Updated COVID-19 vaccines are starting to roll out to some high-risk Canadians, but others will have to wait a little while longer before these new shots are offered to them.
Last month, Health Canada approved Pfizer and Moderna’s latest COVID-19 vaccines targeting the most recent variants of the virus.
Both shots are approved for everyone aged six months and older.
The new mRNA vaccines from both pharmaceutical companies target the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron that was dominating COVID-19 spread earlier this year.
Comments closedTORONTO – The Public Health Agency of Canada says it is not providing Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine this respiratory virus season, citing low demand.
It says the manufacturer requires a minimum order of its updated protein-based vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, which far exceeds the uptake by Canadians last year.
The agency says a very small portion of the doses ordered in 2023 were used and that its decision reflects efforts to limit vaccine wastage.
It is distributing two mRNA vaccines — made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — that are approved for adults and children six months and older.
Comments closedComments closedWe know that COVID-19 is not an equal-opportunity disease, we’ve known this for four years. COVID tends to have a disproportionately high impact on people who are lower on the socio-economic ladder; people who don’t have the luxury of working from home, people who are doing essential work, people who because of their income are living in more crowded conditions. These are all risk factors and they’re all socio-economically tied. So to say, ‘Yeah, there’s this tool that will keep you safe if you have enough money to pay for it,’ I think is an abdication of what public health is supposed to be, which is public.
Prince Edward Islanders should be considering whether they need a COVID vaccine booster before the end of May, says Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison.
In a news release Monday morning, Morrison said the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has released updated guidance on COVID-19 vaccine boosters for this spring.
Comments closedAn outbreak of COVID-19 at Kings County Memorial Hospital’s in-patient unit is over, Health P.E.I. confirmed Sunday.
The outbreak at the hospital in Montague was declared on Feb. 22. Visitor restrictions were put in place to limit the number of partners-in-care per patient.
The health agency is encouraging visitors to the in-patient unit to wear a mask and to stay away if they feel ill.
Comments closedLife expectancy fell in the four Atlantic provinces in 2022. COVID-19 is one of the causes put forward by Statistics Canada to explain the phenomenon.
Comments closedA COVID-19 outbreak has been declared in the in-patient unit at Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague.
Comments closedLong-term care facilities in Prince Edward Island were not ready for the pandemic. Because of this, the quality of patient care deteriorated when COVID-19 arrived.
A group appointed by the provincial government came to these conclusions after talking to residents, workers, and managers of long-term care facilities, as well as families whose loved ones live in those facilities.
A long-awaited report into how Prince Edward Island handled the COVID-19 pandemic in its long-term care homes says that while the province’s response was reasonable, it was too severe in its impact on residents.
P.E.I.’s long-term care homes “were not sufficiently prepared for a pandemic” when the COVID-19 crisis began, leading to the quality of care for residents deteriorating, according to an external panel appointed by the provincial government.
The panel headed by mediator and retired lawyer Michele Dorsey reported on its work Thursday, after interviewing and surveying long-term care residents, operators, staff and unions as well as health administrators and Island families who had loved ones in the system.
Comments closedHealth P.E.I. is reintroducing the wearing of masks for certain healthcare workers. Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in care centres.
Comments closedHealth P.E.I. says it’s keeping a close eye on the number of COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and flu cases among staff and patients, as it weighs whether to bring back mandatory masking at its facilities.
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