Over 60? It's time for a boost

Plus, Zelenskyy's UN speech and making big tech pay for Canadian news [The Star] First Up [By Lex Harvey] By Lex Harvey Good morning. Here’s the latest on Ontario’s expanded eligibility for fourth doses, the anatomy of Zelenskyy’s speech to the UN and a new bill to make big tech pay for news.  DON’T MISS Steve Somerville/Metroland gimme a boost [COVID-19 booster shots are being rolled out for Ontarians over 60]( In the grips of a sixth wave of COVID-19, Ontario is taking the national vaccine advisory’s recommendation to re-boost folks over 80 a couple decades further, Rob Ferguson reports. With hospitalizations up 31 per cent in the past week, some experts say it’s a move we could’ve made sooner, but the province continues to dismiss the need to reinstate recently scrapped health measures. [Here’s what you need to know](. - Do you really need a fourth shot? [Here’s what the federal advisory committee says](. - What we know: Vaccines are still highly effective at preventing severe outcomes from the virus. In March, fully vaccinated adults 60 and up without a booster shot were up to [2.9 times more likely to be hospitalized]( compared to those that had three doses. - Another angle: Back in the classroom after two years, this teacher tested positive for COVID in just one week. [Here’s how the sixth wave is hitting schools](. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images war in ukraine [The anatomy of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech to the UN]( “We need peace. Ukraine needs peace. Europe needs peace. And the world needs peace,” the Ukrainian president said in a televised address to the Security Council, shortly after [visiting the Kyiv suburb of Bucha](. Zelenskyy has made speeches to several foreign bodies and parliaments — including Canada’s — since the war began, but Tuesday’s listed four clear goals, Allan Woods reports: lay out the war-crimes case against Russia, discredit Russian attempts to cast doubt on its troops’ apparent killing of civilians, call for the world’s help, and reform the UN. [Here’s what international experts made of Zelenskyy’s address to the UN](. - Miss something? The [discovery of dead civilians littering the streets of Bucha]( some with their hands tied behind their backs, has left the world reeling anew as the Russian war on Ukraine nears its sixth week. - What we know: Experts say Zelenskyy is trying to build a case that Russian troops have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and even genocide on Ukrainian soil. [Here’s what that means and what it would take to get justice](. - On the home front: Canada is considering following the lead of other countries and [expelling Moscow’s diplomats from Ottawa](. Canadian Press/Nathan Denette online news act [Ottawa introduced a new bill to make big tech pay for news]( The government’s Online News Act would force digital giants like Google and Facebook to share revenue made from posting Canadian news content with the media outlets producing those stories. It’s a measure many in the industry — including Torstar, which publishes the Star — have lobbied for to help level the playing field between Canada’s shrinking news industry and big online platforms, who make the lion’s share from digital advertising. [Raisa Patel reports the ins and outs of the new bill](. - By the numbers: The government says more than 450 Canadian media outlets closed between 2008 and 2021, and 80 per cent of online ad revenues in 2020 went to Google and Facebook. - Context: Canada’s legislation is based on Australia’s year-old News Media Bargaining Code. That bill has drawn criticism for resulting in secret deals between tech giants and news publishers, while potentially shutting out smaller publishers. - Why it matters: The law suggests Ottawa recognizes the necessity of independent journalism (woohoo!), but its no “silver bullet,” the CEO of News Media Canada said. WHAT ELSE Police launched an [investigation into former Unifor president Jerry Dias](. Renowned conductor Boris Brott was [killed in a hit and run](. Ontario has been [promised a minimum wage hike]( — no matter which party wins in June. A man was sentenced to life for the “unimaginable” [murders of an Ajax mom and her two children](. Here’s how the RCMP officer who shot Nova Scotia’s mass killer [describes that day](. Americans showed the world how to die from COVID-19. [Are they about to do it again?]( A [‘highly pathogenic’ bird flu has been confirmed in Ontario]( Toronto council debates backyard hens program. They fled the Nazis and built a real estate empire. Now Toronto’s famed [Reichmann family is headed back to court]( amid a bitter family feud. A Canadian snowbird went missing more than three years ago. Now, [Mexican authorities are looking for his body](. TDSB will start [reporting COVID cases]( to the entire school. POV Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle [Pierre Poilievre and Justin Trudeau have more in common than you might think.]( CLOSE-UP R.J. Johnston/The Star NATHAN PHILLIPS SQUARE: A lonely mask floats in front of the Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square. Toronto’s public health chief said [it’s not necessary to reinstate mask rules]( and other pandemic restrictions to halt COVID-19’s resurgence across the city. 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_116462). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. [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](