Tag: vaccines

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines do not increase mortality, a study shows

Published December 4, 2025

Published by: Radio-Canada / Agence France-Presse
Published on: December 4, 2025

COVID-19 vaccines have not caused an increase in mortality in France since their appearance in the early 2020s, according to a study that refutes the widespread false theories prevalent in vaccine skeptic circles.

“COVID messenger RNA [mRNA] vaccines do not increase the long-term risk of all-cause mortality,” states Epi-Phare, a French organization comprising the Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament (ANSM) and Assurance maladie, in a study published in JAMA Network Open (opens in a new window).

To reach these conclusions, its authors examined data from nearly 30 million French people between 2021 and 2025, representing the entire 18-59 age group.

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pro-virus policies

Vaccine Committee May Make Significant Changes to Childhood Schedule

Comments by President Trump, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some panelists suggest the committee is likely to delay hepatitis B shots and discuss revising the use of other vaccines.

Published December 2, 2025

Published by: The New York Times
Published on: December 2, 2025
By Apoorva Mandavilli

Advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear poised to make consequential changes to the childhood vaccination schedule, delaying a shot that is routinely administered to newborns and discussing big changes to when or how other childhood immunizations are given.

Decisions by the group are not legally binding, but they have profound implications for whether private insurance and government assistance programs are required to cover the vaccines.

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pro-virus policies

FDA official, without providing data, claims link between COVID-19 vaccines and pediatric deaths

Published November 29, 2025

Published by: CBS News
Published on: November 29, 2025
By Kerry Breen, Margaret Brennan, Dr. Céline Gounder

Dr. Vinay Prasad, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine division, sent a memo to staff that linked children’s deaths to the COVID-19 vaccine, but did not provide data to back the claim.

The memo said that a review “found that at least 10 children have died after and because of receiving COVID-19 vaccination,” according to multiple sources familiar with the email. The memo was first reported by the New York Times.

Prasad suggested that the deaths were related to myocarditis, or the inflammation of the heart muscle. Prasad did not share any data used in the review, including the children’s ages, whether they had existing health conditions, or how the FDA determined there was a link between their death and the vaccine. The findings were not published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

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measles

Measles outbreak in Arizona and Utah could spell the end for U.S. elimination status

Published November 19, 2025

Published by: NBC News
Published on: November 19, 2025
By Aria Bendix, Erika Edwards

A measles outbreak in Arizona and Utah shows no sign of slowing, putting the United States dangerously close to losing its elimination status for the vaccine-preventable disease.

With holiday travel and gatherings approaching, doctors worry that transmission could escalate. If measles continues to spread through Jan. 20, that will mark a year of sustained transmission in the United States. At that point, the disease would no longer be considered eliminated and it would instead revert to being endemic, or constantly present.

The backward step seems highly likely.

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Alberta

Alberta doctors call for regular access to vaccines in children’s hospitals to combat low immunization rates

Published November 17, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: November 17, 2025
By Jennifer Lee

Some Alberta pediatricians say making childhood immunizations routinely available in pediatric hospitals could help improve slumping vaccination rates in the province.

But the Alberta government is closing the door on that idea, saying children’s hospitals are under significant pressure, and it’s taking other steps to improve access.

Dr. Sam Wong, president of the section of pediatrics with the Alberta Medical Association, said he and his colleagues have been advocating for this change for several years.

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With an absent CDC and mismatched ‘subclade K’ flu strain, experts face upcoming season with uncertainty

influenza

With an absent CDC and mismatched ‘subclade K’ flu strain, experts face upcoming season with uncertainty

Published November 12, 2025

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: November 12, 2025
By Stephanie Soucheray

Earlier this month, a group of Canadian researchers published early influenza data for the 2025-26 season, issuing a warning: There has been an observed mismatch with the seasonal influenza vaccine strain and what is emerging as the dominant flu strain this season, H3N2 subclade K.

Based on early reports from Japan and the United Kingdom, the Canadian researchers wanted to publish these data to encourage enhanced surveillance in North America this season, especially given the tumultuous situation in the United States.

“This is not the time to be flying blind into the respiratory virus season,” Danuta Skowronski, MD, the epidemiology lead for influenza and emerging respiratory pathogens at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, told CIDRAP News. Skowronski was senior author of the paper, which was published in the Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada.

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measles

Canada loses measles elimination status — as does the entire Americas region

Published November 10, 2025

Published by: STAT
Published on: November 10, 2025
By Helen Branswell

Canada has formally lost its measles elimination status, the country’s public health agency announced Monday, meaning all of the Americas have lost that status as well.

The decision, which was widely expected, comes after a meeting last week where an expert committee of the Pan American Health Organization determined that a large measles outbreak that began in Canada in October 2024 was still ongoing, more than 12 months after it started.

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measles

Canada officially loses its measles elimination status

Published November 10, 2025

Published by: The Globe and Mail
Published on: November 10, 2025
By Alanna Smith, Kristy Kirkup

Canada has been stripped of its measles elimination status after failing to interrupt transmission within one year of an outbreak that continues to spread in parts of the country.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said Monday it was notified by The Pan American Health Organization, a regional arm of the World Health Organization, that Canada lost its designation – an accomplishment it held for 27 years.

“While transmission has slowed recently, the outbreak has persisted for over 12 months, primarily within under-vaccinated communities,” the statement said.

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measles

Canada loses its measles elimination status

Published November 10, 2025

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on: November 10, 2025
By Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

The Pan American Health Organization has informed the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer has the status of a country that has eliminated measles, due to an outbreak that has been ongoing for more than one year.

This status indicates that there is no continuous transmission of the disease for 12 months or more in a given geographical area.

“Despite considerable efforts by Canada, the country has lost its status. Measles is now considered to be endemic in this country,” PAHO director Dr. Jason Barbosa told a news conference.

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Alberta

CUPE Alberta launches online campaign against province’s COVID-19 vaccine fee

Published November 7, 2025

Published by: CTV News
Published on: November 7, 2025
By Stephen Hunt

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Alberta has launched an online campaign against the province’s $100 fee for Albertans who want to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

A new website calls on the province to “axe the vax tax.”

The website calls the fee unfair, reckless and dangerous, and allows Albertans to write a letter to Premier Danielle Smith, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and their local MLAs protesting the province’s decision to charge Albertans $100 for a COVID vaccine this year.

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Northwest Territories

Fresh Covid-19 vaccine supply arrives in NWT after earlier shipment spoiled

Published November 7, 2025

Published by: Cabin Radio
Published on: November 7, 2025
By Ollie Williams

The NWT’s health authority says a new shipment of Covid-19 vaccines has arrived in the territory after an earlier consignment spoiled.

There had been a shortage of the vaccine in recent days after the previous supply’s cold chain – the mechanism by which vaccines are kept refrigerated prior to use – broke down.

On Friday morning, the health authority said more supplies had arrived and anyone can now request a Covid-19 vaccine at Yellowknife’s Centre Square Mall clinic.

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Alberta

Pharmacists decry ‘hurdles’ facing Albertans who want a COVID vaccine

Published November 4, 2025

Published by: Global News
Published on: November 4, 2025
By Ken MacGillivray, Skylar Peters

Changes to the Alberta government’s COVID vaccination plan this year mean many Albertans are facing long waitlists and a hefty bill to get their shot.

With the government-run program only offered through public health clinics and many of those clinics experiencing long waits, some Albertans are choosing instead to go to their local pharmacist to get immunized — as they have done in previous years.

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vaccines

Risk of rare heart complications in children higher after COVID-19 infection than after vaccination

Published November 4, 2025

Published by: University of Cambridge
Published on: November 4, 2025

Children and young people faced long-lasting and higher risks of rare heart and inflammatory complications after COVID-19 infection, compared to before or without an infection, according to new research. Meanwhile COVID-19 vaccination was only linked to a short-term higher risk of myocarditis and pericarditis.

The study is the largest of its kind in this population, and is published today in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. It was led by scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh, and University College London, with support from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre at Health Data Research UK.

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long COVID

COVID vaccination cuts risk of long-term symptoms in teens by over a third, data suggest

Published November 3, 2025

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: November 3, 2025
By Mary Van Beusekom

The risk of long COVID was 36% lower in adolescents vaccinated within 6 months before their first infection than in their unvaccinated peers, suggests an analysis of US Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) trial data published late last week in Vaccine.

The study, led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers, involved 724 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years who were vaccinated against COVID-19 within the previous 6 months and 507 unvaccinated youth matched on sex, symptom onset, and enrollment date.

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cardiovascular disease

Covid and Flu Can Triple Your Risk of Heart Attack

Published October 29, 2025

Published by: The New York Times
Published on: October 29, 2025
By Nina Agrawal

The risk of a heart attack triples within the first few weeks after a Covid-19 infection, the study suggested, and quadruples in the month after a flu infection. The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, was a large review and analysis of existing research.

“It endorses a general idea that we’ve been thinking about and talking about for the past several years — that infections are generally not benign,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, who was not involved in the study.

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long COVID

Video | Long COVID is underdiagnosed, researchers say, and there’s work to be done to change that

Published October 29, 2025

Published by: CBC News
Published on: October 29, 2025

St. John’s hosted the 2025 Canadian Symposium on Long COVID earlier this month, a gathering of top researchers, clinicians, and people living with long COVID. As the CBC’s Adam Walsh reports, those on the symposium floor say more needs to be done to bring awareness to the condition as it continues to impact people of all ages.

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vaccines

Pharmacists urge vaccination as fewer than half of Canadians plan to get their flu or COVID-19 shots this fall

Published October 28, 2025

Published by: Canadian Pharmacists Association
Published on: October 28, 2025

October 28, 2025 (Ottawa): As Canada enters another respiratory virus season, pharmacists are urging Canadians to protect themselves and their communities as new polling shows vaccination intentions remain low.

According to a new national survey conducted by Abacus Data for the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), 43% of Canadians plan to get their seasonal flu shot, and 29% intend to receive a COVID-19 vaccine this fall. Most concerning, nearly 4 in 10 Canadians (39%) say they don’t plan to get either vaccine.

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vaccines

Analysis: Last year’s COVID vaccines protected well against severe illness

Published October 28, 2025

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: October 28, 2025
By Stephanie Soucheray

The updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccines provided 57% protection against hospitalization and death, although their effectiveness waned over time, according to a study yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study assessed effectiveness against infection, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalization. Protection against infection and ED visits was 45%.

The study was based on outcomes seen among Nebraskan residents during the 2024-25 respiratory virus season and used hospital discharge data from member hospitals of the Nebraska Hospital Association and data from death certificates from the Nebraska Office of Vital Records.

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Tag: vaccines

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Comments by President Trump, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some panelists suggest the committee is likely to delay hepatitis B shots and discuss revising the use of other vaccines.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

The NWT’s health authority says a new shipment of Covid-19 vaccines has arrived in the territory after an earlier consignment spoiled.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts