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Tag: vaccines

A surprise bonus from COVID-19 vaccines: bolstering cancer treatment

The innovative messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that thwarted the ravages of COVID-19 may also help fight tumors in cancer patients, according to a new analysis of medical records and studies in mice.

People with cancer who coincidentally received the mRNA shots before starting drugs designed to unleash the immune system against tumors lived significantly longer than those who didn’t get vaccinated, a research team announced yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin. Laboratory experiments by the group suggest the vaccines rev up the immune system, making even stubborn tumors more susceptible to treatment.

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Health authority firms up Yellowknife flu and Covid-19 clinic dates

Walk-in clinics for the flu and Covid-19 vaccine open in Yellowknife later in October, the NWT’s health authority confirmed in a schedule issued late last week.

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Trump Rattles Vaccine Experts Over Aluminum

Federal health officials are examining the feasibility of taking aluminum salts out of vaccines, a prospect that vaccine experts said would wipe out about half of the nation’s supply of childhood inoculations and affect shots that protect against whooping cough, polio and deadly flu.

The review at the Food and Drug Administration began after President Trump listed aluminum in vaccines as harmful during a press briefing about the unproven link between Tylenol and autism.

Aluminum salts have been in vaccines since the 1920s and are added to enhance the immune-stimulating effect against the virus or bacteria covered by the inoculation. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, has been a longtime critic of aluminum in vaccines, which he has suggested is linked to autism.

Vaccine experts said the tiny amount of aluminum salts in vaccines — often measured in the one-millionth of a gram — has a long track record of safety and is essential to generating lasting immunity from disease. Developing vaccines without aluminum salts, they said, would require an entirely new formulation from scratch.

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Here’s when you can get flu and COVID-19 vaccines in B.C.

As respiratory illness season approaches, B.C. will begin rolling out its annual vaccination campaign for COVID-19 and influenza.

British Columbians began receiving notifications with a link to book vaccine appointments on Oct. 7 and they will continue to be sent out into November.

Appointments for both influenza and COVID-19 shots will begin on Oct. 14, starting with those at highest risk of severe illness.

Both vaccines are available for free for anyone older than six months.

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Nova Scotians can now book COVID-19, flu vaccine appointments

Nova Scotia residents can now book appointments for the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.

The Nova Scotia government says the free vaccines are recommended for everyone aged six months and older.

Nova Scotians can book an appointment with their family doctor, nurse practitioner or family practice nurse, or at their local pharmacy, public health office or mobile unit.

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Quebec launches fall vaccination campaign: COVID-19 shots no longer free for all

Quebecers can now book their appointments as the province’s fall vaccination campaign is underway but unlike previous years the COVID-19 shot is no longer free for all.

Unless an individual is part of a high-risk group, the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires (AQPP) had said that the cost for a vaccine dose will range between $150 and $180.

The COVID-19 vaccine remains free of charge to:

  • Immunocompromised individuals or have chronic illnesses
  • People aged 65 and older
  • On dialysis
  • Residents of long-term care facilities (CHSLDs)
  • Private seniors’ residences (RPAs)
  • Adults living in remote and isolated areas
  • Healthcare workers
  • Pregnant individuals
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COVID ages women’s blood vessels, according to a study

COVID-19 causes women’s blood vessels to age prematurely, according to an international study involving two researchers from Université Laval. The disease should therefore be considered an additional risk factor in cardiovascular health analyses. Specifically, in those who have developed severe symptoms, they warn.

The aging of blood vessels results in greater rigidity, which can increase the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases.

“The heart must work a little harder to propel blood through the arterial system, and this causes variations in pressure that can damage sensitive organs, including the brain and kidneys,” explains Catherine Fortier, a kinesiologist and researcher in vascular aging at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval.

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COVID vaccines may have averted thousands of hospital stays in infants, pregnant women over 18 months

A US modeling study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics estimates that vaccinating pregnant women against COVID-19 prevented 7,000 hospitalizations in infants and 3,000 in pregnant women from January 2024 to May 2025.

The Stanford University–led research team analyzed COVID-NET surveillance data on COVID-19 hospitalization rates in infants younger than 6 months and incidence data on pregnant women aged 18 to 49 years under a relative risk of 2.65. The aim was to estimate the health impact of vaccination during pregnancy, mainly during the second or third trimester.

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COVID-19 vaccine campaigns launch across Canada for 2025-26

Provinces and territories are starting to roll out updated vaccines to protect people from COVID-19.

The Public Health Agency of Canada’s immunization guide says COVID vaccines have been shown to be effective at preventing severe disease, including hospitalization and death and can decrease the risk of post-COVID-19 condition, or long COVID.

The vaccination campaign comes as COVID-19 cases in people going to emergency or urgent care for respiratory symptoms have increased. About 10 per cent of tests were positive for the week ending Sept. 20, up from 9.6 per cent the previous week, according to the federal respiratory virus snapshot.

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

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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No evidence that Tylenol causes autism, say Health Canada, World Health Organization

ORONTO – Health Canada, the World Health Organization and Canadian autism experts say there is no evidence that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism.

Health Canada and the WHO issued statements last night and this morning in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s unproven claim linking the drug — whose generic name is acetaminophen — to the disorder.

Health Canada says acetaminophen is a “recommended treatment of pain or fever in pregnancy” and “has been used safely by millions of Canadians for decades, including during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.”

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Trump makes unfounded claims about Tylenol and repeats discredited link between vaccines and autism

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday used the platform of the presidency to promote unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism as his administration announced a wide-ranging effort to study the causes of the complex brain disorder.

“Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump instructed pregnant women around a dozen times during the unwieldy White House news conference, also urging mothers not to give their infants the drug, known by the generic name acetaminophen. He also fueled long-debunked claims that ingredients in vaccines or timing shots close together could contribute to rising rates of autism in the U.S., without providing any medical evidence.

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Manitoba offers COVID-19 shots for free as some provinces begin charging residents

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.

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The Moderna plant in Laval delivers its first COVID-19 vaccines

Moderna’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.”

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Looking for your next COVID-19 or flu shot? Here’s when you can get it in Ontario

The Ontario government has released its schedule for fall immunization programs as it encourages residents to get flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

In a media release on Thursday, the province said free flu and COVID-19 shots will be available to Ontarians as of Oct. 27 at participating pharmacies, some public health units and doctor’s offices.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones said in the release that Ontario is working with health-care partners to ensure immunizations are available and accessible to all.

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COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be free for everyone in Quebec

Starting 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.

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The COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be free for everyone this fall

This 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.

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Viewpoint: Four tips for understanding this week’s ACIP meeting

The last meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June abandoned the use of its rigorous evidence-to-recommendation framework for making vaccine policy decisions, which structures decisions around key factors, including the balance of benefits and harms, the type or quality of evidence and health economic analyses, among other elements. The meeting also included new members making inaccurate statements about both vaccine safety and efficacy and included a presentation by a well-known anti-vaccine advocate that was filled with errors.

Now, the committee is set to include even more vaccine skeptics when it meets later this week, according to published reports, including multiple anti–COVID mRNA vaccine activists. (On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed five new ACIP members.)

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