Sunday marks International Long Covid Awareness Day, held annually on March 15. Six years after a global pandemic was declared, the affliction continues to be a battle for some long after their initial COVID-19 infection. The CBC’s Baneet Braich has more on the efforts to raise awareness about the illness.
Comments closedTag: British Columbia
Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Health group calls on B.C. to bring back mask mandates in medical settings
In March 2025, the Province dropped its health-care mask requirement. DoNoHarm BC, an organization advocating for it to be reinstated, had been hoping that they would do so once respiratory illness season started last fall.
“We watched other provinces reenact these seasonal mask mandates, and waited and waited,” Beth Campbell Duke, a science educator, told Daily Hive. “We had a letter-writing campaign, and still there was no response.”
While people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed are most at risk, she said that it poses a risk to everyone because no one knows how COVID-19 infection could impact them.
Comments closed
Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Independent health groups urge BC to reinstate and improve healthcare mask protections
DoNoHarm BC and Protect Our Province BC warn of patient harm, staff shortages, and rising international risks
February 12, 2026 (British Columbia, Canada) – Independent public health groups in BC are calling on policy-makers to reinstate and improve mask requirements in medical settings. The call comes amidst multiple recent influenza and COVID-19 outbreaks in healthcare, following a winter punctuated by “unprecedented” ER closures and staff shortages, as well as massive measles outbreaks and a prolonged COVID wave across the border.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Snapshots of the unseen: How we focused Long COVID in a recent photo exhibition
“Are you sick?” the Uber driver asked. “Is that why you’re wearing a mask?”
I launched into my usual monologue, delivered to strangers weekly at this point, explaining how COVID-19 transmission is still high and that I don’t want to be reinfected to worsen my existing Long COVID.
He looked at me, puzzled, through the rearview mirror. “I haven’t heard of that before,” he said, “but you look really good!”
I awkwardly stammered that I can no longer exercise, and a few years ago I could barely leave the house, almost dropping out of my graduate school program. I listed statistics of Long COVID prevalence and the compounding risks of infections.
Comments closedTopic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
COVID shot reduces risk of severe illness, premature birth in pregnancy, study says
TORONTO – A new study says the COVID-19 vaccine protects pregnant women from getting severely ill or giving birth prematurely.
Researchers with the Canadian Surveillance of COVID-19 in Pregnancy (CANCOVID-Preg) program, led by the University of British Columbia analyzed public health and clinical records of 19,899 pregnant people diagnosed with COVID between April 5, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2022.
That time period covered infections with both Delta and Omicron variants in eight provinces and one territory.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Opinion: Don’t wait for B.C. public health to protect you this flu season
Ten years ago, I took on a physician leadership position at my health authority that gave me a glimpse into the workings of its hospitals.
During a particular meeting that has remained burned into my memory, the department head for medicine was shaking his head in disbelief at having to state the obvious: “Why is it that every year, just like snow in winter, we know flu is coming, and yet every year flu catches us by surprise?”
The room fell silent.
Comments closedTopic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles
Canada officially loses its measles elimination status
Canada has been stripped of its measles elimination status after failing to interrupt transmission within one year of an outbreak that continues to spread in parts of the country.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said Monday it was notified by The Pan American Health Organization, a regional arm of the World Health Organization, that Canada lost its designation – an accomplishment it held for 27 years.
“While transmission has slowed recently, the outbreak has persisted for over 12 months, primarily within under-vaccinated communities,” the statement said.
Comments closedThe Pan American Health Organization has informed the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer has the status of a country that has eliminated measles, due to an outbreak that has been ongoing for more than one year.
This status indicates that there is no continuous transmission of the disease for 12 months or more in a given geographical area.
“Despite considerable efforts by Canada, the country has lost its status. Measles is now considered to be endemic in this country,” PAHO director Dr. Jason Barbosa told a news conference.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
18 poultry farms in B.C. dealing with avian flu outbreak
There are now 18 poultry farms in B.C. that are dealing with outbreaks of avian flu.
This includes more than a dozen large poultry farms in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Langley.
Shawn Hall, director of the B.C. Poultry Industry Emergency Operations Centre, told Global News that it is a concerning time for poultry farmers in the province.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Here’s when you can get flu and COVID-19 vaccines in B.C.
As respiratory illness season approaches, B.C. will begin rolling out its annual vaccination campaign for COVID-19 and influenza.
British Columbians began receiving notifications with a link to book vaccine appointments on Oct. 7 and they will continue to be sent out into November.
Appointments for both influenza and COVID-19 shots will begin on Oct. 14, starting with those at highest risk of severe illness.
Both vaccines are available for free for anyone older than six months.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Long COVID exhibition co-produced with community opens at the Museum of Vancouver
One in nine Canadians have experienced Long COVID symptoms, ranging from mild to debilitating. A new exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver, co-produced by Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, invites visitors into the often-invisible world of those living with the life-altering effects of COVID-19.
Long COVID is a chronic condition affecting one or more organ systems that occurs after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and lingers for at least three months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state. Despite its prevalence, the condition remains widely misunderstood, under-researched, and stigmatized.
The Living with Long COVID exhibition brings these realities to light and offers a unique opportunity to intimately understand Long COVID through the eyes of those living it.
Comments closedTopic: N95 respiratorsView all posts for the topic: N95 respirators
Pushing for a national N95 masking standard
On June 20, the Canadian Standards Association, also known as the CSA Group, released a new draft version of CSA standard Z94.4, which was open to public consultation until August 19. It sets to regulate workplace standards around “the selection, use, and care of respirators.” The CSA Group is a non-profit organization which creates non-legally binding but precedent-setting regulations for professional workplace standards. As reported by DoNoHarm BC, the rule changes would see new nationwide respirator requirements that mandate the use of respirators like N95 masks instead of surgical masks by workers, patients, and visitors in healthcare settings.
The CSA Group’s new draft has received praise from healthcare advocates and workers alike. DoNoHarm BC was one of the leading organizations pushing the public to support and contribute to the CSA Group’s consultation process.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Environment Canada expands air alerts as wildfire smoke spreads over B.C.
VANCOUVER — Environment Canada’s special air-quality statements for wildfire smoke have now expanded to cover most of British Columbia, with air quality at its worst possible level in parts of the Fraser Valley.
The alerts advise people to limit or avoid outdoor activity and are now in place for all of B.C. outside of Vancouver Island, the Central and North Coast, Haida Gwaii and about a quarter of the province on its northern edge.
An air-quality warning continues to be in effect in Metro Vancouver, covered by orange smoke haze for a third day.
Comments closedTopic: climate crisisView all posts for the topic: climate crisis
Wildfire smoke prompts air quality warnings on B.C.’s South Coast
Air quality warnings have been issued for much of B.C.’s South Coast, where smoke wafting from wildfires on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border has created hazy skies.
Elevated levels of fine particulate matter have been detected across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley as a result, creating a risk of negative health effects.
The conditions are expected to last “a few days, or until there is a change in the weather,” according to a notice posted on the Metro Vancouver Regional District website on Wednesday.
As of the early afternoon, the smoke had pushed Vancouver to the top of a “most-polluted major city” ranking from IQAir, a Swiss company that develops air quality monitoring systems.
Comments closedTopic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta
Albertans can get COVID-19 vaccinations for free in B.C.
Albertans who don’t qualify for free COVID-19 vaccinations in their home province can get one in British Columbia.
B.C.’s Ministry of Health confirmed that detail in response to a query from CBC News. Canadian residents can get vaccinated due to a reciprocal agreement between all provinces and territories.
“Any publicly funded immunization in B.C. can be provided at no cost to any Canadian travelling within the province,” a statement from the ministry said. “This includes providing publicly funded COVID-19 vaccine to people of Alberta.”
Comments closed