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

B.C. is reporting 2,859 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 288,939 cases in the province.Note: The numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.There are currently 36,641 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 246,693 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 500 individuals are currently in hospital and 102 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:982 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 16,524697 new cases in Vanc

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

British Columbia's provincial health officer says the current wave of COVID-19 infections is expected to continue for several more weeks. Dr. Bonnie Henry says many people who have contracted the highly transmissible Omicron variant are fully vaccinated and their illness has been relatively mild. She says hospitalization rates are going up and those who are unvaccinated are at highest risk of requiring care. Dr. Henry says three people in their 20s and another in their 30s are currently in intensive care in B.C., and all of them are unvaccinated. She says seeing younger people in ICU is causi

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

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 6,966 new cases of COVID-19, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 283,841 cases in the province:Jan. 7-8: 2,573 new casesJan. 8-9: 2,287 new casesJan. 9-10: 2,106 new casesThere are 34,551 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 243,953 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 431 individuals are in hospital and 95 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:2,672 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 15,4911,067 new cases in Vancouver

B.C. is reporting 3,144 new cases of COVID-19, including six epi-linked cases, for a total of 276,875 cases in the province.There are 33,184 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 240,198 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 349 individuals are in hospital and 93 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:1,416 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 15,704483 new cases in Vancouver Coastal HealthTotal active cases: 9,449526 new cases in Interior HealthTotal active cases: 3,183244 new

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has announced that he and his wife welcomed a baby girl into the world on Monday, a day after his own birthday. The NDP leader tweeted the news, saying their ``powerful little girl'' is basically his ``birthday present for life.'' Singh and his wife, fashion designer Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu, were married in February 2018. Jagmeet Singh on Twitter: @gurkirankaur and I want to let you know that we welcomed the newest addition to our family on January 3rd, 2022. Our powerful little baby girl is basically my birthday present for life lol. Momma bear and baby are healthy and o

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube says he hopes to coerce unvaccinated people to get their first doses by bringing in new proof-of-vaccination rules at liquor and cannabis stores starting January 18th. Dube says more services will soon be added to the list for proof of vaccination requirements. He also says the health system is missing about 20-thousand workers who have been infected or exposed to the disease, and that the government is working with unions to find more staff to care for up to 2,500 COVID-19 patients. A provincial health-care research institute says that within two week