Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Saturday - CBC.ca

The latest:

• Have a coronavirus question or news tip for CBC News? Email: COVID@cbc.ca.

Canada's chief public health officer says there is an urgent need for more people between 18 and 39 to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to reduce the impact of the delta variant.

"This is a crucial moment," Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday at her first in-person COVID-19 briefing since Aug. 12.

"We have a window of opportunity to rapidly accelerate vaccine uptake and close the protection gap in younger age groups."

The number of cases in Canada each day grew from about 700 in early August, to almost 3,500 now. The vast majority of cases are among unvaccinated individuals, with Tam saying unvaccinated people are 12 times more likely to be infected and 36 times more likely to be hospitalized if they get infected.

New modelling released Friday showed if the current rate of transmission of COVID-19 remains the same, Canada could see more than 15,000 new cases a day by the beginning of October.

WATCH | Health officials project grim 4th wave if vaccinations don't increase:

Health officials project grim 4th wave if vaccinations don’t increase

12 hours ago

The Public Health Agency of Canada released new modelling that suggested a fourth wave could again overwhelm hospitals and put Canadians at risk. The hyper-contagious delta variant leaves provinces with limited options: either raise the vaccination rate or increase restrictions. 2:38

That would be almost twice the 8,500 daily cases Canada was seeing on average at the height of the third wave, though so far hospitalizations are not rising as quickly as they did in the spring.

"But of course, we can do something about a resurgence," Tam said.

It doesn't have to mean lockdowns, she said, which nobody wants. Tam said more vaccinations — particularly among younger adults — and provincial governments using targeted measures such as public mask mandates and capacity limits, should do it.

"This seems like we said the same thing last fall but we now have vaccines as a critical tool," said Tam.

More than three-quarters of Canadians over the age of 12 are now fully vaccinated. Tam said to keep the more infectious delta variant from overwhelming our health-care systems that number needs to climb above 80 per cent, particularly in younger age groups with the lowest vaccine uptake and the highest infectious rates.

WATCH | Large number of unvaccinated Albertans causing problems, says premier:

Large number of unvaccinated Albertans causing severe problems, says premier

18 hours ago

The delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading quickly in Alberta and causing an increase in severe illness, primarily among the unvaccinated, says Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. 1:08

Health Canada data shows there are 7.9 million Canadians at least 12 years old who aren't yet fully vaccinated and half of them are between 18 and 39.

Tam said raising vaccine uptake in that age group is the most critical because young people tend to have more close contacts. They also account for the most infections. National data shows 44 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in July and August were in people between 20 and 39 years old, while they make up 27 per cent of the total population.

Another 1.6 million Canadians between 18 and 39 need to get fully vaccinated to hit 80 per cent. Another 216,000 people in their 40s, and 318,690 kids between 12 and 17 need to get vaccinated for those groups to hit 80 per cent. Everyone over 50 has already hit that target.

Tam said she'd love that to happen by Labour Day, but since that's extremely unlikely, she said it should happen as soon as possible after that, because of people heading back indoors during the fall.

---

What's happening across Canada

WATCH | How does Quebec's vaccination passport really work?

How does Quebec's vaccination passport really work? We tested it out

2 days ago

Verity Stevenson headed out in Montreal on the first day of the new measures and has a practical guide to how it all works. 2:54

• Waterloo region sees a spike in vaccinations after Ontario passport announcement.

---

What's happening around the world

WATCH | Anthony Fauci on what it will take to get America vaccinated:

Anthony Fauci on what it will take to get America vaccinated

11 hours ago

Andrew Chang sits down with Dr. Anthony Fauci to discuss the latest vaccination push in the United States and what it will take to get some 80 million Americans inoculated. 6:05

As of Saturday morning, more than 219.8 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.5 million.

In Asia, India reported 42,618 new COVID-19 infections and 330 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 32.9 million and 440,225 deaths, the country's health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

In Africa, there have been almost eight million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 196,000 deaths attributed to the illness, the World Health Organization's regional director for the continent said this week.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti said Africa accounts for just two per cent of the over five billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine given globally.

"This percentage, I'm afraid, hasn't shifted in months," she said.

A lab technician holds a vial of China's Sinovac vaccine, produced by the Egyptian company VACSERA, in Cairo on Sept.1. Egypt plans to manufacture one billion Sinovac doses annually under a deal with the Chinese pharmaceutical company. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

In the Americas, some cities in Brazil are providing booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, even though most people have yet to receive their second jabs, in a sign of the concern in the country over the highly contagious delta variant.

Rio de Janeiro, currently Brazil's epicente for the variant and home to one of its largest elderly populations, began administering the boosters ib Wednesday. Northeastern cities Salvador and Sao Luis started on Monday, and the most populous city of Sao Paulo will begin Sept. 6.

The rest of the nation will follow the next week.

Adblock test (Why?)

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Saturday - CBC.ca
Read More