COVID live updates: Cases, hospitalizations continue to fall as Quebec reports 4 new deaths

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Updated throughout the day on Monday, May 9. Questions/comments: [email protected]

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top updates

11:25 a.m.

Chart: Current situation vs. one year ago

11:25 a.m.

Charts: Quebec cases, deaths

11:25 a.m.

Charts: Quebec’s vaccination campaign

11:10 a.m.

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Cases, hospitalizations continue to fall as Quebec reports 4 new deaths

Quebec has recorded 622 new cases of COVID-19, the provincial government announced this morning.

The case tally only includes people who received PCR tests at government screening clinics, an option Quebec has severely restricted since January. It does not accurately reflect the number of cases since it does not include the results of home rapid tests.

Today’s case count is the lowest since November.

Hospitalizations have fallen to their lowest point in a month.

The number of COVID-positive patients in intensive care units has gone up slightly in recent days but is still far below where it was in April.

Four new deaths were reported today, bringing the cumulative total to 15,143.

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Some other key statistics from Quebec’s latest COVID-19 update:

9:50 a.m.

COVID vaccine makers shift focus to boosters

From the Reuters news agency:

COVID-19 vaccine makers are shifting gears and planning for a smaller, more competitive booster shot market after delivering as many doses as fast as they could over the last 18 months.

Executives at the biggest COVID vaccine makers including Pfizer and Moderna said they believe most people who wanted to get vaccinated against COVID have already done so – more than 5 billion people worldwide.

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In the coming year, most COVID vaccinations will be booster shots, or first inoculations for children, which are still gaining regulatory approvals around the world, they said.

Pfizer, which makes its shot with Germany’s BioNTech, and Moderna still see a major role for themselves in the vaccine market even as overall demand declines.

Upstart US vaccine maker Novavax and Germany’s CureVac, which is working with GlaxoSmithKline, are developing vaccines they hope to target the booster market.

The roles of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, whose shots have been less popular or effective, are expected to decline in this market.

“It becomes a very competitive game with companies battling it out with pricing and for market share, even for vaccines that are considered to be the best, like Pfizer and Moderna,” said Hartaj Singh, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co.

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It is not known yet how many booster doses will be needed. Second booster shots are currently recommended in some countries for only a subset of the population.

It is also unclear if vaccine makers will sell a redesigned shot this fall and each fall afterward, as flu vaccine makers do to match circulating strains, and what impact they might have on waning demand.

Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an interview that adults who are still unvaccinated are unlikely to seek out shots now, more than two years into the pandemic.

It will be the “already vaccinated” who account for demand, Bourla said.

Moderna executives recently said those who would benefit from annual boosting include people over 50 and adults with other health risk factors or high-risk occupations, including healthcare workers.

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Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel estimated this population to be around 1.7 billion people or some 21 per cent of the global population.

Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, which make messenger RNA vaccines that can be updated somewhat quicker than those from competitors, said they are developing vaccines targeting the Omicron variant of the virus.

9:30 a.m.

Should Quebecers get a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine?

Healthy adults may be questioning whether they should bother getting a fourth shot now, since it’s widely expected it will be necessary to get another dose in the fall. At the same time, infection rates and hospitalizations are dropping in the province.

In the opinion of Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious-diseases specialist and medical microbiologist at the McGill University Health Center, getting a fourth shot makes good sense.

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“If you want to avoid the risk of getting moderately sick, this dose is for you,” he said. “In general, there is no known harm or safety issue in getting that fourth dose.

Read our full story, by René Bruemmer and Andy Riga.

9:30 a.m.

New motherhood during a pandemic: ‘In the COVID world, you do everything alone’

The Quebec Health Ministry offers support to new parents, but those services were restricted during much of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read our full story.

9:30 a.m.

Freed: COVID has brought new challenges for the dreamers on the Main

“If you’re looking for a new job where you’ll be fought over and appreciated like a Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist at NASA, now’s your chance — to be a waiter, chef, or store clerk.

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“Across Montreal, restaurant and store employees are impossible to come by as every store door screams ‘Help Wanted!’”

Read Josh Freed’s latest column.

9:30 a.m.

Opinion: In Ontario, after two years and 13,000 dead, it’s politics as usual

“If we’re going to learn the right lessons and act accordingly in the long term, we need somehow to keep these issues on the front burner.”

Read Chris Selley’s latest column.

9:30 a.m.

‘Like a prison’ – Shanghai, Beijing ratchet up COVID curbs

China’s two largest cities tightened COVID-19 curbs on Monday, fueling public angst and even questions about the legality of its uncompromising battle with the virus that has battered the world’s second-largest economy.

Read our full story.

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9:15 a.m.

Quebec COVID guide: Vaccinations, testing

vaccinations

testing

8:30 a.m.

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