Tag: respiratory syncytial virus

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: January 13, 2026
By Stephanie Soucheray

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today appointed two obstetricians-gynecologists to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Both appointees have a history of questioning vaccine safety in pregnancy, and one has erroneously claimed COVID-19 vaccines caused miscarriages.

Adam Urato, MD, of UMass Memorial Health, is the first listed appointee to ACIP. In October of 2024, he wrote on X, “CDC & ACOG recommend 4 vaccines in pregnancy: Flu, Tdap, RSV, & COVID. My patients often ask: ‘How do we know that all these vaccines won’t have adverse effects on my baby & me?’ The answer is: ‘We don’t.’ Women’s vax concerns should be acknowledged & their choices supported.”

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vaccines

‘Incomprehensibly stupid:’ How U.S. cuts in vaccine recommendations will impact Canadians

Published January 11, 2026

Published by: CTV News
Published on: January 11, 2026
By Kamil Karamali

Canadian doctors are warning that a new U.S. policy which slashes the number of vaccines universally recommended to all children could have devastating, and potentially deadly effects in Canada, including increasing disease spread through American travellers visiting north of the border.

“This was just incomprehensibly stupid. I was horrified,” said family doctor and former president of the Ontario Medical Association, Dr. Sohail Gandhi in an interview with CTV News Saturday. “Children in the U.S. are going to die as a result of this move – and, worse, some children are going to have lifelong complications as a result of this move.”

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indoor air quality

Federal Contract for up to $40 Million Fuels Research to Revolutionize Clean Indoor Air and Defend Against Next Pandemic

Published October 16, 2025

Published by: UC Davis
Published on: October 16, 2025
By Melody Warnick

When a public building catches fire, its built-in systems automatically respond: Smoke alarms blare, sprinklers kick on, and occupants quickly evacuate.

But what if the life-threatening danger isn’t fire but invisible airborne contaminants that can make occupants sick? Could a similar smart-building system monitor and improve the quality of the air indoors, where Americans spend 90 percent of their time?

With a contract for up to $40 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an ambitious multi-institutional research team led by Virginia Tech and including researchers at the University of California, Davis, aims to create just such a system.

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Ontario

COVID vaccine still free in Ontario as chief medical officer calls for action to combat skepticism, mistrust

Published September 26, 2025

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 26, 2025
By Elizabeth Payne

When Ontario rolls out its fall vaccination campaign at pharmacies, doctor’s offices and clinics across the province in the coming weeks, it will be bucking a trend.

At a time when both Alberta and Quebec have stopped funding COVID vaccines for the general public, limiting them to higher risk populations, and access to COVID vaccines is becoming limited in the United States, Ontario is moving in another direction.

The fall vaccination campaign, beginning in October, includes free access to an updated COVID-19 vaccine for the general public as well as expanded access to a vaccine to prevent RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) for older adults, and the flu vaccine.

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RSV

Ontario to expand RSV vaccine availability for seniors 75 and older this fall

Published August 27, 2025

Published by: The Globe and Mail
Published on: August 27, 2025
By Kelly Grant

Beginning 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.

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Ottawa: Contact councillors — save our wastewater monitoring!

Image of a chart with a plot of virus concentrations over time. Navy blue background with white text reading: Save our science — protect Ottawa's wastewater monitoring! Text in red: No data.

take action

Ottawa: Contact councillors — save our wastewater monitoring!

Published May 2, 2025

📣 Let municipal councillors know you want funding for wastewater monitoring to continue

✉️ Send letters to municipal councillors in Ottawa to voice your support for wastewater monitoring. Use our online tool to send emails.

Why take action? The funding for Ottawa’s wastewater monitoring program is currently set to expire in September 2025. Wastewater monitoring is an essential public health tool that provides insights into the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in Ottawa. We need an early warning system to inform everyone about the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 subvariants, influenza, avian flu, RSV, mpox, and other viruses.

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immunity theft

Analysis: Why are B.C. kids sick all the time? Health experts explain

Published January 10, 2025

Published by: Surrey Now-Leader
Published on: January 10, 2025
By Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, Arijit Chakravarty, T. Ryan Gregory

Simply put, COVID-19 infections weaken our immune systems. This makes us more prone to reinfection with SARS-CoV-2, infections with other viruses (e.g. RSV), reactivation of dormant viral infections (e.g. shingles, Herpes-Zoster virus), bacterial infections (Group A strep,TB) and even rare fungal infections. To make matters worse, the infections themselves may also be more severe. Being infected with SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses or bacteria at the same time can also make things worse, in adults as well as children.

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British Columbia

Flu driving spike in respiratory illness in B.C., but COVID-19 numbers low

Published January 9, 2025

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: January 9, 2025

VANCOUVER – New data shared by British Columbia’s Centre for Disease Control shows the province has one of the worst flu rates in Canada, as a holiday-season spike in respiratory illnesses continues.

But the data also shows the province has one of the lowest COVID-19 test positivity rates in the country, at about half the national rate.

Dr. Jennifer Vines, interim medical director for public health response at the B.C. CDC, says respiratory illness has been “steadily climbing” over the past several weeks, with RSV and influenza “driving the increase right now.”

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British Columbia

B.C. orders masks for hospitals, care facilities as flu, respiratory illness increase

Published January 8, 2025

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: January 8, 2025

VICTORIA – Medical masks are again required in British Columbia health-care facilities as provincial authorities say cases of respiratory illness are rising.

A statement from B.C.’s Health Ministry says workers, volunteers and visitors in facilities operated by provincial health authorities must wear masks in areas where patients are receiving care in order to prevent the spread of the flu, RSV and COVID-19.

The requirement spans hospitals, long-term care and assisted living facilities, outpatient clinics and ambulatory care settings, and it’s expected to remain in effect until the risk of illness decreases, likely in the spring.

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British Columbia

Masking required at all B.C. health-care facilities once again

Published January 8, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: January 8, 2025

Masks must again be worn in health-care facilities across B.C., according to the province’s Health Ministry.

In an email to CBC News, the Ministry of Health said the requirement came into effect on Jan. 6, and everyone in health-care facilities, including staff, patients, visitors and volunteers, must wear medical masks “in areas where patients are actively seeking care.”

The move is in response to what the ministry says is a rise in influenza and RSV infections in B.C. COVID-19, it said, is “stable but showing early signs of an increase.”

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British Columbia

Respiratory illness on the rise as B.C. residents begin busy holiday season

Published December 22, 2024

Published by: Vancouver Sun
Published on: December 22, 2024
By Tiffany Crawford

As B.C. begins the busy holiday season of social gatherings, health officials are reporting a steady increase in respiratory illness, including respiratory syncytial virus and walking pneumonia in children.

RSV is up 10.3 per cent over last week, predominantly in children in the Lower Mainland, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported in an update Friday.

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cardiovascular disease

COVID-19 linked to more heart complications than flu, RSV

Published December 16, 2024

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: December 16, 2024
By Stephanie Soucheray

A new study published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders shows that pediatric and young adult COVID-19 patients are more at risk for cardiac complications than flu or RSV patients of the same age.

The study was based on hospitalized US patients from 2020 through 2021 tracked through the National Inpatient Sample. In total 212,655 respiratory virus admissions were recorded, including 85,055 from COVID-19, 103,185 from RSV, and 24,415 from influenza.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

CHEO introduces new ‘safety measures’ for viral season, including masking requirements

Published October 22, 2024

Published by: CTV News
Published on: October 22, 2024
By Josh Pringle

Eastern Ontario’s children’s hospital is reintroducing safety measures for the viral season, including requiring people to wear a mask in clinical areas and waiting rooms and limiting the number of caregivers accompanying a patient to an appointment.

CHEO says the viral season can bring a “triple threat for children and youth” with seasonal influenza, COVID-19 and RSV.

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Quebec

Quebec launches annual flu/COVID vaccination campaign

Published October 7, 2024

Published by: Montreal Gazette
Published on: October 7, 2024
By Aaron Derfel

Quebec public health authorities on Monday launched the annual influenza and COVID-19 vaccination campaign, administering the shots first to people in long-term care before making the vaccines available for free to the general population as of Oct. 16.

And for the first time this year, medical staff will be immunizing infants up the age of 18 months against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a seasonal pathogen that often leads to overcrowded pediatric emergency rooms during the winter. Health Canada has approved a monoclonal antibody therapy, Nirsevimab, which is now being injected into premature infants in Quebec before they leave the hospital.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

Ottawa’s wastewater surveillance program extended for another year

Published October 4, 2024

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 4, 2024
By Elizabeth Payne

Two months after the Ontario government pulled the plug on wastewater surveillance, Ottawa health and research institutions have teamed up to extend the program in the city for a least another year.

Calling it an innovative solution that allowed for better monitoring of COVID-19 in the community, CHEO, the CHEO Research Institute, the University of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health announced an extension of wastewater surveillance on Friday.

In addition to monitoring COVID-19 levels in wastewater, the program monitors levels of influenza, RSV and mpox in Ottawa. The program has been extended until September 2025.

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Ottawa-Gatineau

uOttawa, CHEO and OPH extend monitoring of viruses in wastewater to 2025

Published October 4, 2024

Published by: CTV News
Published on: October 4, 2024
By Ted Raymond

Our research group is truly grateful for the overwhelming support we’ve received from the community over the past few months through emails, letters, and phone calls advocating for the continuation of our wastewater monitoring system.

We’ve gained invaluable insights into how this information is essential for community members facing health challenges, and we are thrilled to continue providing this vital service. A heartfelt thank you to OPH, CHEO, and CHEO-RI for their unwavering support.

— Dr. Robert Delatolla

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Northwest Territories

The N.W.T. now has a virus ‘dashboard’ so you can see COVID-19, flu and RSV trends

Published September 26, 2024

Published by: CBC News
Published on: September 26, 2024

Data collected by wastewater monitoring in six N.W.T. communities is being put to a new use: an online dashboard that tracks how much COVID-19, flu and RSV are in those communities.

The N.W.T. government announced the new dashboard Wednesday in a news release. It covers Yellowknife, Behchokǫ̀, Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Hay River and Norman Wells.

The dashboard is updated once a week on Tuesdays. For the most recent reporting period, as of Wednesday, it didn’t have data for Hay River but showed COVID-19 was still being detected to a high or moderate level in all the other communities. No detection was noted for flu or RSV.

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Ontario: Contact councillors — save Ontario’s wastewater monitoring!

Image with dark blue background, and white and gold text. Text at the top reads: Ottawa, London, Waterloo Region. Save our early warning system for viruses. Below the text, there is a chart with red text reading: no data.

take action

Ontario: Contact councillors — save Ontario’s wastewater monitoring!

Published September 10, 2024

📣 Let municipal councillors know you want funding for wastewater monitoring to continue

✉️ Send letters to municipal councillors to voice your support for wastewater monitoring. Use our online tool to send emails.

Comments closed

Tag: respiratory syncytial virus

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