Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Tuesday – CBC.ca

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Alberta is expanding COVID-19 booster eligibility to more vulnerable groups as the province battles a severe wave of infections that has strained its health-care system for weeks. Meanwhile, B.C. is makingthird doses available to a widergroup of immunocompromised people.

Starting Wednesday in Alberta,everyone who is75 years of age or older andFirst Nations, Inuit or Mtis people who are 65 or older can book a third dose of the vaccine, provided it has been six months since their last dose.

"We're doing this because older Albertans remain uniquely at risk and will benefit from more protection," Premier JasonKenneysaid atanews conference Tuesday.

The change means more than150,000Albertans will be eligible for booster shots by the end of October, he said.

Alberta reported663 new cases and26 additional deaths on Tuesday. There were 1,094 COVID-19 patients being treated in hospital, including 252 in intensive care.

The Canadian Armed Forces is preparing to send up to eight critical care nurses to help in the province's intensive care units.

Meanwhile, neighbouring B.C. has announced it willexpandthe group of immunocompromised people who are eligible for a third dose of the vaccine.

Third doses are already available for those in the province who arethemost clinically vulnerable, including people who have hadwhole organ transplants, bone marrow transplants and stem cell transplants, those with blood cancersand certain immune disorders.

During a news conference Tuesday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry saidthat those considered moderately to severely immunocompromisedwouldalso receive an invitation for a third dose. That group comprises approximately 100,000 people, she said.

Johnson & Johnson saysit has submitted data to the FDAfor emergency use authorization of a booster shot of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in people aged 18 years and older.

J&J on Tuesday said its submission includes data from a late-stagestudy that found a booster of its vaccine given 56 days afterthe primary dose provided 94 per centprotection against symptomaticCOVID-19 in the United States and 100 per centprotection against severedisease, at least 14 days after the booster shot.

The FDA has already authorized a booster dose of the vaccinedeveloped by Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTechfor 65-year olds and older, people at high risk of severedisease and others who are regularly exposed to the virus. Moderna submitted its application seekingauthorization for a booster shot of its two-dose vaccine lastmonth.

J&J said it plans to submit the data to other regulators,the World Health Organization and National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups to inform decision-making on localvaccine administration strategies, as needed.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has requestedemergency use authorization from U.S. regulators for its newtreatment to prevent COVID-19 for people who respond poorly tovaccines because of a weakened immune system.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker saidit included data in its filing with the Food and Drug Administration from a late-stage trial that showed its antibody therapy called AZD7442 reduced the risk of people developing any COVID-19 symptoms by77 per cent.

While vaccines rely on an intact immune system to developtargeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells, AZD7442 contains lab-made antibodies designed to linger in the body formonths to contain the virus in case of an infection.

A U.S. authorization for AZD7442 based on two antibodiesdiscovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the UnitedStates could be a major win for AstraZeneca, whose widely usedCOVID-19 vaccine has yet to be approved by U.S. authorities. Trial results on the AZD7442 therapy, first published inAugust, were taken three months after injection, but the company hopes it can tout the shot as a year-long shield as trialinvestigators will follow up with participants as far out as 15 months.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 235.6million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus-tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.8million.

In Asia,India's top court ordered state authorities to pay 50,000 rupees ($844 Cdn)as compensation for each death caused by COVID-19as a way to help families cope with the loss, according to its order reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

Singapore's Health Ministry reported 3,486 new cases of COVID-19, itshighest since the beginning of the pandemic, andnine new deaths.

China reported no new local COVID-19 casesfor the first time in more than three weeks.

In Europe,the number of new infections in Romania exceeded 15,000 in the past 24 hours and there were no available intensive care beds, the government said.

Coronavirus deaths in Russia have reached a new highfor the third time this month at 895, and new cases have exceeded 25,000 a day as vaccination rates in the country remain low.

Meanwhile, Norway and Portugalhave become the latest countries to announce they will start administering COVID-19 booster shots to people ages 65 and older.

In the Americas, New York State's largest health-care provider has fired1,400 employees who refused to get vaccinations.Meanwhile, a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for teachers and other staff members has taken effect in New York City's million-plus-student public school system.

In Africa, South Africa reported429 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 39 deaths on Monday.President Cyril Ramaphosa eased restrictions to the country's lowest alert level last week,afterthe National Institute for Communicable Diseases said the country had exited its third and worst COVID-19 wave.

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