TORONTO – Federal funding for COVID-19 vaccines will stop this year and the provinces and territories will be responsible for buying them, as well as determining the timing of the vaccinations, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.
The agency published the information online on Friday, along with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s COVID-19 vaccine guidance for 2025 through to the summer of 2026.
Comments closedThe National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) released its updated guidelines on Friday on the use of COVID-19 vaccines during the upcoming fall season.
Although COVID-19 rates are currently low across the country, NACI said it anticipates a surge in activity during the fall and winter months, aligning with patterns seen in previous years and consistent with the behaviour of other respiratory viruses.
“As COVID-19 activity is expected during the upcoming fall and winter months, and COVID-19 disease can compound the impact on the health system of other fall and winter respiratory viruses, NACI continues to provide early guidance on the use of COVID-19 vaccines to facilitate planning by provinces and territories,” the guidelines state.
Comments closedNew guidelines suggest certain high-risk groups could benefit from having another dose of a COVID-19 vaccine this spring — and more frequent shots in general — while the broader population could be entering once-a-year territory, much like an annual flu shot.
Medical experts told CBC News that falling behind on the latest shots can come with health risks, particularly for individuals who are older or immunocompromised.
“Even when the risk of infection starts to increase, the vaccines still do a really good job at decreasing risk of severe disease,” said McMaster University researcher and immunologist Matthew Miller.
Comments closedCanadians may be in the thick of winter, but the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recently unveiled guidelines for an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for the upcoming spring.
On Friday, NACI released updated guidelines on the COVID-19 boosters for spring 2024.
Comments closedCanada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization says some groups of people vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19 should be eligible for another dose of vaccine in the spring.
The recommendation issued Friday says people aged 65 and older, residents of long-term care homes and seniors living in other congregate settings may get another shot of the vaccine targeted to the XBB.1.5 variant.
It also says children and adults aged six months and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised due to an underlying condition may also get the booster.
Comments closedThe country’s national vaccine advisers are recommending Canadians get another COVID-19 booster shot this fall, with updated vaccines expected in the months ahead.
The next round of vaccines will likely be monovalent — meaning they will specifically target the Omicron family of sub-lineages that are still circulating globally, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said Tuesday.
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