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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech’s updated COVID-19 vaccine

Published September 24, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on:
By Nicole Ireland, Hannah Alberga

Health Canada approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s updated COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, marking its third authorization of vaccine formulations that protect against the most recently circulating variants of the virus.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine, called Comirnaty, targets the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron, replacing the previous version that targeted the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant.

The approval of Comirnaty follows last week’s authorization of Moderna’s updated Spikevax mRNA vaccine and Novavax’s updated protein-based vaccine, Nuvaxovid.

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine is coming to Alberta, but Novavax shots are not

Published September 23, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Jennifer Lee

With the approval of Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine, doctors are hoping the shots will be available soon and Albertans will opt to roll up their sleeves to get one.

Last week, Health Canada announced it had authorized Moderna’s new formulation, which targets the recent KP.2 subvariant, and that shipments would arrive within days.

A decision on Pfizer’s new formulation is expected in the next few weeks.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Health Canada approves updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

Published September 19, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
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By Lynn Chaya

An updated version of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by Canada’s health agency.

According to a Thursday update on the government’s vaccine portal, Health Canada will replace the older version of the protein-based vaccine, Nuvaxovid XBB.1.5. The new version will include an update to the antigen composition targeting the JN.1 variant.

“After a thorough scientific review Health Canada has approved the company’s JN.1 Variant vaccine,” the agency posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

No good option: These Canadians want to be protected against COVID but are unhappy with the choice of vaccines this fall

Published September 13, 2024

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Published by: Investigative Journalism Foundation
Published on:
By Tori Marlan

The federal government has decided against procuring a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine for the fall immunization campaign — despite it being the only type that some immunocompromised people say they have been able to tolerate.

While the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna are effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death, some people with autoimmune diseases say the jabs can come with a terrible trade-off.

Continue readingNo good option: These Canadians want to be protected against COVID but are unhappy with the choice of vaccines this fall
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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

No Novavax COVID-19 vaccine in Canada this fall, immunocompromised N.B. woman feels ‘expendable’

Published September 6, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
Published on:
By Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

Linda Wilhelm, 64, of Bloomfield, N.B., is planning a road trip to the United States. But it’s not to go sightseeing or shopping.

Wilhelm, who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, hopes to get the updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, which won’t be available in Canada as part of the fall vaccination campaign, unless provinces and territories order doses on their own.

Wilhelm, president of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance and a member of the Canadian Immunocompromised Advocacy Network, says the protein-based vaccine is a better option for immunocompromised people like her than the more common Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines. She says she feels “expendable” and urges the federal government to reconsider.

Less than two months ago, the network wrote to numerous federal, provincial and territorial officials, calling for improved access to Novavax and increased awareness.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

COVID shots available in B.C. until new vaccines arrive: province

Published September 5, 2024

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Published by: CBC News / The Canadian Press
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British Columbia says its current supply of COVID-19 vaccines will remain available until new formulations are approved — unlike other provinces that say they’re following a federal directive to destroy existing doses.

A spokesperson for the provincial health officer says B.C. residents are encouraged to wait for the updated COVID vaccines if possible, but people can still get last season’s shots if they need them.

Officials in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan and say they are following instructions from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to dispose of vaccine stocks that target the XBB.1.5 variant, since updated formulations are expected this fall.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Health Canada orders provinces to destroy old COVID-19 vaccines amid wait for new batch

Published September 4, 2024

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Published by: CTV News
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By Luca Caruso-Moro

Health Canada has directed provinces to withdraw and destroy remaining supplies of last year’s COVID-19 vaccines while it works to authorize updated shots, which is expected to happen in October, according to Ontario’s health ministry.

“Vaccines will be available once Ontario receives supply from Health Canada following their regulatory authorization of the new, updated vaccine formulation,” read a statement from Ontario spokesperson Hannah Jensen.

A notice posted on the federal government’s immunization guide says vaccines aimed at Omicron variant XBB.1.5 is no longer available in Canada. Updated shots, made to target the now-dominant JN.1 or KP.2 strains are expected to get the green light “in the coming weeks.”

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Novavax now! We need access to the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine!Photo of two vials of a vaccine and a syringe, accompanied by white and gold text on a blue background reading: Novavax now! We need access to the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. StillCoviding.ca #NovavaxNow Photo: oasisamuel / Adobe.
Topic: take actionView all posts for the topic: take action

Novavax now! We need access to the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine!

Published August 25, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

📣 Let PHAC and health ministers know you want timely access to the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine this fall

✉️ Send letters to PHAC and health ministers to voice your support for access to the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine this fall. Use our online tool to send emails.

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Topic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau

Mpox vaccination program sees brisk uptake in Ottawa

Published August 20, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Jocelyn Shepel

Public health officials in Ottawa are ramping up a vaccination program to limit the spread of the mpox virus, and there are signs that early uptake has been brisk.

After announcing on Saturday that it was opening 36 spots for vaccination against the virus that causes the infectious disease formerly known as monkeypox, Centretown health clinic MAX Ottawa said Monday it’s fully booked and exploring ways to expand the program.

Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) Sexual Health Clinic on Clarence Street is also offering vaccination against mpox. Eligibility criteria can be found on the OPH website.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

There’s been a summer surge in COVID-19 cases. Should I get a booster shot now or wait until the fall for the new updated COVID vaccine?

Published August 18, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Globe and Mail
Published on:
By Paul Taylor

QUESTION: I’ve heard that there’s been a summer surge in COVID-19 cases. Should I get a booster shot now or wait until the fall for the new updated COVID vaccine?

ANSWER: It’s true that there’s been a recent rise in COVID levels in Canada, according to data from waste water collection sites across the country as of the end of July.

Not so long ago, many medical experts assumed that COVID would eventually turn into a seasonal infection – similar to influenza.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

FDA may greenlight updated Covid-19 vaccines as soon as next week, sources say

Published August 16, 2024

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Published by: CNN
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By Meg Tirrell

The US Food and Drug Administration is poised to sign off as soon as next week on updated Covid-19 vaccines targeting more recently circulating strains of the virus, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as the country experiences its largest summer wave in two years.

The agency is expected to greenlight updated mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech that target a strain of the virus called KP.2, said the sources, who declined to be named because the timing information isn’t public. It was unclear whether the agency simultaneously would authorize Novavax’s updated shot, which targets the JN.1 strain.

The move would be several weeks ahead of last year’s version of the vaccine, which got FDA signoff on September 11.

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Topic: TorontoView all posts for the topic: Toronto

Toronto seeing ‘spike’ in mpox cases: officials

Published August 13, 2024

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Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Phil Tsekouras

Toronto is reporting a “spike” in mpox cases and health officials are urging eligible residents to get vaccinated to contain the spread.

In a news release issued Tuesday, Toronto Public Health said it has seen 93 confirmed cases as of July 31. This time last year, the city’s case count stood at 21.

The latest numbers indicate that there were 13 new cases confirmed in Toronto over the last two weeks of July.

According to TPH, mpox cases have been reported across the city, however a higher concentration of infections has been observed among residents in the downtown core.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

No Longer an Official Emergency, COVID Remains a Crisis

Published August 5, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Tyee
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By Michelle Gamage

British Columbia’s top doctor has ended the COVID-19 public health emergency, which began nearly 1,600 days ago on March 17, 2020.

Declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency gave provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry the ability to issue mask mandates, travel and gathering restrictions and vaccination requirements for health-care workers to curb the spread of the virus.

While experts The Tyee spoke with agree the public health emergency may no longer be needed, they stressed that COVID-19 still poses a serious and potentially deadly threat to the general public.

“COVID is still a major, ongoing health issue and crisis,” said Tara Moriarty, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, an infectious disease expert and co-founder of the COVID-19 Resources Canada database.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

NIH announces launch of clinical trial for nasal COVID vaccine

Published July 2, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on:
By Lisa Schnirring

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) yesterday announced the launch of a phase 1 trial of a nasal vaccine against COVID-19, which also marks the first National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) trial conducted as part of the government’s Project NextGen—an effort designed to advance the development of next-generation vaccines against the disease.

In an NIH statement, NIAID Director Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, said first-generation COVID vaccines have greatly mitigated the toll of the disease and are still effective for preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. She added, however, that they aren’t as good at preventing illness and battling milder disease.

“With the continual emergence of new virus variants, there is a critical need to develop next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, including nasal vaccines, that could reduce SARS-CoV-2 infections and transmission,” she said.

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Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

Finland to start bird flu vaccinations for humans, in world first

Published June 26, 2024

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Published by: Reuters
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Finland plans to offer preemptive bird flu vaccination as soon as next week to some workers with exposure to animals, health authorities said on Tuesday, making it the first country in the world to do so.

The Nordic country has bought vaccines for 10,000 people, each consisting of two injections, as part of a joint EU procurement of up to 40 million doses for 15 nations from manufacturer CSL Seqirus (CSL.AX).

The European Commission said Finland would be the first country to roll out the vaccine.

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Alberta premier’s support for town hall questioning COVID vaccines worries experts

Published May 20, 2024

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Published by: Global News
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By Carolyn Kury de Castillo

The issue is not that there is a difference of opinion here. It’s that there is a huge amount of science that shows that these vaccines save lives and they are overwhelmingly safe so to claim otherwise becomes a statement of misinformation.

— Blake Murdoch, senior research associate with the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law
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Topic: Hamilton RegionView all posts for the topic: Hamilton Region

Ontario sees first measles death in more than a decade after young child dies

Published May 17, 2024

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Published by: CTV News
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By Codi Wilson

A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.

The child, who was under the age of five, was not immunized against the virus, according to the report, which was published on Thursday.

The report also confirms this is the first measles death in the province in more than a decade.

Public Health Ontario says that there have been 22 confirmed cases of measles reported in the province in 2024. Of those individuals, 13 were children and nine were adults. Four of the adults were previously immunized, two were unimmunized, and two had an unknown immunization status.

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Topic: heart failureView all posts for the topic: heart failure

Data: Heart-failure patients have 82% better odds of living longer if vaccinated against COVID

Published May 13, 2024

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Published by: CIDRAP
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By Mary Van Beusekom

The first study of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in a large population of adult heart-failure patients suggests that vaccinated participants are 82% more likely to live longer than their unvaccinated peers, according to an analysis presented over the weekend at the Heart Failure 2024 scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in Lisbon, Portugal.

Continue readingData: Heart-failure patients have 82% better odds of living longer if vaccinated against COVID
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