Tag: vaccines

Published by: PR Newswire
Published on: September 17, 2026
By Pfizer Canada

KIRKLAND, QC, Sept. 17, 2026 /CNW/ — Pfizer Canada ULC and BioNTech SE today announced that Health Canada has authorized the XFG variant-adapted COMIRNATY® for active immunization of individuals aged 6 months and older against COVID-19. The updated COMIRNATY® vaccine targets the Omicron XFG lineage, in alignment with public health recommendations for the 2026-2027 season.

The Health Canada approval is based on the cumulative body of evidence previously submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech that includes clinical, non-clinical and real-world data supporting the safety and effectiveness of COMIRNATY®.

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Alberta

Alberta government maintaining COVID vaccine fee as it prepares for fall influenza campaign

Province says Albertans can start booking vaccination appointments on Oct. 5

Published September 14, 2026

Published by: CBC News / The Canadian Press
Published on: September 14, 2026

The Alberta government says its provincewide influenza, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus vaccination campaign will begin next month. In a news release issued Monday, the…

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Australia

20 years. Millions of lives saved. One revolutionary vaccine

Published August 27, 2026

Published by: The University of Queensland
Published on: August 28, 2026

Twenty years ago, the first dose of a UQ-developed vaccine was given to a teenage girl in Brisbane. That same vaccine is now on track to end cervical cancer in Australia.

August 28, 2026, marks the 20^th anniversary of the first dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine – now known as Gardasil 9 – which immunises recipients against the virus that is the leading cause of cervical cancer.

The vaccine, developed by Emeritus Professor Ian Frazer AC and the late Dr Jian Zhou, is now offered to all children aged 12-13 years old through the school-based National Immunisation Program.

Worldwide, more than 600 million doses of Gardasil have been administered.

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Seasonal COVID-19 vaccination in 2025/26 reduced risk of illness by half in Canada

A healthcare worker administers a vaccine dose to a patient. Photo: Katja Fuhlert / Pixabay.

vaccines

Seasonal COVID-19 vaccination in 2025/26 reduced risk of illness by half in Canada

Published May 7, 2026

Published by: Medical Xpress
Published on: May 7, 2026
By European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

An interim analysis published in Eurosurveillance estimates that the COVID-19 vaccine for the 2025/26 season reduced the risk of illness in Canada by about half at about 9 weeks after vaccination, offering protection beyond the vaccine’s target strain.

Seasonal COVID-19 vaccination is recommended in Canada as in several other countries for people older than 6 months with an increased risk of severe illness from the infection, and for all adults aged 65 or older. In the 2025/26 respiratory virus season, the vaccine was updated to target the LP.8.1 strain as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), but other strains were also circulating during that period.

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anti-vaxxers

HHS rejects publication of study showing Covid-19 vaccines prevent hospitalizations, ER visits

Published April 22, 2026

Published by: CNN
Published on: April 22, 2026
By Brenda Goodman

Covid-19 vaccines roughly halved the chances that a US adult would need to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized with their infections last fall and winter, according to two sources familiar with the findings of a new study. But you won’t hear about it from the agency that led the research: the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The current head of the CDC, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who’s also director of the US National Institutes of Health, blocked the publication of those findings in the CDC’s flagship journal, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, according to the sources.

The authors of the study received an official rejection letter from the journal on Tuesday, one source said, even though the study had cleared internal reviews and had been scheduled for publication.

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hospitalizations

Hospitalization rates for illnesses like COVID, flu have doubled since pre-pandemic, report finds

Vaccine-preventable respiratory infections sending thousands to hospital, all while vaccine uptake is dropping

Published April 16, 2026

Published by: CBC News
Published on: April 16, 2026
By Lauren Pelley

Years after the virus that causes COVID-19 kicked off a global pandemic, it’s still sending thousands of Canadians into hospital each year alongside other respiratory infections — despite a suite of vaccines that can slash someone’s risk of serious illness.

Striking new data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows hospitalization rates for vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases more than doubled in 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels, all while vaccination rates are backsliding.

There were 142 hospitalizations for every 100,000 Canadians that year, the data shows, up from roughly 66 per 100,000 in 2019.

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Nuvaxovid now! We need access to the Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine in 2026/2027!

Illustration of a syringe, accompanied by white and gold text on a blue background reading: Nuvaxovid now! Canadians need access to the Nuvaxovid vaccine in 2026/2027. Use our online tool to send emails to health ministers. StillCoviding.ca #NuvaxovidNow.

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Nuvaxovid now! We need access to the Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine in 2026/2027!

Published April 11, 2026

📣 Let health ministers know you want timely access to the Nuvaxovid (formerly Novavax) COVID-19 vaccine for the 2026/2027 season

✉️ Send letters to health ministers to voice your support for access to the Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine in 2026/2027. Use our online tool to send emails.

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vaccines

Judge Strikes Down Kennedy’s Vaccine Policies

Ruling on a lawsuit brought by several prominent medical organizations, a district court said the federal government had not based its decisions on science in limiting Covid shots and revising the childhood immunization schedule.

Published March 16, 2026

Published by: The New York Times
Published on: March 16, 2026
By Apoorva Mandavilli

In a severe blow to the Trump administration’s health agenda, a federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked the government from implementing a series of decisions on vaccines made over the last year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The ruling also reversed, at least for the time being, all decisions made by the panelists that Mr. Kennedy appointed to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations on which vaccines Americans should take. The court decision will prevent the committee from meeting later this week, as it was scheduled to do.

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vaccines

F.D.A. Reverses Decision and Agrees to Review Moderna’s Flu Vaccine

Moderna held further discussions with regulators and announced that the agency would accept the company’s application for approval of its flu vaccine that uses mRNA technology.

Published February 18, 2026

Published by: The New York Times
Published on: February 18, 2026
By Christina Jewett, Rebecca Robbins

The Food and Drug Administration reversed its decision on Moderna’s flu vaccine and has agreed to review it for possible approval.

Just last week, Moderna announced that the agency had rejected its application for review of a new flu vaccine. The F.D.A. said the company’s research design had been flawed.

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vaccines

FDA declines to review Moderna application for new flu vaccine

Moderna requests meeting to discuss refusal as decision could have implications for all new and updated vaccines

Published February 10, 2026

Published by: The Guardian
Published on: February 10, 2026
By Melody Schreiber

US regulators will not review Moderna’s request to license a new, potentially more effective flu shot – even though the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) previously gave the green light to the project – in a decision that could have implications for all new and updated vaccines in the US.

It’s the latest move by the Trump administration against vaccines. Officials in January decided to stop fully recommending one-third of routine childhood vaccines, including flu vaccines.

“This is likely to discourage industry from investing in future influenza vaccines, and makes working with the US FDA uncertain and problematic,” said Dorit Reiss, professor of law at UC Law San Francisco.

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vaccines

This year’s Pfizer COVID vaccine estimated to be 57% effective against emergency, urgent care

Published January 27, 2026

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: January 27, 2026
By Mary Van Beusekom

The 2025-26 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is about 57% effective against emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits and 54% effective against outpatient visits among adults roughly 4 weeks after vaccination, with considerable uncertainty, according to preliminary estimates published on the preprint server medRxiv.

A team that included researchers from the Providence Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System and Pfizer used a test-negative case-control design to estimate the early vaccine effectiveness (VE) of Pfizer’s BNT162b2 LP.8.1 vaccine against ED/UC and outpatient visits.

Participants were VA patients who had an acute respiratory infection (ARI) and underwent COVID-19 testing from September 10 to November 30, 2025.

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vaccines

Could the shingles vaccine prevent or delay new-onset dementia? Ontario-based study suggests so

Published January 27, 2026

Published by: CTV News
Published on: January 27, 2026
By Miriam Katawazi

A new Ontario-based study is suggesting the shingles vaccine may help prevent and/or delay the onset of dementia more effectively than any existing treatment.

The study was published in Lancet Neurology and led by researchers at McMaster University and Stanford University. It analyzed health data from more than 250,000 seniors in Ontario and found the herpes zoster vaccination, also known as the shingles vaccine, helped significantly prevent dementia.

“There’s no pharmacological tool that has been shown to have such a large preventative effect,” Pascal Geldsetzer, lead researcher and Stanford University professor, told CTV News Toronto.

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measles

European countries including U.K. lose measles elimination status

Published January 26, 2026

Published by: CTV News / Reuters
Published on: January 26, 2026

LONDON – Britain and several other European countries have lost their measles elimination status, the World Health Organization said on Monday, after a jump in infections across the continent.

Spain, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan also lost their status, and the WHO urged countries to boost vaccination rates, particularly among under-protected populations, to prevent the viral disease infecting more children.

Measles is entirely preventable by vaccination, but is very contagious, and so is among the first illnesses to rebound when vaccination rates decline. It commonly causes symptoms including high fever and a rash, but can also lead to serious long-term complications and even death.

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vaccines

RFK Jr. appoints 2 vocal opponents of vaccine use in pregnancy to federal advisory board

Published January 13, 2026

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: January 13, 2026
By Stephanie Soucheray

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today appointed two obstetricians-gynecologists to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Both appointees have a history of questioning vaccine safety in pregnancy, and one has erroneously claimed COVID-19 vaccines caused miscarriages.

Adam Urato, MD, of UMass Memorial Health, is the first listed appointee to ACIP. In October of 2024, he wrote on X, “CDC & ACOG recommend 4 vaccines in pregnancy: Flu, Tdap, RSV, & COVID. My patients often ask: ‘How do we know that all these vaccines won’t have adverse effects on my baby & me?’ The answer is: ‘We don’t.’ Women’s vax concerns should be acknowledged & their choices supported.”

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vaccines

Moderna COVID vaccine 53% effective against adult hospitalization in 2024-25 season, data suggest

Published January 12, 2026

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: January 12, 2026
By Laine Bergeson

A large observational study using US healthcare claims and electronic health record data suggests that Moderna’s updated 2024-25 COVID vaccine was 39% effective at preventing medically attended illness among adults and 53% effective against hospitalization, particularly those at high risk for severe disease.

The study, led by scientists from the vaccine manufacturer and published late last week in Infectious Diseases and Therapy, analyzed outcomes among 596,248 adults who received the updated mRNA-1273 vaccine, which targeted the Omicron KP.2 variant, from August 2024 to April 2025. Vaccinated people were matched 1:1 with unvaccinated counterparts.

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Northwest Territories

Yellowknife adds more flu and Covid shot walk-in clinics

Published January 12, 2026

Published by: Cabin Radio
Published on: January 12, 2026
By Ollie Williams

Yellowknife public health workers say two walk-in clinics for flu and Covid-19 shots will take place this week.

The first runs from 9am-4pm on Monday including the lunch hour, staff said in a Monday morning email, and the second operates to the same times on Friday, January 16.

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vaccines

‘Incomprehensibly stupid:’ How U.S. cuts in vaccine recommendations will impact Canadians

Published January 11, 2026

Published by: CTV News
Published on: January 11, 2026
By Kamil Karamali

Canadian doctors are warning that a new U.S. policy which slashes the number of vaccines universally recommended to all children could have devastating, and potentially deadly effects in Canada, including increasing disease spread through American travellers visiting north of the border.

“This was just incomprehensibly stupid. I was horrified,” said family doctor and former president of the Ontario Medical Association, Dr. Sohail Gandhi in an interview with CTV News Saturday. “Children in the U.S. are going to die as a result of this move – and, worse, some children are going to have lifelong complications as a result of this move.”

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Germany

German health minister rejects US counterpart’s COVID claims

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed that doctors in Germany who issued COVID-19 vaccine exemptions are facing legal action. Health Minister Nina Warken has hit back vehemently at the accusations.

Published January 11, 2026

Published by: DW / Reuters
Published on: January 11, 2026
By Timothy Jones

German Health Minister Nina Warken has rejected accusations by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr that doctors in Germany have faced legal action for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kennedy, a known vaccine skeptic, posted a video on X on Saturday in which he says: “I’ve learned that more than a thousand German physicians, and thousands of their patients, now face prosecution and punishment for issuing exemptions from wearing masks or getting COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.”

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Tag: vaccines

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Province says Albertans can start booking vaccination appointments on Oct. 5

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

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Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Vaccine-preventable respiratory infections sending thousands to hospital, all while vaccine uptake is dropping

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

📣 Let health ministers know you want timely access to the Nuvaxovid (formerly Novavax) COVID-19 vaccine for the 2026/2027 season

Ruling on a lawsuit brought by several prominent medical organizations, a district court said the federal government had not based its decisions on science in limiting Covid shots and revising the childhood immunization schedule.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Moderna held further discussions with regulators and announced that the agency would accept the company’s application for approval of its flu vaccine that uses mRNA technology.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Moderna requests meeting to discuss refusal as decision could have implications for all new and updated 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

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed that doctors in Germany who issued COVID-19 vaccine exemptions are facing legal action. Health Minister Nina Warken has hit back vehemently at the accusations.

Still COVIDing Canada Posts