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Office staff go through plus 15 in downtown Calgary on Thursday, March 10, 2022. Photo by Gavin Young / Postmedia
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Alberta expands Paxlovid suppliers as COVID hospitalizations continue to grow
Alberta’s Chief Health Officer Dr. Dinah Hinshaw provides up-to-date information on COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. Photo: Chris Schwartz / Government of Alberta
Doctors, practicing nurses and pharmacists in Alberta will now be able to prescribe COVID-19 Paxlovid in an attempt to make the drug more readily available.
Health Minister Jason Kopping announced during COVID’s weekly provincial update Wednesday that availability will expand beyond the centralized line of access to health services in Alberta.
Paxlovid helps to stop the progression of COVID infections to more severe symptoms in people who are at higher risk, potentially preventing hospital stays. But the drug should be taken within five days after the first symptoms, so anyone who can take advantage of it should be able to get it quickly.
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Some people eligible to take Paxlovid complain that they have had trouble getting it, and some doctors are critical that too much of the supply is on the shelves.
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The degree of positivity, wastewater levels continue to fall: Copping
Secretary of Health Jason Kopping. Photo by Darren Makovichuk / Postmedia, file
During an update on COVID-19 on Wednesday, Health Minister Jason Kopping said positivity levels and wastewater levels continued to decline in the province.
He also said that while wastewater is still high in Calgary, officials see what is seen as the beginning of a decline.
“It’s too early to say for sure,” he said. “However, most other sites have been dropped for at least a week. Most are down sharply or fluctuate well below their peaks. “
Koping said the province appears to be passing the peak of BA.2 circulation, with less impact than BA.1.
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“(This) is thanks to the vaccine and the previous exposure,” he said. “But the number of hospital admissions is still growing and they will continue to rise for a few more weeks.”
During his update, Koping said hospitals remain under significant stress. He said the equivalent of another winter peak in the province was in the province.
Separate changes to access to the COVID-19 Paxlovid treatment option have been announced separately. Koping said Paxlovid can now be evaluated and prescribed to Alberts directly by a family doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist.
“We are making these changes to help more Albert residents gain access to Paxlovid,” he said. “But let me remind you, the clinical criteria are based on an expert assessment of the risks and benefits of the drug. They shall be based on evidence and these criteria shall remain valid. “
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Alberta reported 5,735 new cases, 69 deaths over a seven-day period
Here are the COVID-19 numbers published today by Alberta Health, covering a seven-day period from April 26 to May 2:
- The province reported 5,735 new cases of COVID-19 in seven days through 25,568 completed tests.
- 1,267 people are in hospital with COVID-19, an increase of 47 from April 27. There are 46 people in the intensive care unit, which is a decrease of one from April 27.
- There were 69 other COVID-related deaths reported to Alberta’s health services, bringing the total to 4,321 since the start of the pandemic. As of January 1, 1,006 deaths have been reported in Alberta.
- The two-dose vaccination rate in Alberta for the population aged 12 and over is 86.9 percent.
Hospitalizations continue to rise slightly in Alberta
Rockyview General Hospital in Southwest Calgary on Thursday, December 10, 2020. Photo: Brendan Miller / Postmedia
Kopping, Hinshaw, will give information about the province at 3:30 p.m.
Alberta Secretary of Health Jason Kopping. Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia, file
Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dean Hinshaw and Health Secretary Jason Kopping will present their weekly update at 3:30 p.m.
Expect the latest figures plus details on how the province is handling the spread of COVID-19.
You can watch the live broadcast by clicking on the video below once the press conference has started.
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Quebec ends its mandate for COVID-19 masks on May 14
Server carries a customer order at a restaurant in Montreal, Sunday, June 6, 2021. Photo: Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS
A senior Quebec public health official said on Wednesday that the peak of the sixth wave of the pandemic had passed and the province was ready to end its mandate for indoor public masks on May 14th.
“All indicators are down, be it the number of cases, the number of health workers who are positive (for COVID-19), the number of hospitalizations,” interim director of public health Dr Luke Boalo told reporters in Quebec City. “The whole portrait is getting better and better.”
Boalo said camouflage would remain mandatory on public transport and health facilities. It will also be recommended in nursing homes and other facilities that may be home to vulnerable people.
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“The virus doesn’t leave us on the 14th,” Boalo warned. “He will continue to be there.”
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Moderna sees higher sales of COVID vaccines later this year
In this file, taken on December 15, 2021, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine awaits administration at a vaccination clinic in Los Angeles. Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images / Files
Moderna Inc on Wednesday predicts higher vaccine sales in the second half of the year than in the first six months, as it expects the virus that causes COVID-19 to follow a more seasonal model that requires booster vaccines in the fall.
The US vaccine maker is developing a potential next-generation booster targeting both the Omicron variant and the original coronavirus strain, hoping to create broader protection.
“The desired characteristics of the autumn-winter booster in the northern hemisphere, which we believe will be that it improves the durability of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron,” said Moderna President Stephen Hoge.
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Beijing is tightening restrictions on COVID as the virus spreads in China
A health worker takes a sample from an elderly woman to be tested for Covid-19 on an impromptu testing site in front of a street museum in Beijing on May 4, 2022. Photo by JADE GAO / AFP via Getty Images
Beijing closed dozens of subway stations and bus routes and extended COVID-19 restrictions to many public places on Wednesday, focusing on avoiding the fate of Shanghai, where millions have been severely blocked for more than a month.
Central Zhengzhou also earlier announced restrictions, joining dozens of major settlements in some form of blockade as China seeks to eliminate a virus believed to have first appeared in Wuhan at the end of the year. 2019
But this uncompromising battle is undermining its growth and hurting international companies invested there, data show, and also fueling rare public outbursts of discontent.
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Tuesday
Educators face constant stress as schools celebrate Mental Health Week
Calgary Education Board Headquarters along 8th St. and 12th Ave. SW. Tuesday, January 25, 2022. Brendan Miller / Postmedia
As school boards celebrate Mental Health Week from May 2nd to 8th, teachers face high levels of stress amid continuing staff shortages and there is no clear path to addressing them.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association says that even as the province moves into an endemic phase of COVID-19, the pandemic still affects schools, creates high levels of absenteeism and creates stress within a system that continues to burden staff and students.
“There is a serious shortage of subordinates and teachers in many jurisdictions across the province,” said ATA President Jason Schilling.
“The pandemic is still with us, teachers are getting sick, schools can’t get the subtitles they need, so everyone is fighting.
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“It increases stress levels and affects classroom learning.”
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Tuesday
Two new sub-variants of COVID seem to be evading natural immunity
The coronavirus mutation is ongoing as the population’s immunity grows. Photo by Getty Images
In the last week, cases of a new variant of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 have tripled in South Africa, two cases have occurred in the United States and others have occurred in Denmark, Scotland and England. While BA.4 is making its way to other countries, BA.5 has …
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