Global National: Jan. 15, 2021 | COVID-19 vaccines delayed after manufacturing expansion

We’re still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and now the glimmer of hope the vaccines provide is a bit dimmer. The Canadian government has announced that shipments of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be reduced by 50 per cent over the next four weeks. It’s one of two vaccines being given to Canadians right now. The problem is a shortage of vaccine being produced at Pfizer’s manufacturing facility in Belgium, where Canada gets its doses. Pfizer, the government says, is pausing some of its manufacturing lines there so it can expand long-term manufacturing capacity. The biggest impact on Canada will be Jan. 25; its hope is shipments will be back on track by the end of February.

New faster spreading variants are now being detected in multiple countries, including in Canada. It’s not believed they lead to more severe illness, but they are much more contagious and cases could skyrocket in ways the health-care system is simply not prepared for. Mike Drolet reports.

Something is going on in Windsor, Ont. It has the fastest growing number of new COVID-19 cases in the province. It is right across from the United States border and today, the American Centres for Disease Control warned a much more contagious variant of COVID-19, the one first identified in the U.K., is projected to become the dominant source of infection by March. The head of the Windsor hospital fears that fast-spreading variant is in his city too. Erik Sorensen reports.

Saskatchewan’s top doctor is threatening to bring down a hammer of new health restrictions next week. The province continues to have the highest active cases per capita in Canada. Saskatchewan is averaging 313 new cases per day over the last week. There are fears that number could climb to over 1,600 cases per day by the end of this month. Ryan Kessler reports on the additional pressure this will have on the Saskatchewan health care system.

In Washington, D.C. prosecutors have formally walked backed their assertion made in court filings that the alleged Capitol rioters intended to capture and assassinate elected officials when they stormed the Capitol building. The acting attorney general in Washington, D.C. says there’s no evidence of catch and kill teams. The Washington Post reports that the violent mob of pro-Trump supporters came perilously close to finding Vice-President Mike Pence that day. Today the area around the Capitol is under intense security, five days before president-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. Jackson Proskow reports.

The pandemic is having an impact in all kinds of places. A new real estate report shows one in ten offices across the country is vacant, an indication of how many people are working from home. Robin Gill looks at what that means for business owners leasing rows of empty offices.

Over the four years President Trump has been in the White House, his support among Republicans has been nearly rock solid. Now, cracks appear to be developing. Some long time Republicans have had enough. Mike Armstrong is on the road in Pennsylvania and he’s been talking to some of them.

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