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 closedOfficials with Health P.E.I. say people will have to wear masks inside all of the provincial health authority’s facilities beginning next week.
The policy is being put in place in response to the growing presence of respiratory illnesses on the Island.
Lara MacMurdo, director of occupational health, safety and wellness with Health P.E.I., said rates of respiratory illness are often higher this time of year.
Comments closedOntario’s measles outbreak, which sickened more than 2,300 people over the course of nearly a year, highlighted the consequences of declining vaccination rates and led to the death of a newborn, has been declared over.
Public Health Ontario and the province’s top doctor said Thursday the outbreak ended on Monday because it had been 46 days since any new reported cases — twice the maximum incubation period for measles.
“In Ontario, the last confirmed case developed a rash on August 21, 2025, following several months of steadily declining case numbers,” Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said in an emailed statement.
Comments closedNova Scotia residents can now book appointments for the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
The Nova Scotia government says the free vaccines are recommended for everyone aged six months and older.
Nova Scotians can book an appointment with their family doctor, nurse practitioner or family practice nurse, or at their local pharmacy, public health office or mobile unit.
Comments closedQuebecers can now book their appointments as the province’s fall vaccination campaign is underway but unlike previous years the COVID-19 shot is no longer free for all.
Unless an individual is part of a high-risk group, the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires (AQPP) had said that the cost for a vaccine dose will range between $150 and $180.
The COVID-19 vaccine remains free of charge to:
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 closedCOVID-19 causes women’s blood vessels to age prematurely, according to an international study involving two researchers from Université Laval. The disease should therefore be considered an additional risk factor in cardiovascular health analyses. Specifically, in those who have developed severe symptoms, they warn.
The aging of blood vessels results in greater rigidity, which can increase the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases.
“The heart must work a little harder to propel blood through the arterial system, and this causes variations in pressure that can damage sensitive organs, including the brain and kidneys,” explains Catherine Fortier, a kinesiologist and researcher in vascular aging at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval.
Comments closedProvinces and territories are starting to roll out updated vaccines to protect people from COVID-19.
The Public Health Agency of Canada’s immunization guide says COVID vaccines have been shown to be effective at preventing severe disease, including hospitalization and death and can decrease the risk of post-COVID-19 condition, or long COVID.
The vaccination campaign comes as COVID-19 cases in people going to emergency or urgent care for respiratory symptoms have increased. About 10 per cent of tests were positive for the week ending Sept. 20, up from 9.6 per cent the previous week, according to the federal respiratory virus snapshot.
Comments closedWhen Ontario rolls out its fall vaccination campaign at pharmacies, doctor’s offices and clinics across the province in the coming weeks, it will be bucking a trend.
At a time when both Alberta and Quebec have stopped funding COVID vaccines for the general public, limiting them to higher risk populations, and access to COVID vaccines is becoming limited in the United States, Ontario is moving in another direction.
The fall vaccination campaign, beginning in October, includes free access to an updated COVID-19 vaccine for the general public as well as expanded access to a vaccine to prevent RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) for older adults, and the flu vaccine.
Comments closedORONTO – Health Canada, the World Health Organization and Canadian autism experts say there is no evidence that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism.
Health Canada and the WHO issued statements last night and this morning in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s unproven claim linking the drug — whose generic name is acetaminophen — to the disorder.
Health Canada says acetaminophen is a “recommended treatment of pain or fever in pregnancy” and “has been used safely by millions of Canadians for decades, including during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.”
Manitoba will continue covering the cost of COVID-19 shots as some other provinces begin charging residents.
The vaccinations are free for anyone six months and up and will remain that way in Manitoba, according to the province.
“There are no plans to change Manitoba’s policy at this time,” reads a statement from a Manitoba government spokesperson.
The news comes as Alberta and Quebec recently announced they would stop offering COVID-19 shots for free to the general public.
Comments closedModerna’s Laval plant has delivered its first doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines. The federal government hopes that the plant, which was built at a cost of $180 million with a $25 million investment from Quebec, will enable Canada to achieve pharmaceutical self-sufficiency.
“We will never find ourselves in this situation again,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Mélanie Joly at a press conference on Friday, recalling that Canada had to rely on the United States, the European Union, and India for its vaccine supply during the pandemic.
“We are building a strong industrial capacity, a sovereign industrial capacity, which will ensure that we are not dependent on other countries for our vaccine production.”
Comments closedThe Ontario government has released its schedule for fall immunization programs as it encourages residents to get flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
In a media release on Thursday, the province said free flu and COVID-19 shots will be available to Ontarians as of Oct. 27 at participating pharmacies, some public health units and doctor’s offices.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones said in the release that Ontario is working with health-care partners to ensure immunizations are available and accessible to all.
Comments closed(Quebec) François Legault’s new priority, the theme of “law and order”, will be on the agenda at his party’s convention next week. The CAQ wants, for example, to ban “masked” demonstrations and encampments in public or private places.
This is one of the proposals that will be debated during this party meeting in Gatineau, on September 27 and 28.
Comments closedStarting this fall, the COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be offered free of charge to the entire Quebec population, confirmed the National Director of Public Health, Luc Boileau, on Wednesday.
Speaking on Midi info on ICI Première on Wednesday, Dr. Boileau clarified that the vaccine will be free for those deemed at risk.
This includes people aged 65 and over, the immunocompromised or those suffering from chronic illnesses, residents of CHSLDs, private seniors’ residences (RPAs) or other vulnerable settings, healthcare workers, adults living in remote areas, as well as pregnant women.
Comments closedThis fall, the COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be offered free of charge to the entire population, unlike in previous years. Quebec, now responsible for purchasing doses, will offer them free of charge only to those deemed at higher risk, Le Devoir has learned.
This information, which was communicated to pharmacies, was later confirmed to Le Devoir by the office of Health Minister Christian Dubé.
Quebec will therefore reserve the free doses during the vaccination campaign for people aged 65 and over, residents of CHSLDs, private seniors’ residences (RPAs), and other congregate settings with many vulnerable seniors, those who are immunocompromised or suffering from chronic illnesses, as well as pregnant women.
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