Global National: Dec. 9, 2020 | Canada green lights Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine

The first vaccine for COVID-19 will soon be on its way to Canada. Approval has been granted for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the first inoculations could happen as early as Monday. For weeks, Health Canada officials have been analyzing data from Pfizer's clinical trials, concluding it meets the department's stringent safety and efficacy quality requirements for usage in Canada. The first 30,000 doses ship later this week from Belgium. By the end of December, 249,000 doses are expected, and by the end of March, 4 million.

Not everyone will get the vaccine right away, as these first doses will go to 14 vaccination sites across the country. Most Canadians will have to be patient and other vaccine candidates are in the pipeline for approval, too. David Akin has our top story on Canada’s first dose of optimism.

In the U.K., thousands of people have already received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Some people have reported mild side effects like pain at the injection site and fatigue, which are not uncommon with vaccines. Two people in the U.K., both of them health care workers with histories of severe allergic reactions, did have an adverse allergic reaction to the drug. They have both since recovered, but U.K. regulators are advising people who have a history of severe allergies not to get the Pfizer-BioNtech shot. Canada is not going quite that far. Crystal Goomansingh reports.

Alberta’s premier is rejecting criticism he waited too long to impose tougher public health restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Masks are now mandatory, indoor and outdoor gatherings are banned and bars and restaurants have to move to take-out and delivery only. And we learned today, nearly 4,000 vaccine doses will go to ICU doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and long-term care staff in Alberta starting next Wednesday. As Heather Yourex-West reports, the system is at the brink right now.

The crisis in a remote First Nation community in Manitoba is a stark reminder vaccines are not here yet and the coronavirus is still spreading fast. More than 260 of the 1,300 people who live in the Shamattawa First Nation have now tested positive for COVID-19. It is a remote fly-in community, living conditions are cramped and the chief says his people need help. Mike Le Couteur reports.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the first COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. tomorrow. Cases are surging all over that country and more than 2,000 Americans are dying from the virus every day. Once a vaccine is approved, the challenge will be the logistics of delivering it and convincing enough Americans to take it. Jackson Proskow reports.

A new survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business shows Canadians only plan to spend a third of their holiday budget at small, local stores. Competing with the big box stores means having to get creative as Abigail Bimman explains.

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