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Tag: vaccines

The FDA’s misguided new Covid vaccine policy repeats past mistakes

The Food and Drug Administration is rewriting America’s Covid vaccine playbook — and not for the better. Its new guidance would trade the clarity and reach of our current vaccination strategy for a confusing age-based and risk-based framework that simply doesn’t fit the realities of Americans’ health. As a primary care physician who has spent years on the front lines of pandemic response, I see this as a step backward that ignores both the lessons of our past and the needs of our most vulnerable patients.

The FDA’s proposed framework eerily mirrors the segmentation we attempted in fall 2021 with Covid boosters. When boosters initially rolled out in September 2021, the FDA authorized them only for specific groups: adults 65 and older, those 18-64 with high-risk conditions, and those with occupational exposure risks.

The approach failed. As someone who had to explain these complex eligibility requirements to confused patients, I can attest to the chaos it created. This limited approach created tremendous confusion among health care providers and patients alike. Pharmacies and clinics struggled to verify eligibility, people misunderstood their risk category and, ultimately, many high-risk individuals who genuinely needed boosters never received them.

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F.D.A. Approves Novavax Covid Vaccine With Stricter New Conditions

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine, but only for older adults and for others over age 12 who have at least one medical condition that puts them at high risk from Covid.

Scientific advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who typically make decisions on who should get approved shots and when, have been debating whether to recommend Covid shots only to the most vulnerable Americans. The F.D.A.’s decision appeared to render at least part of their discussion moot.

The new restriction will sharply limit access to the Novavax vaccine for people under 65 who are in good health. It may leave Americans who do not have underlying conditions at risk if a more virulent version of the coronavirus were to emerge. It could also limit options for people who want the vaccine for a wide array of reasons, including to protect a vulnerable loved one.

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1 case of measles confirmed in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is confirming its first case of measles.

Dr. Robert Strang, the chief medical officer of health, told a news conference Tuesday that the patient is an adult in Halifax who recently travelled to the United States. They went to the emergency department at the QEII hospital in Halifax on Sunday night.

“We were well prepared for this,” Strang said. “Appropriate steps were taken very quickly when this person came in for care to minimize exposure.”

Strang said the patient had one dose of the measles vaccine when they were younger, but did not receive the second. The Health Department said in a news release that “people generally need two [doses] to be fully vaccinated” against measles.

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VA study: Pfizer COVID booster 68% effective against hospitalization

A study published earlier this week in Nature Communications using claims data from the US Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System finds protection from the 2024-25 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was 68%, 57%, and 56% against COVID-19–associated hospitalizations, emergency department and urgent care (ED/UC) visits, and outpatient visits, respectively.

However, the authors caution that uptake of the vaccine was extremely low—only 3.7% through November 2024—and the study did not assess waning effectiveness.

The study estimated early BNT162b2 KP.2 (2024-25 formulation) vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 outcomes compared to not receiving the vaccine.

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2 doses of COVID-19 vaccine recommended for Yukoners at higher risk of severe illness

In an April 24 press release, YG said it is acting on the advice of the Yukon’s chief medical officer of health, and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

Those who are eligible for the twice-per-year vaccination encompass multiple categories: people aged 6 months to 64 years who are moderately to severely immunocompromised due to an underlying condition or treatment; residents in long-term care homes and other congregate living settings for seniors; and adults 65 years or older.

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Ontario reports 95 new measles cases, sending total above 1,000 since outbreak began

TORONTO – Public Health Ontario is reporting 95 new measles cases since last week, bringing the total number of people infected past 1,000.

It says a total of 1,020 people have had measles since the province’s outbreak began last October.

The agency says the ongoing rise in cases is “due to continued exposures and transmission among individuals who have not been immunized.”

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‘On the precipice of disaster’: Measles may be endemic in 25 years if vaccine uptake stays low, model predicts

Without a 5% higher measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination rate, measles may revert to endemicity in the United States within 25 years, while a 10% decline in vaccination could lead to 11.1 million cases of the highly contagious illness in that timeframe, according to predictions from a simulation model published today in JAMA.

Also today, the World Health Organization (WHO); UNICEF; and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance warn that burgeoning outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases threaten to reverse years of progress.

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Ontario School Safety Calls on Province for an Immediate Vaccine-PLUS Strategy to Tackle Current Measles Outbreak

Toronto, Ontario – [April 24, 2025] – In an urgent appeal to protect the health and safety of Ontario’s students, education workers, and families, Ontario School Safety (OSS) has issued an open letter asking the Ontario Provincial Government and Public Health Ontario for an immediate vaccine-PLUS strategy, which includes the essential role of healthy indoor air, to curtail the spread of measles. This critical request comes in the wake of concerning measles infection rates – as of April 17th, 2025, Public Health Ontario is reporting 925 measles cases in the province, more than five times the number of cases than the total number of cases over the last 12 years. Encouraging a vaccine-only strategy is insufficient due to barriers to access, and because measles spreads not only through direct contact with secretions or contaminated surfaces, but through the air we breathe.

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Novavax says its COVID-19 shot is on track for full FDA approval after delay

WASHINGTON (AP) — Novavax’s closely watched COVID-19 vaccine is on track for full approval after additional discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, the company said Wednesday.

The news sent company shares soaring more than 21% in morning trading and appeared to resolve concerns that Trump administration officials might be holding up a decision on the shot.

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RFK Jr. eyes reversing CDC’s Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for children

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is weighing pulling the Covid-19 vaccine from the government’s list of recommended immunizations for children, two people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO.

The directive under consideration would remove the Covid shot from the childhood vaccine schedule maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and widely used by physicians to guide vaccine distribution, marking Kennedy’s most significant move yet to shake up the nation’s vaccination practices.

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Volunteers needed to test no-needle COVID vaccine made in Hamilton

A made-in-Hamilton COVID vaccine that requires no needles is moving to the next stage of testing and researchers are looking for volunteers to take part.

The vaccine that is inhaled instead of injected will be studied by McMaster University researchers with $8 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

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Manitoba rolling out COVID-19 spring vaccination campaign for high-risk groups

Manitoba is rolling out a vaccination campaign for those at the highest risk of developing serious outcomes from COVID-19, aiming to get people vaccinated before summer, when virus circulation might increase, the province says.

Between May 1 and June 30, the province will make additional COVID-19 vaccine doses available for people who have already had a dose since last fall, but meet specific criteria.

The extra doses will be available to anyone age 65 or older, Indigenous people over the age of 45, residents of long-term care homes, and anyone age six months or up who is moderately or severely immunocompromised.

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Measles is spreading in Ontario — here’s what you need to know

A major outbreak of measles has infected more than 800 people in Ontario. It’s the first outbreak of its size since the disease was declared eliminated in 1998.

Now, lower vaccination rates are leading to a serious outbreak in the province, enough to garner a travel advisory to the province from New York State south of the border.

Here’s what you need to know about measles — how it’s transmitted, how you can protect yourself, and whether you need to update your vaccinations.

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Seniors 75 and over invited to get COVID-19 vaccine

(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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Health secretary RFK Jr. declares certain vaccines have ‘never worked,’ flummoxing scientists

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed another unorthodox view on vaccines, with the long-time vaccine critic declaring that vaccines for respiratory bugs that target a sole part of the pathogen they are meant to protect against do not work.

The claim was dismissed as erroneous by vaccine experts, who were befuddled by the secretary’s theory, espoused during an interview with CBS News.

Kennedy made the claim in explaining a controversial recent decision by political appointees at the Food and Drug Administration to delay granting a full license to Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine, which is still given under an emergency use authorization or EUA.

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

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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Spring COVID-19 vaccine doses expected for some vulnerable Albertans

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

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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