Tag: COVID-19

B.C. flu and COVID vaccine rollout is too little, too late

Published by: Victoria News
Published on: October 15, 2026
By Dr. Lyne Filiatrault

Where are B.C.’s vaccines?

Influenza A and COVID are already spreading. Another flu season in B.C., another round of vaccination arriving too late.

Last week, the Provincial Health Officer finally announced that flu vaccination for the higher risk population will start on Oct. 13. Thereafter the general public will be receiving vaccination notifications until early November.

Of course, Dr. Bonnie Henry is well aware that it takes another two weeks after vaccination for full antibody protection to develop.

Vaccination will then happen after many families will have gathered for Thanksgiving dinner with perhaps one or more uninvited guests floating in the air such as influenza A and COVID.

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Quebec

Flu vaccine: appointments are now available in Quebec

Published October 13, 2026

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on: October 13, 2026
By Stéphane Bordeleau, Simon Bérubé

The flu has already returned to Quebec, where the season is expected to be early. Again this year, Quebecers will be able to get a flu vaccine in pharmacies, in clinics, and in certain RPAs (private residences for seniors).

Appointments can be booked starting today (October 13) on the Clic Santé platform (new window) or via the websites of private pharmacies. Vaccinations will begin on October 20.

This year, the vaccine will only be offered free of charge to those who are the most vulnerable to the flu (see the table below).

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British Columbia

Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations underway in B.C. as respiratory illness season arrives early

An early peak in flu season is being driven by the H1N1 strain, according to the BCCDC

Published October 7, 2026

Published by: CBC News
Published on: October 7, 2026
By Claire Palmer

B.C. has launched its annual fall immunization campaign amid an early start to the cold and flu season.

New this year, the province will be offering an enhanced flu shot and an immunization for RSV for seniors.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control said the early rise in cases is predominantly being driven by this year’s flu strain — H1N1, or influenza A — which is known to peak earlier and cause more severe illness.

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British Columbia

Beginning immunizations for viral respiratory season

People encouraged to protect themselves, loved ones from influenza, COVID-19, other viral illnesses

Published October 7, 2026

Published by: Government of British Columbia
Published on: October 7, 2026

Summary

Vaccines are available for influenza and COVID-19
Notifications began for priority populations on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, and appointments will start as early as Tuesday, Oct. 13
Notifications will continue and will expand to the general population through early November 2026
New this year: Seniors 75+ and Indigenous people 60+ are eligible for the RSV vaccine

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Saskatchewan

Sask. opens flu and COVID immunization bookings as sickness circulates

Too early to know how bad flu and COVID season may be, health officer says

Published October 6, 2026

Published by: CBC News
Published on: October 6, 2026
By Emma Stuart-Kiss

Saskatchewan has opened bookings for flu and COVID-19 vaccines.

The flu has been circulating this past month, with some parts of the country experiencing an early start to flu season. Health Canada reported 815 confirmed influenza cases for the week ending Sept. 26, compared to 291 in the week ending Sept. 5.

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COVID-19 vaccines in Canada

vaccines

COVID-19 vaccines in Canada

Published October 5, 2026

In 2026-2027, three COVID-19 vaccines will be available in Canada: the Moderna Spikevax, Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, and Sanofi Nuvaxovid vaccines. In most provinces/territories, all three vaccines will be available via publicly funded programs. Limited quantities of the free doses of the Nuvaxovid vaccine will be available. Only vaccines that Health Canada has approved for use will be administered.

The Nuvaxovid (formerly Novavax) COVID-19 vaccine will be available in the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nunavut has not announced details for its vaccination program yet.

Learn more about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada

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Quebec

Most Quebeckers lose flu shot coverage as viral season gets early start

Published October 2, 2026

Published by: The Globe and Mail
Published on: October 2, 2026
By Tu Thanh Ha, Alanna Smith

Quebeckers who are not considered high-risk will have to pay nearly $200 to get vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 this season, charting a path opposite to other provinces in Canada as the viral season picks up speed.

Quebec is the only province scrapping universal flu coverage, owing its decision to guidance from the province’s immunization committee. Only some categories will be eligible for a free flu shot, such as Quebeckers 65 and older; people with certain chronic conditions – such as immunocompromised people – and those living with them; pregnant women; residents of seniors’ homes and long-term care facilities.

Those who do not qualify can expect to be charged around $150 for the COVID-19 vaccine, which came into effect in the province last year. Now, they will also need to pay between $30 and $40 for the flu shot, said Marilie Beaulieu-Gravel, a spokesperson for the association representing pharmacy owners in Quebec.

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Quebec

The flu and COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin on October 20

It will not be free for everyone this year.

Published October 1, 2026

Published by: Le Devoir
Published on: October 1, 2026
By Florence Morin-Martel

Quebecers will be able to make appointments starting on October 13, to be vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19 during the autumn campaign. This will start on October 20, but this year the free vaccinations will be reserved for groups considered to be the most vulnerable.

In less than two weeks, the public will therefore be able to make appointments on Clic Santé. It will also be possible to do this at pharmacies, with over 1,700 in the province offering the flu and COVID-19 vaccines free of charge to those who are eligible.

This year, the free influenza and COVID-19 vaccine doses are reserved for people aged 65 years and older, as well as residents of CHSLDs (residential and long-term care centres), private residences for the elderly, and other communal settings that include many vulnerable people.

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Ontario

Flu and COVID-19 vaccines available to some Ontarians starting today. Here is who is eligible

Published September 28, 2026

Published by: CTV News
Published on: September 28, 2026
By Phil Tsekouras

The Ontario government is launching its fall immunization program ahead of flu season and some people can get their shots starting this week.

In a news release, the Ministry of Health said an initial supply of COVID-19 and flu vaccines will be available for high-risk and priority groups who live, work or study in Ontario starting Monday. Those individuals include:

Hospitalized patients
Hospital staff
Residents and staff in long-term care homes, retirement homes and other congregate settings
Individuals aged 65 and older

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ME/CFS

Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed

Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a shocking social crisis playing out behind closed doors

Published September 24, 2026

Published by: The Guardian
Published on: September 24, 2026
By George Monbiot

I’ve spent my working life covering neglected issues. But few are neglected like the devastating chronic condition ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome). In severe cases, the illness shuts down people’s lives almost entirely, causing an extreme loss of energy and a wide range of physical and cognitive symptoms that can prevent patients from working, socialising and, sometimes, even moving or eating. Yet these people have been more or less airbrushed from our minds.

To find out what this neglect looks like in practice, this week I put out a call on Bluesky asking people with ME/CFS about their recent experiences of treatment. I was immediately inundated with horrifying testimonies. “I’ve just been completely abandoned”; “a 10-year waiting list for treatment”; “we’ve given up seeking medical support”; “stuck in limbo”; “I just felt utterly unheard, invalidated”. I’ve been sent hundreds of shocking and heart-rending accounts.

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airborne transmission

‘Outdated’ health policies surrounding Covid still pose a danger today, says U of C researcher

Published September 18, 2026

Published by: CTV News
Published on: September 18, 2026
By Tommy Osborne

University of Calgary professor Mark Ungrin has dedicated years of research highlighting what he believes is of significant concern to all Canadians’ health.

He says health policy and the federal government’s response to Covid was based on outdated information, and even today that same policy remains in place.

“Unfortunately, when Covid hit, there was very little attention paid to aerosol transmission as a means of Covid infecting from one person to another,” Ungrin said. “Warnings were provided by scientists, engineers, occupational health and safety experts, many people within the medical profession, but infection control leaders really based their decisions on some fairly outdated understandings of aerosol biology and disease transmission via aerosols, and as a result, they basically assumed that it was not possible for Covid to be airborne.”

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vaccines

Health Canada Authorizes Pfizer and BioNTech’s Omicron XFG-Adapted COVID-19 Vaccine

Published September 17, 2026

Published by: PR Newswire
Published on: September 17, 2026
By Pfizer Canada

KIRKLAND, QC, Sept. 17, 2026 /CNW/ — Pfizer Canada ULC and BioNTech SE today announced that Health Canada has authorized the XFG variant-adapted COMIRNATY® for active immunization of individuals aged 6 months and older against COVID-19. The updated COMIRNATY® vaccine targets the Omicron XFG lineage, in alignment with public health recommendations for the 2026-2027 season.

The Health Canada approval is based on the cumulative body of evidence previously submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech that includes clinical, non-clinical and real-world data supporting the safety and effectiveness of COMIRNATY®.

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Alberta

Alberta government maintaining COVID vaccine fee as it prepares for fall influenza campaign

Province says Albertans can start booking vaccination appointments on Oct. 5

Published September 14, 2026

Published by: CBC News / The Canadian Press
Published on: September 14, 2026

The Alberta government says its provincewide influenza, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus vaccination campaign will begin next month.

In a news release issued Monday, the province said it’s maintaining the $100 fee it brought in last year for those seeking the COVID vaccine, though there’s a long list of reasons that could see the fee be waived for people, such as having health conditions that put them at risk for severe illness.

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long COVID

Why Is No One Talking About Long COVID?

Published September 6, 2026

Published by: MedpageToday
Published on: September 6, 2026
By Jeffrey D. Klausner, Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz

More than 6 years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, its effects have continued. In March 2024, roughly 17 million adults (7% of all U.S. adults) reported currently having symptoms consistent with long COVID, a chronic condition characterized by persistent symptoms lasting 3 months or longer after infection. Long COVID can affect any system or organ in the body. Symptoms of long COVID include chronic fatigue, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, severe tiredness after exercise, lightheadedness and palpitations when standing, and many other problems. Those chronic symptoms often make it difficult for people to go to work or school.

As a result, long COVID imposes substantial disability. In fact, researchers have estimated that years lived with disability attributable to long COVID is comparable to other common diseases like Alzheimer’s and asthma. In addition to the immediate effects on patients and their families, that disability translates into profound economic losses. Economists estimated in 2022 that the costs of long COVID will result in more than $3 trillion lost to society over 5 years, either through reduced quality of life and increased medical care or through lost economic productivity.

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British Columbia

COVID-19 outbreak declared over at Trail hospital

Published July 20, 2026

Published by: Nelson Star
Published on: July 20, 2026
By Sheri Regnier

A COVID-19 outbreak on the second-floor surgical unit at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail has been declared over.

Interior Health said the outbreak ended Wednesday, July 15, after 12 patient cases were associated with the outbreak.

The causative agent was identified as COVID-19.

The outbreak was declared July 6 after the first case was identified July 1.

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long COVID

New Study Provides First Evidence of Dopamine System Injury in the Brain of Long COVID Patients

Findings have important implications for the pathophysiology of key COVID symptoms and suggest new potential avenues for treatment

Published July 10, 2026

Published by: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Published on: July 10, 2026

Toronto, ON (July 10, 2026) — A new brain imaging study led by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), published in eBioMedicine, provides the strongest evidence to date that long COVID is associated with injury to dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain—a finding that may explain symptoms such as lack of motivation due to fatigue, slowed movement, and memory difficulties, and could open the door to new treatment strategies.

Long COVID is estimated to affect five per cent of the world population, including two million Canadians, and is characterized by a wide range of persistent and sometimes debilitating symptoms, including brain-related ones such as fatigue, brain fog, memory problems, or low mood, that continue for at least three months following the initial COVID-19 infection. Despite its prevalence, no evidence-based treatments currently exist, largely due to limited understanding of the underlying brain pathology.

In the new study, researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging to measure a well-established marker of dopamine neuron integrity in people with long COVID and healthy individuals.

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eye diseases

Eye problems after COVID-19 can now be explained

Published July 8, 2026

Published by: EurekAlert!
Published on: July 8, 2026
By Linköping University

Mild COVID-19 can cause severe and long-lasting eye problems, according to a study from Linköping University, Sweden. The study also explains why it has been…

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indoor air quality

Buildings May Soon Have ‘Immune Systems’ That Fight Airborne Disease

Following the pandemic, the federal government is spending $150 million on new technology to ensure clean indoor air. Here’s what scientists are pursuing.

Published June 19, 2026

Published by: The New York Times
Published on: June 19, 2026
By Carl Zimmer

Linsey Marr, an environmental engineer, stood next to a pair of clear plastic boxes packed with tubes, nozzles and electronics, an odd-looking prototype that one day might serve to protect children in day care from airborne pathogens.

A nozzle filled the right-hand box with a faint silvery mist. A pump pulled some of that air into the left-hand box, where a sampler trapped floating particles and droplets. Soon, a digital screen bolted to the box turned red: “Detected! Dust mite allergen Der f 1.”

A protein shed by dust mites, Der f 1 can trigger asthma attacks when inhaled. Dr. Marr’s device had detected 843 picograms of Der f 1 per cubic meter. A single grain of salt is about 10 million times as heavy.

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Tag: COVID-19

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

An early peak in flu season is being driven by the H1N1 strain, according to the BCCDC

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

People encouraged to protect themselves, loved ones from influenza, COVID-19, other viral illnesses

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Summary

Too early to know how bad flu and COVID season may be, health officer says

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

It will not be free for everyone this year.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a shocking social crisis playing out behind closed doors

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Province says Albertans can start booking vaccination appointments on Oct. 5

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Findings have important implications for the pathophysiology of key COVID symptoms and suggest new potential avenues for treatment

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Following the pandemic, the federal government is spending $150 million on new technology to ensure clean indoor air. Here’s what scientists are pursuing.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts