The Tilbury Times

Tag: Public Health Agency of Canada

  • NACI recommends a3rd dose of vaccine for some immunocompromised people

    Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends a third dose for some immunocompromised individuals, while health authorities are still urging the rest of the population to receive both doses.
    In a update published Friday, NACI strongly recommends giving three doses of messenger RNA vaccine to  moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals in the permitted age groups.
    This could include, for example, people who have had an organ transplant, undergoing cancer treatments, or some HIV patients.
    At the same time, Dr. Teresa Tam, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada, is once again calling on Canadians who have not done so to get vaccinated.
    In a press briefing on Friday, she pointed out that although 85% of the eligible population has received a first dose and 78% of people are adequately vaccinated, significant gaps remain.

    Millions of Canadians still need to be vaccinated

    According to her, 7.3 million eligible people are still not adequately vaccinated. In addition, there are 4.8 million children too young to be vaccinated under the rules currently in force.
     There are still far too many people at risk of contracting the virus and spreadingit, said Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s Deputy Chief Public Health Officer at the same press briefing.
    He says that  if all goes well,some COVID-19 vaccines could be approved for under-12s towards the end of the year or early next year.
    On average, there are more than 3700 new cases and 18 additional deaths daily in the country at the moment, according to health authorities.
    Between the end of July and the end of August, unvaccinated people were 12 times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than adequately vaccinated people. They were also 36 times more likely to be hospitalized than the latter, says Dr. Tam.

  • Canadian health authorities now urge using 3-layer masks

    By Leon Sevunts
    The Public Health Agency of Canada is now recommending Canadians wear non-medical face masks made of three layers of materials, including a filter, as the number of coronavirus infections in the country continues to grow unabated.
    Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said to improve the level of protection that can be provided by non-medical masks or face coverings the federal agency has updated its recommendations.
    According to these new guidelines, two layers of the mask should be made of a tightly woven fabric, such as cotton or linen, and the middle layer should be a filter-type fabric, such as non-woven polypropylene fabric.
    “This is an additional recommendation, just to add another layer of protection,” Tam said.
    The Public Health Agency posted detailed instructions on making face coverings at home using readily available materials such as old T-shirts.
    “The science of masks has really accelerated during this particular pandemic. So we’re just learning again as we go,” Tam said.
    “I do think that because it’s winter, because we’re all going inside, we’re learning more about droplets and aerosols.”
    She also urged Canadians to wear well-fitted masks that cover the nose, mouth and chin.
    “I keep emphasizing the fit is one of the most important things,” Tam said. “It fits around your mouth, on your nose, and it has to cover your mouth and nose. So that’s really important.”
    On Tuesday, Canada reported more than 240,000 COVID-19 cases and 10,200 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, Tam said.
    There were more than 30,000 active cases across the country, with the majority of infections in Quebec and Ontario but with rapidly growing numbers in Western Canada as well.
    The pandemic situation in Atlantic and Northern Canada remained stable with only a handful of cases in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as in Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Prince Edward Island and the Arctic territory of Nunavut were the only two jurisdictions without any active cases of COVID-19.