaccines that will expire soon, and that the PA would reimburse it with a similar number of vaccines when it receives them from the pharmaceutical company In September or October.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.

Israel has carried out one of the most successful vaccination programs in the world, allowing it to fully reopen businesses and schools. This week, authorities lifted the requirement to wear masks in public, one of the last remaining restrictions.

Rights groups have said that Israel, as an occupying power, is obliged to provide vaccines to the Palestinians. Israel denies having such an obligation, pointing to interim peace agreements reached with the Palestinians in the 1990s.

Those agreements say the PA, which has limited autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank, is responsible for health care but that the two sides should cooperate to combat pandemics. Israel has offered vaccines to the more than 100,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who work inside Israel, as well as Palestinians in east Jerusalem.

5:10 a.m.: With demand for first doses of COVID-19 vaccine lagging among the 18-to-39 age group, Quebec health officials are hoping incentives such as free hotdogs and the promise of prizes will encourage younger adults to get the shot.

While close to 80 per cent of eligible Quebecers have been vaccinated with at least one dose, some younger adult age groups are still slightly below the 75 per cent target.

On Thursday, government data showed that only about 4,100 first doses were given in the previous 24 hours to people between the ages of 18 and 39, who are being overtaken by the 12-to-17-year-old cohort.

In recent weeks, the province has been working to market the vaccine to younger adults through advertising and social media posts as well as walk-in clinics with extended hours, but it appears to be upping its efforts.

On Wednesday, the province announced that it would set up a clinic to vaccinate hockey fans gathering outside the Bell Centre for the next Montreal Canadiens playoff games and would even offer a free hotdog to those who get the shot.

At the same time, the Canadiens released a video of 20-year-old rookie Cole Caufield, who wears the number 22 and promised to give away 22 pairs of game tickets and 22 hockey jerseys to fans who show proof of vaccination.

Speaking outside the Bell Centre, Health Minister Christian Dubé said the initiatives are designed to reach the roughly 150,000 adults under the age of 40 who have yet to sign up for a shot.

"We’ll come to them," said the health minister, who donned a Caufield jersey for the occasion.

Other health authorities are also getting creative by offering music and zootherapy at vaccine sites, reaching out through Facebook and Instagram and offering extended hours at walk-in clinics.

5 a.m.: How people will be able to prove they’re fully vaccinated and skip quarantine at the border will become clear within days as Canada readies new health measures for some incoming travellers, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

The plan the federal government is set to unveil will be the first phase of a two-phase system.

Initially, Ottawa will rely on the provincial vaccination certificates that Canadians may already have, and ask inbound travellers to upload those into an app called ArriveCAN, Alghabra said Thursday.

By the fall, travellers will use an automated system that connects to “provincial databases, but respects the privacy of the individual,” he said.

The news comes as questions swirl around the federal government’s plan for vaccine passports, and how soon Ottawa will ease travel restrictions, including hotel quarantine requirements, for fully vaccinated people. Last week, there were indications ending the hotel quarantine would go into effect as early as the first week of July for some.

In an interview with the Star late Thursday, Alghabra said as soon as the government announces when restrictions can be eased, it will be ready with a proof-of-vaccine program.

Read the full story from the Star’s Tonda MacCharles and Stephanie Levitz.

4:55 a.m.: In the latest speed bump for what has been dubbed ‘Generation AZ,’ a national advisory council is recommending those who got AstraZeneca for their first vaccine dose switch teams to Pfizer or Moderna for their second.

The new guidelines were prompted by emerging evidence from Germany that suggests mixing doses might spark a stronger defence from your immune system, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said Thursday.

It’s also a decision likely spurred on by the rapid spread of the Delta variant, originally identified in India, which could be the most transmissible version of the virus Canada has seen yet.

Still, the decision has raised questions about the fate of more than half a million doses still unused, not to mention future shipments, and kicked up even more confusion for those people, many of them Gen Xers, who turned out in droves in recent months to roll up their sleeves for a vaccine that is no longer being recommended and has also since been linked to side effects that are very rare.

NACI also updated its previous recommendation to say that everyone should always get the mRNA vaccines first, unless they are allergic to them.

Read the full story from the Star’s Alex Boyd and Alyshah Hasham.

4:30 a.m.: When Gwenny Farrell booked her second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on the first day it became available, she said she believed she was doing the right thing.

The resident of White Rock, B.C., said she has tried to follow every health protocol and recommendation strictly, so her confidence has been shaken by a new recommendation from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization on mixing the vaccines.

On June 1, NACI had said AstraZeneca recipients “could” get Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for their second shot if they wanted, but on Thursday it went further to say an mRNA vaccine was the “preferred” choice.

“I’m frustrated because now, after being told for months that the best vaccine is the first one that’s in your arm, I’m being told I may have made a mistake,” Farrell, 55, said.

The new recommendation is drawing mixed reaction from those who’ve already received two jabs of AstraZeneca. Farrell is not alone in her disappointment, while others say they remain happy with their choice because they know it still means they are well protected against COVID-19.

The committee’s guidance is based on the growing supply of mRNA vaccines, growing evidence that a second dose of an mRNA vaccine produces a stronger immune response, and because of the low but serious risk of vaccine-induced blood clots associated with AstraZeneca.

Read the full story from The Associated Press.

4:05 a.m.: The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, June 18, 2021.

In Canada, the provinces are reporting 490,061 new vaccinations administered for a total of 30,867,925 doses given. Nationwide, 6,004,387 people or 16 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 81,447.266 per 100,000.

There were 607,230 new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 33,870,614 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 91.13 per cent of their available vaccine supply.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, June 18, 2021. Some provinces and territories do not report daily case numbers.

There are 1,406,253 confirmed cases in Canada.

Canada: 1,406,253 confirmed cases (13,444 active, 1,366,797 resolved, 26,012 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.

There were 1,114 new cases reported Thursday. The rate of active cases is 35.37 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 7,961 new cases reported. The seven-day rolling average of new reported cases is 1,137.

There were 12 new reported deaths Thursday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 139 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 20. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.05 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 68.44 per 100,000 people.

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Today’s coronavirus news: NACI advice to mix vaccines gets varied reaction from AstraZeneca double-dosers; Quebec targets 18-to-39 age group with new incentives to get their shots - Toronto Star
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