Trying to book your booster? May the odds be ever in your favour

Plus, what to know about rapid testing over the holidays and how kidnapped missionaries escaped [The Star] First Up [By Lex Harvey] By Lex Harvey Good morning. Here’s the latest on the booster shot “hunger games,” why you can’t always trust a rapid test and the daring escape of missionaries kidnapped in Haiti. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Justin Tang the rollout [Monday’s scramble for boosters left many Ontarians out of luck]( The surging demand for COVID-19 booster shots Monday morning as five million Ontarians over 18 became eligible forced some local public health units to temporarily disable their booking portals, while others couldn’t offer appointments until February, Nadine Yousif and Isabel Teotonio report. Dubbed online as the “hunger games,” the race for boosters left many wanting, as only 186,000 appointments were booked on the provincial system by 3 p.m. [Here’s how the booster rollout is going](. - More: A “historical” demand for vaccines has led to dwindling supply of Pfizer, per a provincial spokesperson. Many clinics will be offering Moderna for those 30 and up, while reserving Pfizer for the young’uns. - By the numbers: Ontario administered nearly 169,000 doses Friday, but plans to ramp up to between 200,000 and 300,000 doses a day. Demand for boosters was slow last month, with just 9.6 per cent of eligible Ontarians getting a third dose by mid-November. - Bruce Arthur’s take: With defences crumbling and visibility low, [Ontario flies into the Omicron storm](. Brent Davis/Waterloo Region Record testing [Your negative rapid test doesn’t guarantee a safe holiday dinner — here’s why ]( Rapid tests are reliable if they come back positive, experts say, but a negative result could mean several things — so keep your guard up if you’re socializing, Ben Cohen reports. False negatives happen more often with rapid tests than with PCRs. It’s also common for people to swab their nose improperly and miss the part where the virus is, while symptomatic people can test negative for days before later producing a positive result. [Here’s what you need to know about rapid testing over the holidays](. - What we know: While fully vaccinated people had about 95 per cent protection against Delta and previous strains, triple-vaccinated people today only have about 70 per cent protection against Omicron. - Go deeper: Rapid tests are more likely to return false-negative results in people with low viral loads — when they’re less likely to spread it. Vaccinated people tend to become non-infectious quicker than the unvaccinated. - Another angle: [Here’s why Omicron has us feeling like it’s Christmas 2020 all over again](. Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo haiti kidnappings [Two months of captivity — then a daring escape: how kidnapped missionaries fled their captors in Haiti]( Seventeen missionaries — including five children — with the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries are free after spending two months captive in Haiti, believed to have been kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang. A spokesperson for Christian Aid said the missionaries and their children dealt with meagre meals and sweltering conditions for months – until they were either set free or managed to escape. [Alex McKeen reports on their ordeal and how they got away](. - Miss something? The group, including one Canadian, was abducted on Oct. 16 after visiting an orphanage in Ganthier, in the Croix-des-Bouquets area. The gang released two of the hostages on Nov. 21 and three more on Dec. 6. - Go deeper: The remaining 12 somehow slipped past their guards and trekked 16 km through thick forests in the night before reaching safety. - Context: Gang-related violence is on the rise in Haiti. At least 328 kidnappings were reported to Haiti’s National Police in the first eight months of 2021, compared to a total of 234 for all of 2020. [Give the gift of trusted news] Give the gift of trusted news. Treat your loved ones to a digital Star subscription for 3 months, 6 months or 1 year. Plus, pick our year-long offer and get a treat for yourself: a $25 President’s Choice gift card. [Give the gift of the Star and choose yours here](. WHAT ELSE Booster shots and free rapid tests: [A sneakerhead’s guide to waiting in lines](. Fourteen fans were [ejected from a Raptors game]( over mask violations. As the scramble for vaccine doses returns, Toronto officials are urging residents to [have patience — and persistence]( “Energized and hopeful,” [Jagmeet Singh looks back on a tough year]( — and looks ahead to fatherhood. The Star’s editorial board asks: is it time for governments to [make COVID vaccines the law]( Toronto city council is calling for a provincial [task force on vehicle thefts](. ICYMI Rene Johnston/The Star [He was the Canadian head of the world’s largest pot company. His next big bet? A rare fungus worth big money.]( CLOSE-UP Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press OTHELLO, B.C.: Transport trucks travel along the northbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway after it was reopened Monday to commercial traffic by Othello, northeast of Hope, B.C. Construction work continues on the southbound lanes, which were completely washed away by flooding last month. Thanks for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_94035). I’m off for a few days to celebrate Christmas, but First Up will be back in your inbox tomorrow with a special guest writer. [The Star]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [Become a Star Subscriber]( [View in Browser]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1E6. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](