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Tag: vaccines

Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

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

Published November 19, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: NBC News
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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.

Continue readingMeasles outbreak in Arizona and Utah could spell the end for U.S. elimination status
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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

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

Published November 17, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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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.

Continue readingAlberta doctors call for regular access to vaccines in children’s hospitals to combat low immunization rates
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With an absent CDC and mismatched ‘subclade K’ flu strain, experts face upcoming season with uncertaintyColourized transmission electron micrograph of influenza A virus particles (red and gold), isolated from a patient sample and then propagated in cell culture. Blue background. This image features the H3N2 influenza strain. Photo: NIAID.
Topic: influenzaView all posts for the topic: influenza

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

Published November 12, 2025

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Published by: CIDRAP
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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.

Continue readingWith an absent CDC and mismatched ‘subclade K’ flu strain, experts face upcoming season with uncertainty
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Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

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

Published November 10, 2025

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Published by: STAT
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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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Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

Canada officially loses its measles elimination status

Published November 10, 2025

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Published by: The Globe and Mail
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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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Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

Canada loses its measles elimination status

Published November 10, 2025

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Published by: Radio-Canada
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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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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

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

Published November 7, 2025

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Published by: CTV News
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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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Topic: Northwest TerritoriesView all posts for the topic: Northwest Territories

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

Published November 7, 2025

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Published by: Cabin Radio
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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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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

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

Published November 4, 2025

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Published by: Global News
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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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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

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

Published November 4, 2025

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Published by: University of Cambridge
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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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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

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

Published November 3, 2025

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Published by: CIDRAP
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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.

Continue readingCOVID vaccination cuts risk of long-term symptoms in teens by over a third, data suggest
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Topic: cardiovascular diseaseView all posts for the topic: cardiovascular disease

Covid and Flu Can Triple Your Risk of Heart Attack

Published October 29, 2025

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Published by: The New York Times
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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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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

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

Published October 29, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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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.

Continue readingVideo | Long COVID is underdiagnosed, researchers say, and there’s work to be done to change that
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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: 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

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Published by: Canadian Pharmacists Association
Published on:

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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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

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

Published October 28, 2025

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Published by: CIDRAP
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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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Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

Canada’s status as a country without endemic measles can now be revoked

Published October 27, 2025

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Published by: CTV News / The Canadian Press
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By Nicole Ireland

TORONTO — Canada is poised to lose its international status as a measles-free country now that an outbreak that began in New Brunswick and spread to other provinces has hit the one-year mark.

The country eliminated measles in 1998 and maintained that status for more than 25 years, meaning there was no ongoing community transmission and new cases were travel-related.

But since Oct. 27, 2024, the virus has spread to more than 5,000 people in Canada, including two infants in Ontario and Alberta who were infected with measles in the womb and died after they were born.

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Alberta doctors say province’s attempt to save on COVID shots could cost more

Published October 22, 2025

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Published by: The Canadian Press
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By Lisa Johnson

EDMONTON – Alberta doctors say the province’s effort to save money on COVID-19 vaccines could end up costing taxpayers far more in public health-care costs.

Dr. Brian Wirzba, head of the Alberta Medical Association, which represents doctors in the province, says there’s still time for the government to improve public communication about vaccines and make them more accessible.

“In my clinic talking to patients, they’re still confused about how they could even get it,” said Wirzba, who practises internal medicine in Edmonton.

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Some Albertans frustrated, Health Link overwhelmed as COVID-19 shots roll out to general public

Published October 20, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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By Jennifer Lee

Some Albertans struggled to book COVID-19 shots as the province’s fall immunization campaign opened to the general public on Monday.

By late afternoon, Health Link had been flooded with more than 10,000 calls related to the COVID vaccine alone and a spokesperson for Primary Care Alberta confirmed the provincial health information phone line was facing extremely high call volumes.

Continue readingSome Albertans frustrated, Health Link overwhelmed as COVID-19 shots roll out to general public
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