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 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.
Comments closedBeginning this fall, all Ontarians 75 and older will be eligible for a free shot that protects against respiratory syncytial virus.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones is scheduled to announce the expansion of public coverage for RSV vaccines on Wednesday, according to a Ministry of Health release that The Globe and Mail obtained in advance.
Until now, the Ontario government only paid for the RSV vaccine for seniors who were 60 and older and considered high risk, such as transplant recipients, dialysis patients and nursing home residents.
Comments closedQuebec has reported a case of the potentially deadly tick-borne disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever that was likely acquired in Ontario or Quebec. The disease was also reported in dogs in Ontario earlier this year.
Here’s what you need to know about preventing, identifying and treating the disease.
Comments closedFor the first time in Quebec, a person has contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne disease that is potentially fatal, a doctor stated on Monday. The patient, recently infected in Estrie, has nevertheless responded well to treatment and has now recovered.
As milder temperatures favour the proliferation of ticks, we expect to see more and more cases in the coming years in Quebec, says Dr. Alex Carignan, infectious disease microbiologist and professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke. “It is concerning, because it is an infection with significant severity.”
The disease, which is treated with antibiotics, can lead to death if not properly managed. The first symptoms, which appear a few hours or days after a person is bitten, include a high fever, headache, muscle aches, and skin lesions in the form of small red spots.
Comments closedEnvironment Canada says a cloud of wildfire smoke that is covering the nation’s capital could hang overhead into Tuesday.
A special air quality statement is in effect for much of the region as smoke continues to affect most of southern and eastern Ontario.
“The wildfire smoke may persist into tonight and possibly Tuesday before finally easing,” Environment Canada says. “Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour.”
Comments closedSmoke from forest fires is responsible for poor air quality in southern Quebec, northern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Montreal is also on Saturday the city where air quality is the worst in the world, according to IQAir’s ranking.
With a score of 191, Montreal ranks first, ahead of cities like Kinshasa in Congo and Manama in Bahrain. Toronto is also part of the top 10, it ranks 8th with a score of 110.
A score between 101 and 150 on the IQAir index indicates that conditions are poor for vulnerable people. If the index is higher than 150, the conditions are bad for everyone’s health.
Comments closedThe City of Ottawa is experiencing some of the worst air quality in the world due to wildfire smoke on Friday, with the poor air quality expected to continue into Saturday.
A special air quality statement remains in effect for Ottawa, eastern Ontario and western Quebec, warning smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility.
“High risk air quality due to wildfire smoke is expected over the area overnight. As smoke levels increase, health risks increase,” Environment Canada said in an updated statement at 5 p.m. Friday.
“Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events.”
Ottawa’s air quality was rated 10+ or “Very High Risk” at 4 p.m., after a slight improvement earlier in the day. The Air Quality Health Index shows Ottawa’s air quality will be or 10 or “High Risk” tonight, improving to to “5-Moderate Risk” tomorrow.
Comments closedThe smoke generated by the fires raging in the forests of western Canada worsened air quality on Friday in the Prairies, Ontario and Quebec, where warnings of smog and poor air quality were issued by Environment Canada.
Early this morning, Toronto and Montreal were among the most heavily polluted cities in the world, according to the website of the Swiss company IQAIR, which operates a global air quality monitoring network.
According to the measurements posted on the company’s website, at around 8.30 am, Montreal and Toronto were respectively the second and third most polluted cities in the world, behind Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
In Canada, the worst air quality was measured in Winnipeg and Ottawa on Friday morning.
Comments closedSARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has mutated into two new variants that are circulating across Asia, Europe and North America, and Quebec’s public health authority warns one of the strains was detected in Montreal wastewater data.
The variant found in Quebec, XFG, has also been detected in wastewater in other parts of Canada, the United States, and Europe. Another new strain, NB.1.8.1, is associated with a rise in COVID cases and hospitalizations in China, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore, according to Marie-Pierre Blier, a spokesperson from the health ministry.
Although XFG has made its way to Quebec, public health authorities assure there is no need to panic. Blier wrote in an email that it hasn’t markedly impacted public health, adding that the ministry continues to monitor the situation closely.
Comments closedTORONTO – Public Health Ontario is reporting 95 new measles cases since last week, bringing the total number of people infected past 1,000.
It says a total of 1,020 people have had measles since the province’s outbreak began last October.
The agency says the ongoing rise in cases is “due to continued exposures and transmission among individuals who have not been immunized.”
The measles outbreak that began in Quebec in December has officially ended, the Ministry of Health has confirmed. The situation is quite different in Ontario, which has recorded more than 900 cases.
The spread has stabilized in Quebec in recent weeks, with the last recorded case dating back to March 18. Quebec has confirmed 40 cases of measles during this outbreak, with the vast majority (32 cases) in the Laurentians.
According to the government’s technical parameters for the management of measles cases, contacts and outbreaks in Quebec, the end of the outbreak is set at the 32nd day following the last presence of the last contagious case in an environment.
Comments closed(Montreal) A COVID-19 vaccination campaign is launched this spring for people at risk of developing complications, Santé Québec announced on Monday.
Teams are currently deployed in the province’s long-term care homes, after which vaccination will be offered in private seniors’ residences (RPA) with a more vulnerable clientele.
In addition to CHSLDs and RPAs, seniors 75 years of age or older and people with immunodeficiency or dialysis are encouraged to go get their vaccine dose. This vaccination campaign also aims to reach people aged 65-74 who live with a chronic disease or in remote and isolated areas.
Non-targeted people aged 6 months and older can also receive the COVID-19 vaccine free of charge, says Santé Québec. If they have already been vaccinated, they should wait at least six months after their vaccine before receiving a new dose.
Comments closedThere’s been another sharp increase in Ontario measles cases as the province begins to release weekly reports on the infectious disease.
Public Health Ontario is reporting 470 measles cases since an outbreak began in October. That’s an increase of 120 cases since March 14.
The spread resulted in 34 hospitalizations, including two people who needed intensive care. Most of those hospitalized were unvaccinated kids, including one of the intensive care patients.
The outbreak expansion adds to the growing concern of rising measles cases in different parts of the country, including in Quebec where there are 40 cases and Alberta where there are 13, according to the latest data.
Comments closed“There are people who don’t believe that,” says Valérie, who was in front of the Quebec National Assembly on Saturday to mark the International Long COVID Awareness Day. After catching COVID-19 just over three years ago, she has never recovered.
After her brief visit to the public awareness event organized by the Canadian COVID Society on Saturday, “it’s the rest of my day coming to an end,” says Valérie. When she returns home, she knows that she will have to stay in bed and avoid all contact.
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