Infectious diseases expert Dr. Donald Vinh on the high number of viruses circulating in Quebec right now and how people can avoid them.
Comments closedTag: vaccines
Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
Just 15% of Canadians got updated COVID vaccines this fall, new figures show
Canadians raced to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the first years of the pandemic, but data suggests there’s far less of a rush to get the latest shots available this fall.
Federal figures show only 15 per cent of the population aged five and up had received an updated vaccine by Dec. 3. And while older age groups had higher uptake rates, more than half of higher-risk older adults still hadn’t gotten a dose by early December, either.
Comments closedTopic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec
One million Quebecers infected with respiratory viruses
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé and his chief public health officer warned Tuesday that the province is facing a major COVID-19 resurgence, coupled with a spike in influenza cases.
“We have a lot of vulnerable people that (are being hospitalized) because of influenza and because of COVID, and they should have been vaccinated,” Dubé said at a news conference.
“I think that the situation over the next few weeks will deteriorate. Let’s be clear about that.”
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BioNTech aims to start mRNA vaccine output in Rwanda in 2025
COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech (22UAy.DE) aims to start production at its mRNA vaccine factory site in Rwanda in 2025, company officials said on Monday, the first foreign company mRNA vaccine manufacturing site on the continent.
The German company’s first modular factory elements, based on shipping containers, were delivered to the Kigali construction site in March and were then assembled into so-called BioNTainers.
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How deadly has COVID been in 2023? Here’s what the Ontario numbers are telling us
More Ontarians have died of COVID-19 in a three-month span this fall than the number of people killed last year on Ontario highways — a comparison one researcher is using to illustrate the stark and ongoing toll of the virus.
Data from Public Health Ontario shows that 574 people died of COVID between Sept. 3 and Dec. 9. Last year, the Ontario Provincial Police reported that about 350 people died in motor vehicle crashes on OPP-patrolled roads.
Comments closedSince October, only 16% of Quebecers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, and 17.5% against influenza, this year’s flu (H1N1) that Public Health still fears. The main concern of authorities? The fact that just over one in two Quebecers, among those aged 70 and over, was vaccinated.
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Wastewater tests showing high levels of COVID and flu circulating in Waterloo region
When the pandemic started, the province was testing the population and updating the number of COVID cases daily.
But four years on, testing has stalled and the main way to get a snapshot of the COVID picture is through wastewater.
Continue readingWastewater tests showing high levels of COVID and flu circulating in Waterloo region
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Warning sounded over any moves to defund Covid-19 vaccine
A vaccinologist is warning that restricting access to the Covid-19 vaccine could send a message that it is no longer important.
Covid-19 vaccines and boosters have always been provided free-of-charge – but that funding commitment is due to expire at the end of June next year.
It is possible the Government could move to a more targeted approach like with flu vaccines – where only vulnerable populations get them for free.
Comments closedTopic: smallpox eradicationView all posts for the topic: smallpox eradication
Briggs and Rutty: Why we should declare a formal ‘Smallpox Eradication Day’
On Dec. 9, 1979, the Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication declared its job complete. This marked the end of a scourge that lasted thousands of years and killed more people than all the wars in recorded history.
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‘Wave after wave after wave’: Health officials warn high COVID-19 rates could continue
Not enough people are getting vaccinated for COVID-19. That’s according to a Western University professor involved in the Ontario COVID-19 Waste Water Survey Program. “What…
Comments closedTopic: MedicagoView all posts for the topic: Medicago
Medicago : Mitsubishi Chemical redonne 40 M $ et transfère la propriété intellectuelle
The Government of Canada has reached an agreement with Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation (MCG), Medicago’s parent company. This company will have to pay $40 million in addition to transferring the intellectual property developed by Medicago to the new Quebec company Aramis Biotechnologies.
Comments closedTopic: Northwest TerritoriesView all posts for the topic: Northwest Territories
Keep trying, says NWT as residents wait weeks for flu shots
The NWT government says it’s adding flu shot appointments as fast as it can – but some residents are being told the next opening isn’t until January.
Earlier this week, the territory’s chief public health officer said there had been a significant increase in flu across the NWT but particularly in Yellowknife. Wastewater samples also suggest a steady presence of Covid-19 throughout the fall and into winter.
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Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response
Opinion: This is a pandemic of attrition
It’s time for our society to admit that we’ve made a mistake and change course. The COVID-is-mild experiment, despite the wishing and the hoping, has been a tragic failure. We aren’t just accepting ongoing hospitalizations and deaths to protect the economy, but also ignoring the social and economic costs of continuing high levels of acute infections. Worse still are more cases of Long COVID, a condition that takes many people entirely out of the workforce. And with every wave, the staffing attrition worsens.
Comments closedTopic: United StatesView all posts for the topic: United States
‘A vicious cycle’: Low Covid-19 vaccination rates lead to fewer doses at pediatric offices. Now, some parents can’t find it
As of November 25, less than 3% of children 6 months to 4 years and 10% of children 12 to 17 have received the new shot, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Comments closedTopic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Low rates of COVID vaccination putting the elderly at risk: medical officer of health
Nearly half of people over 80 in Ottawa have not received the latest COVID-19 vaccine, leaving them at risk for severe outcomes if they become infected, Ottawa’s medical officer of health is warning.
Comments closedTopic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta
COVID, flu vaccine uptake low in Alberta heading into holiday season
With vaccination numbers lagging and the holiday season approaching, health experts are calling on Albertans to roll up their sleeves for their flu and COVID-19 shots.
As of Nov. 25, 17 people in Alberta had died of the flu during this respiratory virus season, and close to 500 were hospitalized, according to provincial data. In the same time frame, 245 deaths and almost 2,300 hospitalizations were tied to COVID-19.
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Topic: NovavaxView all posts for the topic: Novavax
Health Canada approves updated Novavax vaccine to protect against COVID-19
Health Canada has authorized an adapted vaccine from Novavax to prevent COVID-19 in people age 12 and older.
The vaccine uses a traditional approach to defend the body against COVID.
It contains a version of the viral spike protein and is also authorized as a booster for those 18 and older, according to Health Canada’s webpage.
Comments closedTopic: NunavutView all posts for the topic: Nunavut
Winter brings higher risk of flu, COVID-19, Health Department warns
With winter increasing the chance of contracting influenza and COVID-19, the Department of Health says it’s important that people get their shots.
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