The smoke generated by the fires raging in the forests of western Canada worsened air quality on Friday in the Prairies, Ontario and Quebec, where…
Comments closedMonth: June 2025
Topic: wildfiresView all posts for the topic: wildfires
A warning from Canadian eye doctors about wildfires and smoke
TORONTO — The Canadian Ophthalmological Society is urging people to take care of their eyes as wildfires burn across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
People on the frontlines of the fires may get airborne particles in their eyes that need to be flushed out with sterile solution, said Dr. David Plemel, an eye surgeon in London, Ont., who was speaking on behalf of the society.
If it’s not easy to get the particle out, he recommends seeing an eye professional so they can remove it without damaging the cornea.
Smoke travels long distances and can affect people’s eyes even if they are far away from an actual blaze, said Plemel, who is also an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Western University.
Comments closedTopic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Special air quality statement in effect for eastern Ontario, western Quebec
A special air quality statement is in effect for eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
The statement was issued by Environment Canada Thursday, saying smoke caused by wildfires is expected to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility over the area tonight into Friday morning — the health risk will be high at these times.
“As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events,” reads the statement.
“You may experience mild and common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough. More serious but less common symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or severe cough. If you think you are having a medical emergency, seek immediate medical assistance.”
The air quality statement extends as far west as Lake Huron, south into Toronto and Windsor, and north of Gatineau, Que.
Comments closedTopic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles
Ontario confirms death of infant infected with measles
An infant in southwestern Ontario who contracted measles from their mother before birth and was born prematurely has died, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says.
The child’s mother had not been vaccinated against the viral illness, Dr. Kieran Moore said in his statement.
While measles can be fatal, especially for young children, Moore noted the child also faced other “serious medical complications.”
“While measles may have been a contributing factor in both the premature birth and death, the infant also faced other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus,” Moore said.
Comments closedTopic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
Exclusive: CDC expert resigns from COVID vaccines advisory role, sources say
Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the U.S. CDC resigned on Tuesday as co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on COVID-19 vaccines and is leaving the agency, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters.
Panagiotakopoulos said in an email to work group colleagues that her decision to step down was based on the belief she is “no longer able to help the most vulnerable members” of the U.S. population.
In her role at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s working group of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, she co-led the gathering of information on topics for presentation.
Her resignation comes one week after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic who oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, said the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women had been removed from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule.
Comments closedTopic: wildfiresView all posts for the topic: wildfires
Federal government to match Red Cross donations to help wildfire victims
The federal government says it will match donations made to the Canadian Red Cross as wildfires tear across the Prairies, forcing thousands from their homes.
Speaking on Parliament Hill Tuesday, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said the money will go toward wildfire relief and disaster recovery.
The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba will also match donations, she said.
Comments closedTopic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
RFK Jr.’s stance on Covid vaccines for pregnant women is profoundly unethical
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy’s proposal to end the government’s existing Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy pregnant women, if enacted, will be a major setback to decades’ worth of efforts to advance the health of pregnant people and their babies.
It also profoundly unethical.
Pregnant people are consistently left behind in biomedical R&D in ways that are deeply harmful to the health of both mother and child. In the decade before the Covid pandemic, consensus reports emerged denouncing this pregnancy evidence gap and providing road maps for how to ethically generate evidence during pregnancy within the confines of existing research regulations. I co-led one of these efforts, the PREVENT project, initiated in response to the Zika epidemic and completed in fall 2019. PREVENT specifically focused on how to ethically include pregnant women in the development and deployment of new vaccines for emerging pandemic threats.
Comments closedTopic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu
Cancelling funding for mRNA vaccine is both risky and foolish
With Donald Trump’s second administration, disruptive news seems to arise on a daily basis. Most concerning for clinicians and health scientists in Canada and around the world was Trump’s appointment of anti-vaccination zealot Robert Kennedy Jr. to the enormously influential position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy’s ideological dismantling of the U.S.’s vaunted health research apparatus has been at speeds surprising even to his most ardent critics.
But his recent decision to cancel a nearly $600-million contract with vaccine manufacturer Moderna might be among his most shortsighted and destructive moves, with ripple effects globally.
The contract with the mRNA pioneer, signed under the Joe Biden administration, was meant to fund the development, testing and licensing of vaccines targeting particular flu strains, including the strain responsible for the dreaded avian flu, H5N1. Many scientists fear that H5N1 could become the next world-stopping infectious disease pandemic.
Comments closedTopic: climate crisisView all posts for the topic: climate crisis
Much of Manitoba under air quality warnings as wildfires rage
Air quality warnings have been issued for a large swath of Manitoba, though rain could bring some much-needed relief.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) upgraded a number of air quality statements to warnings Monday morning in a large portion of southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg, Steinbach, and Lac du Bonnet.
These areas join much of northern Manitoba, which have been under air quality warnings for days due to wildfires burning in the region and in northern Saskatchewan.
However, the weather agency notes smoke will improve with rain forecast through southern Manitoba on Monday, while northern communities under wildfire threat will likely have to wait until the weekend for precipitation.
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