British Columbia health officials say they've added a senior official to the province's immunization response team to help with the program as it gets more complex. Dr. Penny Ballem will be the executive lead and work with the health minister and other officials to ensure the province is ready for community immunization when the vaccine supply is more readily available in April. So far, 63,430 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C. and officials say work is underway to align the available supply with a person's level of risk. The province is reporting 519 new cases of COVID-19 and 12

A majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump on a single count of inciting an insurrection. The historic vote, which included 10 Republicans voting in favour with a handful of votes still outstanding, makes Trump the first president in American history to be impeached a second time. It may also be the swiftest such proceeding in the history of Congress, coming just one week after a horde of angry Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill. Several Republicans, including third-ranking House Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, voted with their Democr

Air Canada says it will cut 1,700 jobs as it scales down flights for the first quarter of 2021.The 25 per cent reduction in service will also affect 200 employees at Air Canada's Express carriers, the company said Wednesday morning. With the reduction, Air Canada's capacity in the first quarter of 2021 will be about 20 per cent of its capacity during the first quarter of 2019, the company says.Lucie Guillemette, Air Canada's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement that increased travel restrictions by federal and provincial governments have had an immediate

British Columbia health officials say staying active and connected is important for physical and mental well-being despite the challenges of COVID-19. In a news release Tuesday, they say people have learned and adapted to the changing pandemic. The advice to stay active comes as officials reported 446 new COVID-19 cases and nine more deaths. Health officials also reported a new health-care facility outbreak at Mount St. Joseph's Hospital. The total number of COVID-19 infections in the province now stands at 58,553 with 1,019 deaths. To date, 62,294 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine in B

The Ontario government is ordering residents to stay at home starting just after midnight Thursday morning. There are exceptions for essential activities such as accessing health care or shopping for groceries. Premier Doug Ford says he's also declaring another state of emergency effective immediately in response to surging COVID-19 infection rates.Ford announced the restrictions shortly after the province released new projections that show the virus is on track to overwhelm Ontario's health-care system. Ontario releases new modelling New modelling shows that without any changes, Ontario's he

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government has reached a deal with Pfizer to buy an extra 20 million doses of the vaccine it produced with its German partner BioNTech. He says that means Canada will receive 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year. He also says that between now and sometime between April and June, Canada will have enough doses to vaccinate up to 20 million people against the deadly coronavirus. Trudeau is also announcing the Canada-U. S. land border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least Feb. 21. It's another 30-day extension to the re

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has conducted a small shuffle of his ministers before holding up later in the day for a cabinet retreat to plot strategy for the resumption of Parliament. The shuffle is due to the departure of Navdeep Bains, who stepped down as innovation minister Tuesday and is not intending to run again in the next election. In the first virtual swearing-in ceremony in Canadian history, Francois-Philippe Champagne shed his title as foreign minister to take up Bains' former role, while ex-transport minister Marc Garneau moved into Champagne's old job. Toronto-area MP Omar Algha

British Columbia's top doctor says the first dose of a vaccine for COVID-19 gives "amazing" immunity, so the government's decision to allow for a 35-day gap before the second dose is administered is rooted in science. Dr. Bonnie Henry's statements come as B.C. recorded a grim milestone Monday, reaching 1,000 COVID-19 related deaths. She says the decision to delay the second shot is about maximizing the vaccines' distribution, while balancing the supply and making sure the province has a safe and effective immunization program. Dr. Henry says the first dose primes the immune system while the s

US president-elect Joe Biden has received his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. It comes three weeks after the 78 year old got his first dose with television cameras rolling in an attempt to reassure the American public. Biden got his first dose of vaccine in December last year. Speaking in Newark, Delaware, Biden says too many people are losing their lives to COVID-19. Biden says his top priority is "getting vaccines in people's arms" as quickly as possible.