Month: April 2025

Chronically ill artists honour International Awareness Month for chronic neuro-immune diseases

Published by: Opera Mariposa
Published on: April 30, 2025

Vancouver’s Opera Mariposa presents month-long programme benefitting the ME | FM Society of BC

April 30, 2025 (Vancouver, BC) – This May, Canadian artists are rallying the community to support people with chronic and post-infectious illnesses. From May 1 to June 1, Vancouver’s Opera Mariposa is presenting their 2025 Benefit + Awareness Month: an all-digital charity extravaganza featuring art, prizes, and special programming benefiting the ME | FM Society of BC.

May is the International Awareness Month for chronic neuro-immune diseases, and Mariposa’s programming is created by and for people impacted by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME or ME/CFS), Long Covid, and Fibromyalgia. These complex multisystem illnesses affect millions of people across Canada – and that number is rising, given that they can be triggered by viruses, including COVID-19.

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Colourized transmission electron micrograph of a measles virus particle (gold), with a purple background. Photo: CDC and NIAID. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

British Columbia

New travel-related measles case found in the Lower Mainland

Published April 26, 2025

Published by: CityNews
Published on: April 26, 2025
By Emma Crawford

A new case of travel-related measles has been confirmed in the Lower Mainland this week.

Fraser Health says a traveller from Ontario who went to Vancouver and Chilliwack on April 20 has a confirmed infection of the virus.

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Yukon

2 doses of COVID-19 vaccine recommended for Yukoners at higher risk of severe illness

Published April 25, 2025

Published by: Yukon News
Published on: April 25, 2025
By Talar Stockton

In an April 24 press release, YG said it is acting on the advice of the Yukon’s chief medical officer of health, and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

Those who are eligible for the twice-per-year vaccination encompass multiple categories: people aged 6 months to 64 years who are moderately to severely immunocompromised due to an underlying condition or treatment; residents in long-term care homes and other congregate living settings for seniors; and adults 65 years or older.

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Ontario

Ontario reports 95 new measles cases, sending total above 1,000 since outbreak began

Published April 24, 2025

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: April 24, 2025
By Nicole Ireland

TORONTO – Public Health Ontario is reporting 95 new measles cases since last week, bringing the total number of people infected past 1,000.

It says a total of 1,020 people have had measles since the province’s outbreak began last October.

The agency says the ongoing rise in cases is “due to continued exposures and transmission among individuals who have not been immunized.”

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‘On the precipice of disaster’: Measles may be endemic in 25 years if vaccine uptake stays low, model predicts

measles

‘On the precipice of disaster’: Measles may be endemic in 25 years if vaccine uptake stays low, model predicts

Published April 24, 2025

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: April 24, 2025
By Mary Van Beusekom

Without a 5% higher measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination rate, measles may revert to endemicity in the United States within 25 years, while a 10% decline in vaccination could lead to 11.1 million cases of the highly contagious illness in that timeframe, according to predictions from a simulation model published today in JAMA.

Also today, the World Health Organization (WHO); UNICEF; and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance warn that burgeoning outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases threaten to reverse years of progress.

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Ontario School Safety Calls on Province for an Immediate Vaccine-PLUS Strategy to Tackle Current Measles Outbreak

Colourized transmission electron micrograph of a measles virus particle (red), with a blue background. Photo: CDC and NIAID. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Ontario

Ontario School Safety Calls on Province for an Immediate Vaccine-PLUS Strategy to Tackle Current Measles Outbreak

Published April 24, 2025

Published by: Ontario School Safety
Published on: April 24, 2025

Toronto, Ontario – [April 24, 2025] – In an urgent appeal to protect the health and safety of Ontario’s students, education workers, and families, Ontario School Safety (OSS) has issued an open letter asking the Ontario Provincial Government and Public Health Ontario for an immediate vaccine-PLUS strategy, which includes the essential role of healthy indoor air, to curtail the spread of measles. This critical request comes in the wake of concerning measles infection rates – as of April 17th, 2025, Public Health Ontario is reporting 925 measles cases in the province, more than five times the number of cases than the total number of cases over the last 12 years. Encouraging a vaccine-only strategy is insufficient due to barriers to access, and because measles spreads not only through direct contact with secretions or contaminated surfaces, but through the air we breathe.

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long COVID

Possible treatments for long COVID at the centre of new Western study

Published April 24, 2025

Published by: CTV News
Published on: April 24, 2025
By Bailey Shakyaver

More than 300 patients across four continents are at the centre of a Western long COVID study, which hopes to find an effective treatment for those who struggle with long COVID.

The study will look to trial two anti-inflammatory medicines as potential treatments, and hopes to bring into view people who struggle with the disease outside of North America.

“Despite the global prevalence of long COVID, patients report different symptoms and their presentation can be influenced by where they happen to live,” said Dr. Douglas Fraser, professor at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. “A study with global reach, tailored to examine each patient’s most severe symptoms, has the potential to bring hope to people well beyond Canada and the U.S.”

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vaccines

Novavax says its COVID-19 shot is on track for full FDA approval after delay

Published April 23, 2025

Published by: The Associated Press
Published on: April 23, 2025
By Matthew Perrone, Lauran Neergaard

WASHINGTON (AP) — Novavax’s closely watched COVID-19 vaccine is on track for full approval after additional discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, the company said Wednesday.

The news sent company shares soaring more than 21% in morning trading and appeared to resolve concerns that Trump administration officials might be holding up a decision on the shot.

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pro-virus policies

RFK Jr. eyes reversing CDC’s Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for children

Published April 22, 2025

Published by: Politico
Published on: April 22, 2025
By Adam Cancryn

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is weighing pulling the Covid-19 vaccine from the government’s list of recommended immunizations for children, two people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO.

The directive under consideration would remove the Covid shot from the childhood vaccine schedule maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and widely used by physicians to guide vaccine distribution, marking Kennedy’s most significant move yet to shake up the nation’s vaccination practices.

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measles

Measles outbreak ends in Quebec as number of cases explodes in Ontario

Published April 22, 2025

Published by: Radio-Canada / The Canadian Press
Published on: April 22, 2025

The measles outbreak that began in Quebec in December has officially ended, the Ministry of Health has confirmed. The situation is quite different in Ontario, which has recorded more than 900 cases.

The spread has stabilized in Quebec in recent weeks, with the last recorded case dating back to March 18. Quebec has confirmed 40 cases of measles during this outbreak, with the vast majority (32 cases) in the Laurentians.

According to the government’s technical parameters for the management of measles cases, contacts and outbreaks in Quebec, the end of the outbreak is set at the 32nd day following the last presence of the last contagious case in an environment.

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ME/CFS

ME/CFS cases in England higher than first projected

Published April 22, 2025

Published by: The University of Edinburgh
Published on: April 22, 2025

Almost two-thirds more people are living with ME/CFS in England than previously thought, a study says.

The new estimate suggests that approximately 404,000 people are affected by ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome), a 62 per cent rise from the previously accepted figure of 250,000.

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pandemic response

Is Public Health Really Dead?

Published April 22, 2025

Published by: The Tyee
Published on: April 22, 2025
By Michelle Gamage

Local podcaster Daniella Barreto called her latest project Public Health Is Dead to capture her frustration with how leaders handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It seemed like all of these things we’re taught in school, like prevention being key and using evidence to make decisions, was thrown out the window,” Barreto told The Tyee. “Mask mandates were being taken away, people were increasingly getting long COVID, and I decided I needed to do something because people were not getting the information they needed.”

Launching the podcast in November 2024, Barreto used her background in public health, with a master of science in population public health from the University of British Columbia and a bachelor of science in health science from Simon Fraser University, to help explain what went wrong. So far she’s released five episodes and has many more in the works.

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Volunteers needed to test no-needle COVID vaccine made in Hamilton

Photo of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The building features a glass-walled atrium. In the foreground, there are some trees with green leaves. Photo by Captain108 / Wikimedia Commons.

vaccines

Volunteers needed to test no-needle COVID vaccine made in Hamilton

Published April 21, 2025

Published by: Hamilton Spectator
Published on: April 21, 2025
By Joanna Frketich

A made-in-Hamilton COVID vaccine that requires no needles is moving to the next stage of testing and researchers are looking for volunteers to take part.

The vaccine that is inhaled instead of injected will be studied by McMaster University researchers with $8 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

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Federal cuts threaten to close Pennsylvania lab that certifies N95s and other respirators in June

Illustration of a white N95 respirator torn into two pieces, with violet background. Based on image by Rossie C S from Pixabay.

N95 respirators

Federal cuts threaten to close Pennsylvania lab that certifies N95s and other respirators in June

Published April 17, 2025

Published by: Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Published on: April 17, 2025
By Ian Karbal

The Pennsylvania laboratory that certifies all of the country’s NIOSH-approved respirators is on the chopping block. HHS is stonewalling employees who raise questions.

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Manitoba

Manitoba rolling out COVID-19 spring vaccination campaign for high-risk groups

Published April 16, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: April 16, 2025

Manitoba is rolling out a vaccination campaign for those at the highest risk of developing serious outcomes from COVID-19, aiming to get people vaccinated before summer, when virus circulation might increase, the province says.

Between May 1 and June 30, the province will make additional COVID-19 vaccine doses available for people who have already had a dose since last fall, but meet specific criteria.

The extra doses will be available to anyone age 65 or older, Indigenous people over the age of 45, residents of long-term care homes, and anyone age six months or up who is moderately or severely immunocompromised.

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war on science

Internal budget document reveals extent of Trump’s proposed health cuts

Published April 16, 2025

Published by: The Washington Post
Published on: April 16, 2025
By Lena H. Sun, Carolyn Y. Johnson, Rachel Roubein, Joel Achenbach, Lauren Weber

The Trump administration is seeking to deeply slash budgets for federal health programs, a roughly one-third cut in discretionary spending by the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a preliminary budget document obtained by The Washington Post.

The HHS budget draft, known as a “passback,” offers the first full look at the health and social service priorities of President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget as it prepares to send his 2026 fiscal year budget request to Congress. It shows how the Trump administration plans to reshape the federal health agencies that oversee food and drug safety, manage the nation’s response to infectious-disease threats and drive biomedical research.

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pandemic response

WHO member states agree to landmark accord on future pandemic responses

Published April 16, 2025

Published by: France 24 / AFP
Published on: April 16, 2025

Countries united under the World Health Organization on Wednesday agreed to a milestone accord on how to respond to future pandemics and avoid repeating the mistakes made during the Covid-19 crisis. The agreement comes despite US foreign aid cuts and possible tariffs on pharmaceuticals casting uncertainty over the talks.

Years of negotiations culminated early Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how to tackle future pandemics, aimed at avoiding a repeat of the mistakes made during the Covid-19 crisis.

After more than three years of talks and one last marathon session, weary delegates at the World Health Organization’s headquarters sealed the deal at around 2am (0000 GMT) Wednesday.

“Tonight marks a significant milestone in our shared journey towards a safer world,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“The nations of the world made history in Geneva today.”

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Ontario

Measles is spreading in Ontario — here’s what you need to know

Published April 15, 2025

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: April 15, 2025
By Elizabeth Payne

A major outbreak of measles has infected more than 800 people in Ontario. It’s the first outbreak of its size since the disease was declared eliminated in 1998.

Now, lower vaccination rates are leading to a serious outbreak in the province, enough to garner a travel advisory to the province from New York State south of the border.

Here’s what you need to know about measles — how it’s transmitted, how you can protect yourself, and whether you need to update your vaccinations.

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Month: April 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Vancouver’s Opera Mariposa presents month-long programme benefitting the ME | FM Society of BC

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Almost two-thirds more people are living with ME/CFS in England than previously thought, a study says.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts