Tag: Canada

Published by: CityNews
Published on: December 21, 2025
By Rachel Morgan

The volunteer-led organization Ontario School Safety is renewing calls to the Ontario government to improve indoor air quality in schools.

The call comes as Ontario sees a rapid increase in cases of the flu, particularly impacting young children.

In April, 2021, the Government of Ontario announced it was investing over $130 million, in addition to funds from the Canadian government, to upgrade school infrastructure to protect children from COVID-19. The majority of this funding was earmarked for ventilation projects to improve indoor air quality.

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influenza

Flu season has hit Canadians hard and early, as cases continues to rise

Published December 19, 2025

Published by: The Globe and Mail
Published on: December 19, 2025
By Alanna Smith

At a neighbourhood Christmas party in Ottawa earlier this month, there were all the usual holiday delights: festive decor, treats and even a visit from the big man up North. It was an evening to remember for Christine Guptill, but not in the way she had imagined.

Tucked into a party room at Royale Ranch, a horse farm in the city’s south, there were nearly 40 people at the party – half children, half adults. Ms. Guptill said some children were coughing and she overheard one family say they had left their sick kid at home.

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influenza

Flu hospitalizations expected to ‘increase sharply,’ officials warn, as cases surge and vaccinations lag

Published December 19, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: December 19, 2025

The Latest

Data from the Public Health Agency of Canada released today shows the number of flu outbreaks across the country is still rising, and hospitalizations due to the virus are set to surge in the coming weeks.
Health officials across the country are reporting a surge in cases of influenza this month, especially among children and youth.
There’s particular concern about low vaccination uptake this winter, with many provinces reporting only around 20 per cent of eligible residents have received the flu vaccine.
This year’s available vaccine isn’t a good match for the current predominant strain, H3N2 — but doctors are urging people to get their shots regardless.
Got a question about flu season? Send it to ask@cbc.ca.

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Nova Scotia

Masks now required at all Nova Scotia Health sites

Published December 18, 2025

Published by: CTV News
Published on: December 18, 2025
By Natalie Lombard

Nova Scotia Health says masking is required throughout all its facilities beginning Thursday.

However, the health authority says masks are not required in:

administrative buildings
private offices, nursing stations, or conference rooms (if no patients are present)
cafeterias (when people are seated)
patient bed-spaces (for patients, partners, and visitors)

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Alberta

Alberta quietly ends public reporting of COVID outbreaks in acute care

Alberta’s government said the province is under no legal obligation to continue publishing the data in a “post-pandemic context.”

Published December 17, 2025

Published by: St. Albert Gazette
Published on: December 17, 2025
By Brett McKay

Alberta’s government quietly eliminated its public reporting dashboard of COVID-19 outbreaks in acute care facilities, saying the province is under no legal obligation to continue publishing the data in a “post-pandemic context.”

Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) acute-care outbreaks webpage provided weekly public reports on COVID-19 outbreaks in AHS and Covenant Health facilities, including the location where an outbreak had been reported, the date the outbreak was declared, the number of units affected, and how many patients and health-care workers were infected.

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vaccines

Most Canadians still confident in vaccines, but hesitancy has increased, poll says

Published December 17, 2025

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: December 17, 2025
By Nicole Ireland

TORONTO – A new poll says that about three-quarters of Canadian adults still have confidence in vaccines, but hesitancy has increased over the last five years.

The survey conducted by Leger Healthcare and released on Tuesday says 74 per cent of respondents said they were either “very confident” (42 per cent) or “somewhat confident” (32 per cent) in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

But about a quarter of respondents said they are less confident than they were before.

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Ontario

3 children die from influenza A-related complications in Ottawa and eastern Ontario region

Published December 15, 2025

Published by: CTV News
Published on: December 15, 2025
By Josh Pringle

Three children have died from flu-related complications in the Ottawa area this month, as officials warn of a “rapid and significant rise” in influenza A cases.

In a statement released Monday morning, Ottawa Public Health said three children between the ages of five and nine have died from influenza A-related complications in the Ottawa and Eastern Ontario Health Unit regions during the first two weeks of December.

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vaccines

COVID shot reduces risk of severe illness, premature birth in pregnancy, study says

Published December 15, 2025

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: December 15, 2025
By Nicole Ireland

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.

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Trump regime

Health minister says she worries about U.S. public health decisions harming Canadians

U.S. panel voted to remove universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendations for infants

Published December 13, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: December 13, 2025
By Benjamin Lopez Steven

Health Minister Marjorie Michel says she worries about how recent actions by U.S. public health agencies, like removing a universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for American infants, could hurt Canadians’ health.

“It’s a big worry for me,” Michel said in an interview on CBC’s The House that airs Saturday morning. “The U.S. is our closest neighbour. And it’s a big neighbour.”

“It’s absolutely crucial to work with provinces and territories to be all on the same page, for example, on vaccination,” Michel told host Catherine Cullen.

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hepatitis B

Expert calls for Hep B vaccines at birth in Ontario, saying kids are falling through the cracks

Dr. Jordan Feld wants this province to follow international guidance and vaccinate children at birth.

Published December 12, 2025

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 12, 2025
By Elizabeth Payne

A leading liver expert is calling on the Ontario government to re-evaluate its hepatitis B vaccination strategy, saying some children are falling through the cracks and getting diagnosed with hepatitis B virus (HBV) before vaccines are offered at age 12.

That puts them at high risk for a life of chronic illness and even liver cancer that could have been prevented, says Dr. Jordan Feld, director of the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease at the University Health Network and a senior scientist at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute. He wants Ontario to follow international guidance and vaccinate children at birth.

His comments come amid an outcry in the United States after a Centres for Disease Control panel, appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted to scrap birth doses of the vaccine. That decision has been heavily criticized by experts, who say the change is not based on science and will put children at risk.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

Return of mandatory masking in Outaouais hospitals

Published December 9, 2025

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on: December 9, 2025
By Benjamin Vachet

The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l’Outaouais has decided to reinstate mandatory mask wearing upon entry into its care facilities.

Starting on Tuesday, wearing a mask is mandatory in hospital centres, including the outpatient ward, the Pierre-Janet mental health hospital (including units 5 and 6 of the juvenile wing), the Physical rehabilitation centre, La RessourSe, residential and long-term care centres and seniors’ homes and alternative housing.

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measles

Alberta government rejected expert advice to report probable measles cases, documents show

Published December 6, 2025

Published by: The Globe and Mail
Published on: December 6, 2025
By Alanna Smith

The Alberta government rejected expert advice to expand public reporting of measles to include probable cases, despite the measure being supported by local and provincial public health officials, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show.

Since the outbreak began in Alberta last spring, only confirmed cases of measles have been publicly reported. New data provided through a Freedom of Information request show at least 450 probable cases of measles have also been identified in the province, bringing the total to nearly 2,500.

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influenza

Children’s hospitals in Canada face flood of flu visits as doctors urge families to get vaccinated

High volumes put strain on limited pediatric hospital capacity, with flu season set to peak later this month

Published December 4, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: December 4, 2025
By Lauren Pelley

An early start to Canada’s flu season is hitting children hard, sending a flood of young patients into multiple pediatric hospitals as medical teams warn that emergency visits and admissions could keep climbing in the weeks ahead.

At CHEO, eastern Ontario’s children’s hospital in Ottawa, eight times more children tested positive for influenza in November compared with the same month in 2024, while double the number of children needed to be hospitalized. Most of those children hadn’t had a seasonal flu vaccine, according to CHEO’s emergency department team.

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Ontario

Ontario wrote off $1.4B of PPE, province burning expired equipment: auditor

Province still buying masks, other protective gear at same levels as height of the pandemic

Published December 2, 2025

Published by: CBC News / The Canadian Press
Published on: December 2, 2025
By Liam Casey

Ontario wrote off more than one billion items of personal protective equipment at a cost of $1.4 billion since 2021, the province’s auditor general found.

Shelley Spence found the province continues to purchase masks, gowns and other protective gear at the same levels as the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, despite significantly declining demand.

“We found that expired products began to accumulate in the provincial stockpile as some of the products purchased during the pandemic fell short of desired quality standards and were not used,” Spence wrote in her annual report.

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AIDS

New HIV prevention guidelines say doctors should not be ‘gatekeeping’ PrEP

Published December 1, 2025

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: December 1, 2025
By Hannah Alberga

A coalition of doctors across Canada is releasing a new guideline for prescribing medications that can prevent HIV infection, with a strong focus on increasing the promotion and awareness of the expanding class of drugs.

The clinical guideline published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal provides 31 recommendations and 10 good practices for prescribing antiretroviral medication before and after a potential HIV exposure to prevent infection.

Lead author Dr. Darrell Tan said 19 physicians volunteered their time over the last three years to review the latest research and write the new guidelines, as the range of available pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) options has expanded since the last guidance was released in 2017.

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long COVID

National survey finds virtual health ‘essential’ for Long COVID support: SFU report

Published November 25, 2025

Published by: Simon Fraser University
Published on: November 25, 2025

Preliminary results of a national survey conducted by researchers at the Simon Fraser University Faculty of Health Sciences (SFU FHS) has found that Canadians with Long COVID identified virtual healthcare services as essential to their care.

“Many of the 621 survey respondents from across the country shared how lifesaving and essential these virtual services are in providing accessibility to care that reduces risk of infections, travel time, and PEM”, shared FHS Research Fellow Kayli Jamieson, who also has Long COVID herself.

PEM, or Post-Exertional Malaise, is common in many people with Long COVID, meaning that physical, mental, or sensory activity triggers can cause a flare-up in symptoms lasting from hours to weeks. It is one of many factors that contributes to the chronic and frequently disabling nature of Long COVID.

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Alberta

Alberta doctors call for regular access to vaccines in children’s hospitals to combat low immunization rates

Published November 17, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: November 17, 2025
By Jennifer Lee

Some Alberta pediatricians say making childhood immunizations routinely available in pediatric hospitals could help improve slumping vaccination rates in the province.

But the Alberta government is closing the door on that idea, saying children’s hospitals are under significant pressure, and it’s taking other steps to improve access.

Dr. Sam Wong, president of the section of pediatrics with the Alberta Medical Association, said he and his colleagues have been advocating for this change for several years.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

Here are CHEO’s new visitor guidelines as flu season begins

Published November 14, 2025

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: November 14, 2025
By Elizabeth Payne

CHEO is reinstating public health measures for visitors to the hospital as viral season begins.

Beginning Monday (Nov. 17), visitors will be asked to wear masks while in all waiting areas and during clinical interactions. CHEO will also begin limiting visitors. There will be a limit of one caregiver for patients attending appointments, and no visitors under the age of 12 — including siblings — will be allowed.

The precautions are being taken to help reduce the spread of viruses and protect those who visit the hospital and its community locations, spokesperson Karl Oczkowski said.

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Tag: Canada

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

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Alberta’s government said the province is under no legal obligation to continue publishing the data in a “post-pandemic context.”

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

U.S. panel voted to remove universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendations for infants

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Dr. Jordan Feld wants this province to follow international guidance and vaccinate children at birth.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

High volumes put strain on limited pediatric hospital capacity, with flu season set to peak later this month

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Province still buying masks, other protective gear at same levels as height of the pandemic

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

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