www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 12
Saturday, April 24, 2021
Canada is banning passenger flights from India and Pakistan amid Covid-19 surge
Pfizer offers vaccine to Indian govt at not-for-profit price The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 mRNA vaccine has been widely used in the United States and Europe for inoculating large populations and has a tested efficacy of around 95%. US pharma major Pfizer said on Thursday that it had offered a not-for-profit price for its vaccine to the government and was in talks with the administration to deploy its jab for India’s Covid-19 immunisation programme. The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 mRNA vaccine has been widely used in the United States and Europe for inoculating large populations and has a tested efficacy of around 95%. It is a two-dose vaccine but the company said last week that people may need a third dose within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated, which may be the case with others too as scientists attempt to understand the duration of immunity.
Canada is banning passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days amid concerns over rising Covid-19 cases and a new virus mutation, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. In the last two weeks, more than 100 international flights landing in Canada have carried at least one positive Covid-19 case on board, according to the federal government. At least 32 of those flights were from India.
Alghabra addressed the decision in a press conference on Thursday evening. “The Covid-19 pandemic can change rapidly,” he said on Thursday, citing rising pressure on the Canadian health-care system and the “continued spread of variants of concern.” “I am suspending all commercial and passenger flights arriving in Canada from India and Continued on page 6
Double mutant Covid-19 virus first identified in India is now in BC A Covid-19 variant linked to recordbreaking case numbers in India has been identified in B.C. In a prepared statement, a B.C. Ministry of Health official said that 39 cases of the double mutation known as B.1.617 had been found in the province. These cases were identified at the beginning of April but were not reported because “at the time,
Scientists invent new vaccine that can fight all forms, mutations and strains of Covid-19 In spite of the number of vaccinated people around the world rising significantly over the past few months, uncertainties about their ability in dealing with Covid-19 reinfections—especially those caused by variations and mutations of the novel coronavirus—persist. But now, researchers appear to have found a stone that kills all birds, in the form of a vaccine that may offer protection from all coronaviruses. By using an innovative approach, researchers Steven L. Zeichner from UVA Health and Xiang-Jin Meng from Virginia Tech have developed what could one day become a universal vaccine for coronaviruses.
B.1.617 had not been identified as a variant of concern or variant under investigation,” the spokesperson said. “B.C. was able to identify this lineage through whole genome sequencing. This is why B.C. has recently changed its surveillance strategy to ensure there is lab capacity to identify new and emerging variants.” Continued on page 3
BC budget projects billion dollar deficits in each of the next 3 years as part of Covid-19 recovery plan The B.C. government is projecting a $9.7 billion deficit in this year’s $69 billion budget — and additional deficits in the next two years — as the province recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic will end, but our work to provide a better future will not,” said Finance Minister Selina Robinson, who said the investments were necessary to ensure British Columbians had the supports and services they needed in an uncertain time.
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Punjabi smugglers among top 3 notorious gangs in Canada From drug trafficking to gang wars, extortion and money laundering, Punjabi smugglers figure among top three notorious gangs in Canada behind the biker gangs and Vietnamese groups. The Punjabi gangs have hogged international limelight these days with the Canada police claiming on Monday that they have broken a major drug cartel run mainly by Punjabis. Out of 33 persons charged for the possession of drugs and firearms besides huge currency and a gold-plated car, nearly 25 were of Punjabi origin. Though this is the biggest operation concerning the Punjabi community, reports
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reveal a number of smugglers were arrested earlier also, though never in such large numbers. Notably, Punjabi gangs are formed on clan basis. Gangs of Johals, Dhak-Duhre, Sanghera, Malhi-Buttar, and the Kangs feature regularly in drug seizures, gang wars and other criminal activities. One report from Canada said about 21 per cent of gangsters died in gang-wars or police operations since 2006 were of Punjabi region. Their activities are of high concern back home in Punjab as some of the gangs have been linked to either arrested or wanted smugglers.
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