Tag: SARS-CoV-2

Published by: France 24 / AFP
Published on: April 16, 2025

Countries united under the World Health Organization on Wednesday agreed to a milestone accord on how to respond to future pandemics and avoid repeating the mistakes made during the Covid-19 crisis. The agreement comes despite US foreign aid cuts and possible tariffs on pharmaceuticals casting uncertainty over the talks.

Years of negotiations culminated early Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how to tackle future pandemics, aimed at avoiding a repeat of the mistakes made during the Covid-19 crisis.

After more than three years of talks and one last marathon session, weary delegates at the World Health Organization’s headquarters sealed the deal at around 2am (0000 GMT) Wednesday.

“Tonight marks a significant milestone in our shared journey towards a safer world,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“The nations of the world made history in Geneva today.”

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Quebec

Seniors 75 and over invited to get COVID-19 vaccine

Published April 14, 2025

Published by: La Presse / The Canadian Press
Published on: April 14, 2025
By Katrine Desautels

(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.

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cognitive issues

Is Covid Rewriting the Rules of Aging? Brain Decline Alarms Doctors

Published April 14, 2025

Published by: The Wall Street Journal
Published on: April 14, 2025
By Sumathi Reddy

Five years after the pandemic’s start, millions of Americans are still struggling with long-lasting symptoms of Covid-19. Cognitive difficulties are among the most troubling and common symptoms in people both old and young.

These ailments can be severe enough to leave former professionals like Ken Todd unable to work and even diagnosed with a form of mild cognitive impairment.

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long COVID

Studies: 1 in 7 US working-age adults report long COVID, with heaviest burden on the poor

Published April 9, 2025

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: April 9, 2025
By Mary Van Beusekom

Nearly 1 in 7 working-age US adults had experienced long COVID by late 2023, and socially disadvantaged adults were over 150% more likely to have persistent symptoms, two new studies find.

Future public health, economic burdens

Yesterday in Communications Medicine, Daniel Kim, MD, DrPH, of Northeastern University, analyzed data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey from September and November 2022 and August to October 2023 on more than 375,000 US adults, including nearly 50,000 with self-reported long COVID.

Kim assessed sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors as predictors of long COVID; estimated the risk of unemployment, financial difficulties, and anxiety and depression among working-age adults (ages 18 to 64 years) and those currently experiencing lingering symptoms; and tallied the economic effects of the resulting lost wages.

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long COVID

Tackling the ‘silent pandemic’: breakthrough study puts first long COVID treatment on horizon

Published April 8, 2025

Published by: WEHI
Published on: April 9, 2025

Researchers have shown a new drug compound can prevent long COVID symptoms in mice – a landmark finding that could lead to a future treatment for the debilitating condition.

The world-first study found mice treated with the antiviral compound, developed by a multidisciplinary research team at WEHI, were protected from long term brain and lung dysfunction – key symptoms of long COVID.

Researchers hope the unprecedented results could lead to clinical trials and the first treatment for the disease in the future.

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Toronto

Airborne Danger

Published April 4, 2025

Published by: The Grind Magazine
Published on: April 4, 2025
By Saima Desai

Stuffy, crowded classrooms mean kids are breathing in viruses and pollution. Parents are trying to make the air safer, but hitting roadblocks.

In September 2023, Heather Pun started sending her son to school with a carbon dioxide monitor. He was spending his days in a stuffy portable classroom, and she worried that COVID was being passed lung-to-lung through the stale air.

The device, which reads the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, showed CO2 levels as high as 3,500 parts per million (ppm) in his classroom.

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British Columbia

‘Abandoned and betrayed’: Removal of mask requirement in B.C. health care sparks outcry

Published April 1, 2025

Published by: Daily Hive
Published on: April 1, 2025
By Amir Ali

We’ve come a long way from the days of general mask mandates for the public, but a recent move to eliminate the requirement in B.C. health care settings is causing some outcry.

According to a recent BC Ministry of Health release, “People are still encouraged to wear medical masks in health care settings as appropriate,” but it is not mandatory.

Some groups, including Protect Our Province BC and DoNoHarm BC, are questioning the decision. This response comes after B.C. announced that it was launching the spring immunization campaign on April 8.

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BC patients, health advocates slam removal of healthcare mask protections

British Columbia

BC patients, health advocates slam removal of healthcare mask protections

Published March 31, 2025

Published by: DoNoHarm BC
Published on: March 31, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC and the Canadian Covid Society warn the province’s decision endangers patients, healthcare workers, and the healthcare system

March 31, 2025 (British Columbia) – BC patients and health advocates are speaking out against the provincial government’s decision to drop healthcare mask requirements, at a time when there are multiple illness outbreaks in medical settings. Public health groups DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC, and the Canadian Covid Society warn that the move endangers vulnerable patients and frontline workers, while harming the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of BC’s healthcare system.

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vaccines

COVID-19 boosters help avoid breakthrough infections in immunocompromised people, McGill-led study finds

Published March 31, 2025

Published by: McGill University
Published on: March 31, 2025

Researchers focused on those with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

New research findings provide solid evidence that annual COVID-19 vaccine booster doses continue to be advisable for certain immunocompromised people, researchers at McGill University say.

The researchers looked at how often people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) got COVID-19 despite having received at least three doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. IMIDs – including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis – affect more than seven million Canadians. The medications they take often weaken their vaccine responses, increasing their vulnerability to infection.

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Alberta

Spring COVID-19 vaccine doses expected for some vulnerable Albertans

Published March 31, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: March 31, 2025
By Jennifer Lee

Preparations are underway for a limited spring COVID-19 vaccination program in Alberta.

Pharmacists say certain groups of high-risk Albertans will be eligible for a biannual dose of the KP.2 vaccine, starting April 28.

Eligible groups include seniors (aged 65 and older), all First Nations, Métis and Inuit people six months of age and older, immunocompromised Albertans six months and up, and adults living in care homes, according to Alberta’s updated immunization policy.

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Newfoundland and Labrador

Province Offers COVID-19 Booster Doses to At-Risk Populations

Published March 29, 2025

Published by: VOCM
Published on: March 29, 2025

The provincial government has started offering COVID-19 booster doses to specific at-risk populations, as identified by the National Advisory on Immunization.

Eligible are all people age 65 and older, adult residents of long-term care homes and other congregate living settings for seniors, and people who are over six months old and are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

The vaccine will be available until June 1st.

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long COVID

The pandemic didn’t end for this P.E.I. woman, who wants more support for those with long COVID

Published March 28, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: March 28, 2025
By Stephen Brun

Just over two years ago, Nikkie Gallant never would have imagined that simply sitting up in bed would be an exhausting task for her.

That’s been the P.E.I. musician’s reality since the fall of 2022, when she was diagnosed with post-COVID condition, more commonly known as “long COVID.”

Now she drains a lot of energy just going to the sink for a glass of water or folding laundry. She often has to forget about plans to leave the house.

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Respiratory season ends, B.C. launching spring COVID-19 vaccination campaign

British Columbia

Respiratory season ends, B.C. launching spring COVID-19 vaccination campaign

Published March 28, 2025

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: March 28, 2025
By Brenna Owen

Respiratory illness season is over, British Columbia’s top doctor said Friday, but the province is set to launch a spring COVID-19 immunization campaign and wants everyone to ensure they’re fully protected against measles.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C.’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have hit the lowest level since 2020, with about 40 people in hospital, while cases of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, have also been declining.

Still, Henry said there have been resurgences in spring and summer in the past, and the province is focused on protecting people at the highest risk of serious illness.

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long COVID

University of Waterloo students raise awareness about Long COVID

Published March 27, 2025

Published by: CTV News
Published on: March 27, 2025
By Jeff Pickel

Although COVID-19 no longer makes daily headlines, some are on a mission to spread awareness about the impact the virus is still having on the community.

The University of Waterloo hosted a silent walk on Thursday to raise awareness about the condition known as Long COVID – when the impact of an infection is still being experienced months after the fact.

Those who have or had Long COVID, and supporters of loved ones with it, were among those on hand.

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long COVID

‘Something was wrong with my brain’: How covid leaves its mark on cognition

Published March 27, 2025

Published by: The Washington Post
Published on: March 27, 2025
By Richard Sima

In March 2020, Hannah Davis fell ill, and everything changed. Her respiratory symptoms were mild, but the neurological and cognitive fallout was frightening.

“I could tell very early on that something was wrong with my brain,” she said after getting sick with covid-19.

And Davis had quantitative proof — her score for processing speed on a cognitive test dropped from the 96th percentile right before the pandemic to the 14th percentile after her coronavirus infection.

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wastewater monitoring

Measles ‘inevitable’ in Ottawa, expert warns as Ontario outbreak spreads

Published March 26, 2025

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

Ottawa Public Health has begun monitoring wastewater for evidence of measles in the city as the highly infectious disease continues to surge throughout Ontario.

That makes Ottawa one of the only communities in the province and across Canada using wastewater as a possible early warning signal for measles. Ottawa Public Health says the tool is promising for detecting measles, but the research is limited and “many unknowns remain”.

There have been no cases in Ottawa so far this year but Dr. Gregory Rose, who is director of infection prevention and control at Queensway Carleton Hospital, warns that it is only a matter of time.

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wastewater monitoring

Amid Canada’s largest measles outbreak in more than a decade, experts say this COVID-era tool could help

Published March 26, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: March 26, 2025
By Jennifer La Grassa

As Canada deals with its largest measles outbreak in more than a decade, health experts say a COVID-era tool could help tame the spread.

Wastewater surveillance, which involves testing sewage samples for viral pathogens, became essential during the pandemic. The data helped overwhelmed health officials map out COVID-19’s path and better predict the trajectory of cases.

At the time, it was praised as a critical public health tool that could serve as a warning system to keep Canadians safe from future harmful infections. And as the current measles outbreak surpasses 500 cases in Canada, experts say this is the moment where leaning into regional wastewater surveillance would be most helpful.

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pro-virus policies

CDC is pulling back $11B in Covid funding sent to health departments across the U.S.

Published March 25, 2025

Published by: NBC News
Published on: March 25, 2025
By Brandy Zadrozny

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pulling back $11.4 billion in funds allocated in response to the pandemic to state and community health departments, nongovernment organizations and international recipients, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” HHS Director of Communications Andrew Nixon said in a statement. “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.”

HHS oversees 13 agencies, including the CDC, which is tasked with protecting the nation’s health. Notices began going out Monday, and awardees have 30 days to reconcile their expenditures. Figures are subject to change.

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Tag: SARS-CoV-2

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Future public health, economic burdens

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DoNoHarm BC, Protect Our Province BC and the Canadian Covid Society warn the province’s decision endangers patients, healthcare workers, and the healthcare system

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Researchers focused on those with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

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