Health Canada has authorized Moderna’s mRNA vaccine for influenza, as well as its combination mRNA vaccine for flu and COVID-19.
Both are approved for adults 50 years of age and older.
Moderna told The Canadian Press they will not hit pharmacies in time for this respiratory virus season.
Comments closedOn Sept. 24, two days after the provincial election was called, the Medical Services Commission signed off on changes that restrict virtual “group medical visits” to 30 patients, down from 50, effective Nov. 1. Patient advocates have noted that this change will reduce access to care for people with many chronic health conditions. It also directly contradicts the recommendations from our research with people with long COVID.
With a new provincial government set to take its seat in the legislature, an immediate task of the new minister of health should be to review and revise the proposed changes to ensure they do not restrict patient care.
Over the past four years, we have engaged with people with long COVID to better understand barriers to health care. An estimated 36 per cent of people worldwide develop long COVID after a COVID infection, and B.C. Centre for Disease Control data from 2022 identified over 327,000 people with long COVID in B.C. Our survey, conducted in 2025 with 621 people with long COVID across Canada, found that 60 per cent of B.C.-based respondents accessed group medical visits, with many noting this was the only form of care available to them.
Comments closedMasks will soon be mandatory at Newfoundland and Labrador health-care facilities again.
The province’s health authority says the mask mandate, effective at 8 A.M. Nov. 4, is necessary due to “an increase in respiratory illnesses and outbreaks across Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS) facilities.”
NLHS says the decision is based on “current epidemiology, vaccination rates, and the health authority’s capacity to provide care during increased respiratory illness.”
Comments closed✉️ Send letters to the health minister and MPPs to support earlier access to publicly funded Nuvaxovid, both this year and in future years. Use our online tool to send emails.
Comments closedIn response to increased respiratory illness activity across the province, Health P.E.I. is implementing a masking policy in its facilities starting Friday.
Members of the public will be asked to wear a mask when within two metres of a patient. Masking will also be encouraged in hallways of acute care settings.
Health P.E.I. said in a release that the move is for continued patient safety.
Comments closedWhere 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.
Comments closedThe 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).
Comments closedB.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.
Comments closedSaskatchewan 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.
Comments closedIn 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.
Learn more about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada
Comments closedQuebeckers 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.
Comments closedQuebecers 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.
Comments closedThe 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:
