Health Canada's chief medical adviser says a decision on Pfizer's antiviral treatment for COVID-19 is expected in seven to 10 days.But Supriya Sharma says the department reached out to Pfizer asking for shipments of the drug before approval, using regulations that allow medications approved elsewhere to be used in Canada when there is an urgent health need.Sharma says the company said no because it didn't have any supply to send.Canada has a contract to buy one million doses of Paxlovid but Pfizer spokeswoman Christina Antoniou says information on shipments to Canada won't be provided until H

Only days before Canadian truck drivers were required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to get into the country or face quarantine, the federal government is backing away from the vaccine mandate. The new rule will still take effect for American truckers starting this weekend, with drivers being turned away at the border unless they've been inoculated. But a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency told The Canadian Press late Wednesday that unvaccinated Canadian truck drivers, or those who have had only one dose, will not have to quarantine. The head of the Canadian Trucking Allia

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he needs to see more details before taking a stance on Quebec's plan to levy a financial penalty against people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Trudeau told reporters today in Ottawa he wants to see how the Quebec proposal balances people's rights with the state's goal of protecting them from the disease. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday he planned to make the unvaccinated pay a ``significant'' financial penalty. Legault said people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 occupy a disproportionate number of hospital beds and should be re

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russia may face further Western sanctions as a consequence of its military build up on the Ukrainian border. And Trudeau strongly suggests today that Canada will renew its modest commitment of 200 Canadian Forces personnel to a NATO training mission in Ukraine, amid rising tensions between the West and Russia. The Ukrainian government has been waiting on Canada to publicly renew the commitment, set to expire at the end of March, as part of show of NATO solidarity toward Russia at a time of rising tensions. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his ca

Ontario's health minister says more than 1,200 internationally-trained nurses have expressed interest in working in the province. Christine Elliott says they will be matched with workplaces later this week. The jobs would be in both hospitals and care homes. Elliot says the province now has a total of nearly 2,500 intensive care unit beds and about 600 ICU beds remain available today, with the ability to add nearly 500 additional beds if required. Elliot says this initiative will help in addressing the staff shortage issue the health system has been grappling with during the COVID-19 pandemic

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says adult residents who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will be charged a financial penalty. Legault made the announcement to reporters today in Montreal, adding that the levy will only apply to people who do not qualify for medical exemptions.It is the first time a government in Canada has announced a financial penalty for people who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.Legault says the amount of the penalty hasn’t been decided but will be "significant."He says about 10 per cent of adults in Quebec are unvaccinated but they represent about 50 p

Justin Trudeau says Canada will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for all those eligible to receive a fourth dose if needed. The prime minister spoke with provincial and territorial leaders yesterday, and a statement issued by his office says he assured them Canada has secured enough shots for a third and potential fourth round of vaccinations. The statement says Ottawa will do all it can to help provinces and territories cope with the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as infections fuelled by the Omicron variant threaten to overwhelm health systems. The federal government has said provinces

COVID-19 cases are threatening to overwhelm hospitals in several parts of Canada, with hospitalizations nearing or reaching record highs in Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick. Former CEO of the University Health Network and Ontario deputy health minister Dr. Bob Bell says every Western country dealing with COVID's fast spreading Omicron variant has a stressed hospital system right now. But he says Canada will pursue lockdowns and restrictions sooner than places such as the United States because Canada has a lower tolerance for deaths from the virus. Meanwhile, students in British Columbia a

Canada's chief public health officer says the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is causing an "enormous" volume of cases. In a news conference this morning, Dr. Theresa Tam said the average daily case count has increased 65 per cent from last week.Tam says testing capacity is challenged in many areas of the country, but public health officials continue to use other indicators to measure the progress of the virus. Dr. Theresa Tam said the new variant is now "predominating and widespread" in much of the country.Tam says the portion of laboratory tests coming back positive is estimated at 29 per cent,