Thanks to widespread vaccination, measles had been considered “eliminated” as a continually transmitting illness in the United States since 2000 – but not anymore.
An independent commission of experts that reports to the director of the Pan American Health Organization determined that the US no longer qualified as having eliminated measles, a source close to the process told CNN on Friday.
The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Comments closedThe light at the end of the pandemic tunnel was marred by a worrying shadow. As the COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out, headlines fuelled anxiety: some people were developing life-threatening blood clots after receiving either the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (made by one of its subsidiaries, Janssen Vaccines) or the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot. This serious complication was almost only seen with these two vaccines, although one person who received the Moderna vaccine and one who was vaccinated with the Pfizer shot also received the same diagnosis.
The anti-vaccine movement took this real observation and stretched it out of proportion, accusing all COVID vaccines of killing large swaths of the population through deadly coagulation.
The actual issue was very rare and quite narrow, though still distressing. Based on a survey of what was reported in the scientific literature, 137 people worldwide are known to have died from blood clots following COVID vaccine injection, six of whom died in Canada. Shortly after the problem was identified, health authorities revised their vaccine recommendations. Johnson & Johnson halted production of its vaccine in February 2022; AstraZeneca withdrew its vaccine worldwide in May 2024.
Comments closedA string of measles deaths in the United States this week – two in states that haven’t reported deaths of this kind in more than three decades – is underscoring the divergent responses to the highly contagious virus in the U.S. and Canada and the resulting outcomes.
Both countries have faced widespread and deadly measles cases that have sickened thousands, fuelled by growing pockets of unvaccinated individuals, particularly in Mennonite communities. But Canada has managed to do what the U.S. hasn’t: Put an end to the outbreak.
Down south the situation is growing worse, with three deaths announced this week. On Thursday, health officials in Wisconsin reported an infant death, the first measles-related fatality in the state since 1990. It followed the deaths of a seven-month-old in New York – another first in 30 years – and a Pennsylvania resident.
Comments closedHealth Canada has authorized Moderna’s mRNA vaccine for influenza, as well as its combination mRNA vaccine for flu and COVID-19.
Both are approved for adults 50 years of age and older.
Moderna told The Canadian Press they will not hit pharmacies in time for this respiratory virus season.
Comments closedOTTAWA – The European Union is working more closely with Canada on creating, stockpiling and researching vaccines as the United States pulls back, says a senior official from Brussels.
“Our production, research and development capabilities, and how we communicate about our existing (vaccine) stock, are extremely sensitive matters,” European Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said in a French-language interview Monday in Ottawa.
“Canada is the only country outside the European Union with which we do this.”
Comments closed✉️ Send letters to the health minister and MPPs to support earlier access to publicly funded Nuvaxovid, both this year and in future years. Use our online tool to send emails.
Comments closedWhere are B.C.’s vaccines?
Influenza A and COVID are already spreading. Another flu season in B.C., another round of vaccination arriving too late.
Last week, the Provincial Health Officer finally announced that flu vaccination for the higher risk population will start on Oct. 13. Thereafter the general public will be receiving vaccination notifications until early November.
Of course, Dr. Bonnie Henry is well aware that it takes another two weeks after vaccination for full antibody protection to develop.
Vaccination will then happen after many families will have gathered for Thanksgiving dinner with perhaps one or more uninvited guests floating in the air such as influenza A and COVID.
Comments closedThe flu has already returned to Quebec, where the season is expected to be early. Again this year, Quebecers will be able to get a flu vaccine in pharmacies, in clinics, and in certain RPAs (private residences for seniors).
Appointments can be booked starting today (October 13) on the Clic Santé platform (new window) or via the websites of private pharmacies. Vaccinations will begin on October 20.
This year, the vaccine will only be offered free of charge to those who are the most vulnerable to the flu (see the table below).
Comments closedB.C. has launched its annual fall immunization campaign amid an early start to the cold and flu season.
New this year, the province will be offering an enhanced flu shot and an immunization for RSV for seniors.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control said the early rise in cases is predominantly being driven by this year’s flu strain — H1N1, or influenza A — which is known to peak earlier and cause more severe illness.
Comments closedSaskatchewan has opened bookings for flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
The flu has been circulating this past month, with some parts of the country experiencing an early start to flu season. Health Canada reported 815 confirmed influenza cases for the week ending Sept. 26, compared to 291 in the week ending Sept. 5.
Comments closedIn 2026-2027, three COVID-19 vaccines will be available in Canada: the Moderna Spikevax, Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, and Sanofi Nuvaxovid vaccines. In most provinces/territories, all three vaccines will be available via publicly funded programs. Limited quantities of the free doses of the Nuvaxovid vaccine will be available. Only vaccines that Health Canada has approved for use will be administered.
The Nuvaxovid (formerly Novavax) COVID-19 vaccine will be available in the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Learn more about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada
Comments closedQuebeckers who are not considered high-risk will have to pay nearly $200 to get vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 this season, charting a path opposite to other provinces in Canada as the viral season picks up speed.
Quebec is the only province scrapping universal flu coverage, owing its decision to guidance from the province’s immunization committee. Only some categories will be eligible for a free flu shot, such as Quebeckers 65 and older; people with certain chronic conditions – such as immunocompromised people – and those living with them; pregnant women; residents of seniors’ homes and long-term care facilities.
Those who do not qualify can expect to be charged around $150 for the COVID-19 vaccine, which came into effect in the province last year. Now, they will also need to pay between $30 and $40 for the flu shot, said Marilie Beaulieu-Gravel, a spokesperson for the association representing pharmacy owners in Quebec.
Comments closedQuebecers will be able to make appointments starting on October 13, to be vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19 during the autumn campaign. This will start on October 20, but this year the free vaccinations will be reserved for groups considered to be the most vulnerable.
In less than two weeks, the public will therefore be able to make appointments on Clic Santé. It will also be possible to do this at pharmacies, with over 1,700 in the province offering the flu and COVID-19 vaccines free of charge to those who are eligible.
This year, the free influenza and COVID-19 vaccine doses are reserved for people aged 65 years and older, as well as residents of CHSLDs (residential and long-term care centres), private residences for the elderly, and other communal settings that include many vulnerable people.
Comments closedThe Ontario government is launching its fall immunization program ahead of flu season and some people can get their shots starting this week.
In a news release, the Ministry of Health said an initial supply of COVID-19 and flu vaccines will be available for high-risk and priority groups who live, work or study in Ontario starting Monday. Those individuals include:
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®.
Comments closedThe Alberta government says its provincewide influenza, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus vaccination campaign will begin next month.
In a news release issued Monday, the province said it’s maintaining the $100 fee it brought in last year for those seeking the COVID vaccine, though there’s a long list of reasons that could see the fee be waived for people, such as having health conditions that put them at risk for severe illness.
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