The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Friday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

2 p.m. The Olympic swim trials start Saturday in Toronto’s Pan Am Sports Centre after cancellation in 2020 and a pair of postponements in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now that trials is finally happening, it’s really exciting right now,” said backstroker Marcus Thormeyer of Delta, B.C.

The five-day trials without spectators conclude Wednesday, which is a month out from the July 23 opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Swimmers collected six medals in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, which accounted for almost a third of Canada’s 22 medals there.

Toronto’s Penny Oleksiak led the charge with freestyle gold and butterfly silver at age 16. She also anchored the women’s freestyle relay teams to a pair of bronze medals.

Just over 180 swimmers were invited from 64 clubs to race for spots on the 2021 Olympic team under pandemic protocols and restrictions at the Pan Am Sports Centre.

The top two finishers in each event, who must also swim ‘A’ qualifying times, earn the right to race in Tokyo.

Swimming Canada high-performance director John Atkinson predicts a team of roughly 25 swimmers will be named next week.

Athletes and their coaches, and Swimming Canada, ran a pandemic gauntlet to these trials dating back to 2020.

The swimmers were at a final staging camp in Florida for April trials when COVID-19 descended upon the world and ultimately postponed the 2020 Tokyo Games to 2021.

This year’s trials in April were postponed to May and again to June as Ontario grappled with high rates of infection.

1:50 p.m. The Palestinian Authority called off an agreement whereby Israel would transfer 1 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to it in exchange for a similar number later this year, hours after the deal was announced on Friday.

The Palestinians said the doses, which Israel began shipping to the occupied West Bank, are too close to expiring and do not meet their standards. In announcing the agreement, Israel had said the vaccines “will expire soon” without specifying the date.

Palestinian officials had come under heavy criticism on social media after the agreement was announced, with many accusing them of accepting subpar vaccines and suggesting they might not be effective.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which had largely shut down for the weekly Sabbath.

Israel said Friday it would transfer around 1 million doses of soon-to-expire coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for a similar number of doses the Palestinians expect to receive later this year.

Israel, which has fully reopened after vaccinating some 85 per cent of its adult population, has faced criticism for not sharing its vaccines with the 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

1:45 p.m. Premier Doug Ford has dumped five ministers, moved eight others, and promoted seven backbenchers in a major cabinet shuffle with less than year to go before the next election.

Ford said Friday his Progressive Conservative government needed an overhaul as Ontario emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, so he is returning former finance minister Rod Phillips to cabinet in the key role of minister of long-term care.

“Our renewed team is well-positioned to deliver on the priorities that matter to Ontarians, including getting more people back to work, making life more affordable, supporting businesses and job creators, and building transit infrastructure,” the premier said in a statement after the first virtual cabinet shuffle in Ontario history.

Read the full story from the Star’s Robert Benzie and Rob Ferguson

1:25 p.m. New Brunswick is reporting three new cases of COVID-19 Friday.

All are in the Fredericton area and involve two people in their 70s and one person in their 80s who are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

The province has 54 known active cases.

Six people are in hospital, including two in intensive care as a result of the infection.

1:15 p.m. Ontario says residents who got a first shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can still opt to get it as their second dose.

The province’s position comes after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said Thursday that people who got AstraZeneca as a first shot should get the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines as a second dose.

The guidance was updated because of evidence of a stronger immune response with that mix of doses and a lower risk of rare but serious blood clots.

Ontario said Friday that it will still allow AstraZeneca recipients to decide whether to get the same vaccine or a different mRNA shot as a second dose.

“If you had AstraZeneca for your first dose, you can safely take either AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer for your second dose for strong protection,” Alexandra Hilkene, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a statement.

“To ensure maximum protection against COVID-19 and the Delta variant, Ontarians should get vaccinated as soon as they can and book their second dose as soon as they are eligible.”

12:45 p.m. Nova Scotia is reporting 11 new cases of COVID-19 Friday.

Health officials say nine cases have been identified in the Halifax area and two in the eastern health zone which includes Cape Breton.

The province has 93 active cases with six people in hospital, including three in intensive care as a result of the infection.

As of Thursday, 752,599 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered with 73,600 people having received their booster shot.

12:10 p.m. Ottawa is sending more soldiers to a First Nation gripped by an outbreak of COVID-19 in northern Ontario.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government approved the deployment of Canadian Rangers to Kashechewan in late May, and the army will remain in the community until at least the end of June.

Well over 200 people are infected in the First Nation, and more than half of them are under the age of 12.

As of Wednesday, the federal government said 15 Canadian Rangers, 15 nurses and three paramedics were on site — double the normal numbers.

Trudeau didn’t say how many more people will be sent to Kashechewan.

But he says they’re helping with “everything from isolation sites to delivering food.”

He made the announcement this morning from his home, where he’s self-isolating after returning from the G7 summit in the U.K.

12:05 p.m. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney will deliver an update today on COVID-19 health rules, with the province on the cusp of fully reopening its economy.

Kenney has said Alberta needs 70 per cent of those eligible for vaccination to receive at least one dose in order to safely lift all restrictions.

That number was at 69.9 per cent in yesterday’s update.

Restrictions would lift two weeks after the 70 per cent mark, putting Alberta’s official reopening date in early July.

It would also make Alberta the first Canadian province or territory to return to near normal pre-COVID community activity.

Alberta has administered nearly 3.6 million vaccine doses to those aged 12 and older, and almost one-quarter of those eligible have had the required two shots.

12 p.m. Quebec is reporting 127 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Health officials say hospitalizations decreased by three to 175, while 39 people were listed in intensive care, a drop of two.

The province added 103,391 doses to its tally for more than 7.15 million shots administered since the campaign began.

There are 1,505 active cases in the province.

11:40 a.m. (will be updated) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is getting millions more Moderna doses; more than 50 million vaccine doses will have arrived in total by the end of June and by the end of July, 68 million doses will have arrived.

11:10 a.m. The Montreal Canadiens say interim head coach Dominique Ducharme has been sent home and is isolating following irregularities in COVID-19 testing.

The Canadiens cancelled Ducharme’s pre-game news conference on Friday.

The club says it will provide another update before Game 3 of the NHL semifinal against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night at the Bell Centre.

The Canadiens say Ducharme will undergo further tests before the game.

The club says Ducharme received his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine on June 9.

10:25 a.m. (updated) The Canadian government has decided to extend restrictions on non-essential international travel and will keep in place Canada-U.S. border controls on until July 21, the public safety minister says.

Bill Blair posted the announcement on Twitter, hours before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was to address reporters, in quarantine at his Rideau Cottage after returning from a trip to the United Kingdom, and Brussels, earlier this week.

“The government is planning measures for fully vaccinated Canadians, permanent residents, and others who are currently permitted to enter Canada and will provide further details on Monday June 21,” said Blair.

“Our number one priority as we fight COVID-19 is keeping Canadians safe. In coordination with the U.S., we are extending restrictions on non-essential international travel and with the United States until July 21st, 2021.”

Read the full story from the Star’s Tonda MacCharles

10:20 a.m. The arrival of new refugees and asylum-seekers dropped steeply in most parts of the world last year.

According to the UN Refugee Agency’s annual global trends report, released Friday, there were 1.5 million fewer people who fled their homelands in 2020 than forecast.

However, that’s not because the world was anymore peaceful. The door to newcomers was often just shut.

Lockdowns, travel restrictions and border closures imposed worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic have not only prevented many from fleeing war and persecution, but also greatly impeded humanitarian efforts to resettle and repatriate those who are displaced.

Read the full story from the Star’s Nicholas Keung

10:15 a.m. Italy has introduced a five-day quarantine and mandatory testing for travelers coming to the country from the U.K., as new COVID-19 variants threaten Britain’s attempts to reopen its economy.

Current measures banning arrivals from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been extended, while travelers holding a so-called Green Pass from the European Union, U.S., Canada or Japan will be allowed to enter Italy, Health Minister Roberto Speranza wrote in a Facebook post on Friday.

With the move announced Friday, Italy joins European peers like Germany and France in curtailing travel from the U.K., but also goes much further in a move that could essential drive those sun-seekers elsewhere in Europe, where there are fewer restrictions.

What airlines will be take note of is that the restrictions apply also to vaccinated travelers arriving from Britain, the Italian Health Ministry clarified.

France has set quarantines for most non-vaccinated travelers from the U.K., while Germany has not included Britain in a list of countries it no longer classifies as travel risk areas, including Belgium, France and Switzerland.

10:10 a.m. (will be updated) Ontario is reporting 345 COVID-19 cases, 1 death. The seven-day average is down to 411 cases per day or 20 weekly per 100,000 and down to 8.4 deaths per day. Labs are reporting 26,643 completed tests and a 1.4 per cent positivity rate.

10:08 a.m. The European Union lifted travel restrictions for U.S. residents, in the latest step toward restoring lucrative transatlantic airline routes despite concerns over the spread of potentially dangerous coronavirus variants.

Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, North Macedonia, Serbia and Taiwan were also added to a so-called “white list” of countries from which nonessential travel is allowed. The new rules will take effect within days, as soon as they are published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Some EU countries already allow vaccinated Americans to visit. Inclusion in the white list means restrictions on fully inoculated U.S. residents will now be lifted across the bloc. Member states also have leeway to grant entry to unvaccinated visitors from white-listed places without requiring a quarantine.

The move will provide a boost for major American carriers like United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. that fly the world’s most profitable routes alongside European peers Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Long-distance travel, a segment laden with premium customers paying for business- and first-class seats, has been hit hard by restrictions brought on by the pandemic.

10 a.m. No need yet to fill the car with the essentials for a beach vacation in Maine. The Canada-U.S. border will not reopen on June 21, despite pressure from the business community and a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases on both sides of the border.

Several government sources have confirmed to La Presse that the reopening will not take place this month. Even if the vaccination campaign is going well. Even if the mayors of Canadian cities along the border and American senators are clamouring for the border to reopen.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefly discussed the issue with United States President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in the United Kingdom. No decisions have been shared from the exchange. But in Ottawa, the case is clear: “There will be no change at the border,” said a senior source who requested anonymity.

9:40 a.m. There’s a big difference between a nod, and a nod with a smile.

Just ask Jess Cole, who’s worked as a bartender and server at Ottawa’s Chez Lucien for the past seven years.

A nod with a smile, she says, can put customers at ease. I see you, it might say, or I’ll get there as soon as I’m done with these other folks.

The nod alone, however — often the only option when you’re wearing a mask in the middle of a pandemic — can come across as curt and dismissive.

“It can be the difference between good service and bad service — that’s how it feels,” she says.

Read the full story from the Star’s Steve McKinley

9:20 a.m. Canadians are once again navigating a strange new normal.

Vaccines offer protection, but what are the rights of those who choose to not get jabbed?

When Erin Pepler, a Burlington, Ont. resident, recently booked massage therapist and osteopath appointments, vaccination status was on her mind.

“I didn’t really want to flat out ask if they’ve been vaccinated because it felt invasive, but my RMT freely shared this information during an appointment and it definitely made me feel much better about continuing treatment,” she said.

“There are high-risk individuals in my household. If a health-care worker told me they were unvaccinated by choice, I’d definitely question their judgment and consider finding a different practitioner.”

Read the full story from the Star’s Joanna Chiu

9:15 a.m. Toronto’s subway may have emptied out during the pandemic, but the system has been anything but quiet.

Despite ridership sinking to a fraction of normal levels after COVID-19 hit last spring, service disruptions caused by assaults against employees and customers jumped significantly, according to a Star analysis of publicly available TTC subway delay data.

The number of service interruptions attributed to other troubling behaviour like disorderly passengers and people walking on the tracks also rose.

The union representing subway operators reports incidents that have become more frequent include physical violence, verbal assaults, riders throwing drinks at workers, knife threats and spitting on operators.

Read the full story from the Star’s Ben Spurr

9:10 a.m. Many Americans are relaxing precautions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic and resuming everyday activities, even as some worry that coronavirus-related restrictions were hastily lifted, a new poll shows.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that majorities of Americans who were regularly doing so before the pandemic say they are returning to bars or restaurants, traveling and attending events such as movies or sports.

Just 21 per cent are very or extremely worried about a COVID-19 infection in their inner circle — the lowest level since the pandemic began — and only 25 per cent are highly concerned that the lifted restrictions will lead to additional people being infected in their community.

Andrea Moran, a 36-year-old freelance writer and mother of two boys, said she feels both relief and joy at the chance to resume “doing the little things,” such as having drinks on a restaurant patio with her husband.

“Honestly, I almost cried,” Moran said. “It’s such a feeling of having been through the wringer, and we’re finally starting to come out of it.”

Still, 34 per cent of Americans think restrictions in their area have been lifted too quickly, while somewhat fewer — 27 per cent — say they were not lifted quickly enough. About 4 in 10 rate the pace of reopening about right.

9 a.m. Spain got its most experienced player back at the European Championship on Friday.

The Spanish soccer federation said Sergio Busquets tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, so he was allowed back with the team after being in isolation since testing positive on June 6.

The Barcelona midfielder will be in Seville for Spain’s match against Poland on Saturday, though he is not likely to play after not practicing regularly while in isolation.

Busquets received a warm welcome from his teammates, who lined up to wait for him at the entrance to the team’s training center in Madrid. He hugged each one of them as they applauded.

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” Busquets said. “Thank you very much for all the messages expressing your concern. You made me feel like I was here even though I had to be at home for a few days. I’m very proud of all of you. We have a long road ahead of us but I’m certain that it will all be OK.”

Busquets said it was “almost impossible” to stay positive after hearing the news from the team doctors about his positive result.

“You start thinking if you are going to be OK, if you are going to be back in time,” Busquets said. “There were a lot of questions without answers going through my mind during a difficult moment.”

Spain opened its Euro 2020 campaign with a 0-0 draw against Sweden in Group E.

8:45 a.m. AstraZeneca is claiming victory in a court tussle with the European Union over allegations that the coronavirus vaccine-maker was not producing shots fast enough.

AstraZeneca said in a statement Friday that the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, had requested that the drug-maker deliver 120 million vaccine doses in total by the end of June 2021, but that a judge in Brussels ordered delivery of 80.2 million doses by 27 September 2021.

AstraZeneca was seen as a key pillar of the 27-member EU’s vaccine rollout. Its contract with the Commission foresaw an initial 300 million doses being distributed, with an option for another 100 million.

“The judgement also acknowledged that the difficulties experienced by AstraZeneca in this unprecedented situation had a substantial impact on the delay,” the company said.

“AstraZeneca now looks forward to renewed collaboration with the European Commission to help combat the pandemic in Europe.”

8:15 a.m. Much of Ashby Monk’s career has been devoted to one question — relatable, yet thorny: how do you get people to make better financial decisions?

Saving for retirement, for example, is hard. The options are confusing, there is a major cost — in that case, literal money — and the payoff can be so far away as to seem theoretical.

Then it hit him — give them a chance to win prize.

That’s the genesis story of Monk’s startup company, Long Game, which, through partnerships with banks, uses an app to reward customers for saving real money by giving them virtual coins that can be used to play games and, theoretically, win more (real) money.

That idea, of using something enjoyable — such as gambling — to convince people to do something less enjoyable — save for retirement — was also why the treasurer of the state of Oregon came knocking last spring.

Read the full story from the Star’s Alex Boyd

7:40 a.m. War, violence, persecution, human rights violations and other factors caused nearly 3 million people to flee their homes last year, even though the COVID-19 crisis restricted movement worldwide, the U.N. refugee agency said in a report Friday.

In its latest Global Trends report, UNHCR said the world’s cumulative number of displaced people rose to 82.4 million — roughly the population of Germany and a new post-World War II record.

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees, said conflict and the fallout from climate change in places such as Mozambique, Ethiopia’s Tigray region and Africa’s Sahel area were key drivers of refugees and internally displaced people in 2020.

Such factors added hundreds of thousands to the overall count, the ninth consecutive annual increase in the number of forcibly displaced people. The millions who have fled countries such as Syria and Afghanistan due to protracted wars or fighting have dominated the U.N. agency’s tally for years.

“This is telling, in a year in which we were all locked down, confined, blocked in our homes, in our communities, in our cities,” Grandi said in an interview before the report’s release. “Almost 3 million people have had to actually leave all that behind because they had no other choice.”

“COVID-19 seems to have had no impact on some of the key root causes that push people to flee, he said. “War, violence, discrimination, they have continued, no matter what, throughout the pandemic.”

UNHCR said 1 per cent of all humanity is now displaced, and there are twice as many forcibly displaced people than a decade ago. Some 42 per cent of them are under 18, and nearly 1 million babies were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020.

7:23 a.m. (updated) Toronto is opening 30,000 new COVID-19 vaccine appointments for next week at city-run immunization clinics.

The appointments for Moderna vaccine will go live in the provincial booking system for eligible adults “later today”, the city said in a news release Friday morning. No exact time was given.

Then, on Monday, another 60,000 Moderna appointments for eligible adults will open for the week starting June 28.

The new blocks of appointments are among several that have opened in recent days thanks to large new supplies of Moderna flowing into Canada, augmenting shipments of the other approved mRNA-technology vaccine, Pfizer.

Read the full story from the Star’s David Rider

5:55 a.m.: Canadians are once again navigating a strange new normal.

Vaccines offer protection, but what are the rights of those who choose to not get jabbed?

Ottawa says it is planning to lessen quarantine requirements for travellers who have had both jabs of any two-dose vaccine, but governments have not yet issued specific guidelines around the use of “vaccine passports” in private sectors of the economy.

To seek some clarity, the Star reached out to employment lawyers, labour boards and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Read the full story by the Star’s Joanna Chiu.

5:36 a.m.: Israel said Friday it will transfer around 1 million doses of soon-to-expire coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for a similar number of doses the Palestinians expect to receive later this year.

Israel, which has reopened after vaccinating some 85% of its adult population, has faced criticism for not sharing its vaccines with the 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The agreement was announced by the new Israeli government that was sworn in on Sunday. It said it would transfer Pfizer vaccines that will expire soon, and that the PA would reimburse it with a similar number of vaccines when it receives them from the pharmaceutical company In September or October.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.

Israel has carried out one of the most successful vaccination programs in the world, allowing it to fully reopen businesses and schools. This week, authorities lifted the requirement to wear masks in public, one of the last remaining restrictions.

Rights groups have said that Israel, as an occupying power, is obliged to provide vaccines to the Palestinians. Israel denies having such an obligation, pointing to interim peace agreements reached with the Palestinians in the 1990s.

Those agreements say the PA, which has limited autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank, is responsible for health care but that the two sides should cooperate to combat pandemics. Israel has offered vaccines to the more than 100,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who work inside Israel, as well as Palestinians in east Jerusalem.

5:10 a.m.: With demand for first doses of COVID-19 vaccine lagging among the 18-to-39 age group, Quebec health officials are hoping incentives such as free hotdogs and the promise of prizes will encourage younger adults to get the shot.

While close to 80 per cent of eligible Quebecers have been vaccinated with at least one dose, some younger adult age groups are still slightly below the 75 per cent target.

On Thursday, government data showed that only about 4,100 first doses were given in the previous 24 hours to people between the ages of 18 and 39, who are being overtaken by the 12-to-17-year-old cohort.

In recent weeks, the province has been working to market the vaccine to younger adults through advertising and social media posts as well as walk-in clinics with extended hours, but it appears to be upping its efforts.

On Wednesday, the province announced that it would set up a clinic to vaccinate hockey fans gathering outside the Bell Centre for the next Montreal Canadiens playoff games and would even offer a free hotdog to those who get the shot.

At the same time, the Canadiens released a video of 20-year-old rookie Cole Caufield, who wears the number 22 and promised to give away 22 pairs of game tickets and 22 hockey jerseys to fans who show proof of vaccination.

Speaking outside the Bell Centre, Health Minister Christian Dubé said the initiatives are designed to reach the roughly 150,000 adults under the age of 40 who have yet to sign up for a shot.

“We’ll come to them,” said the health minister, who donned a Caufield jersey for the occasion.

Other health authorities are also getting creative by offering music and zootherapy at vaccine sites, reaching out through Facebook and Instagram and offering extended hours at walk-in clinics.

5 a.m.: How people will be able to prove they’re fully vaccinated and skip quarantine at the border will become clear within days as Canada readies new health measures for some incoming travellers, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

The plan the federal government is set to unveil will be the first phase of a two-phase system.

Initially, Ottawa will rely on the provincial vaccination certificates that Canadians may already have, and ask inbound travellers to upload those into an app called ArriveCAN, Alghabra said Thursday.

By the fall, travellers will use an automated system that connects to “provincial databases, but respects the privacy of the individual,” he said.

The news comes as questions swirl around the federal government’s plan for vaccine passports, and how soon Ottawa will ease travel restrictions, including hotel quarantine requirements, for fully vaccinated people. Last week, there were indications ending the hotel quarantine would go into effect as early as the first week of July for some.

In an interview with the Star late Thursday, Alghabra said as soon as the government announces when restrictions can be eased, it will be ready with a proof-of-vaccine program.

Read the full story from the Star’s Tonda MacCharles and Stephanie Levitz.

4:55 a.m.: In the latest speed bump for what has been dubbed ‘Generation AZ,’ a national advisory council is recommending those who got AstraZeneca for their first vaccine dose switch teams to Pfizer or Moderna for their second.

The new guidelines were prompted by emerging evidence from Germany that suggests mixing doses might spark a stronger defence from your immune system, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said Thursday.

It’s also a decision likely spurred on by the rapid spread of the Delta variant, originally identified in India, which could be the most transmissible version of the virus Canada has seen yet.

Still, the decision has raised questions about the fate of more than half a million doses still unused, not to mention future shipments, and kicked up even more confusion for those people, many of them Gen Xers, who turned out in droves in recent months to roll up their sleeves for a vaccine that is no longer being recommended and has also since been linked to side effects that are very rare.

NACI also updated its previous recommendation to say that everyone should always get the mRNA vaccines first, unless they are allergic to them.

Read the full story from the Star’s Alex Boyd and Alyshah Hasham.

4:30 a.m.: When Gwenny Farrell booked her second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on the first day it became available, she said she believed she was doing the right thing.

The resident of White Rock, B.C., said she has tried to follow every health protocol and recommendation strictly, so her confidence has been shaken by a new recommendation from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization on mixing the vaccines.

On June 1, NACI had said AstraZeneca recipients “could” get Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for their second shot if they wanted, but on Thursday it went further to say an mRNA vaccine was the “preferred” choice.

“I’m frustrated because now, after being told for months that the best vaccine is the first one that’s in your arm, I’m being told I may have made a mistake,” Farrell, 55, said.

The new recommendation is drawing mixed reaction from those who’ve already received two jabs of AstraZeneca. Farrell is not alone in her disappointment, while others say they remain happy with their choice because they know it still means they are well protected against COVID-19.

The committee’s guidance is based on the growing supply of mRNA vaccines, growing evidence that a second dose of an mRNA vaccine produces a stronger immune response, and because of the low but serious risk of vaccine-induced blood clots associated with AstraZeneca.

Read the full story from The Associated Press.

4:05 a.m.: The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, June 18, 2021.

In Canada, the provinces are reporting 490,061 new vaccinations administered for a total of 30,867,925 doses given. Nationwide, 6,004,387 people or 16 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 81,447.266 per 100,000.

There were 607,230 new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 33,870,614 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 91.13 per cent of their available vaccine supply.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, June 18, 2021. Some provinces and territories do not report daily case numbers.

There are 1,406,253 confirmed cases in Canada.

Canada: 1,406,253 confirmed cases (13,444 active, 1,366,797 resolved, 26,012 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.

There were 1,114 new cases reported Thursday. The rate of active cases is 35.37 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 7,961 new cases reported. The seven-day rolling average of new reported cases is 1,137.

There were 12 new reported deaths Thursday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 139 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 20. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.05 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 68.44 per 100,000 people.