Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: vaccines

Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Analysis: Last year’s COVID vaccines protected well against severe illness

Published October 28, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on:
By Stephanie Soucheray

The updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccines provided 57% protection against hospitalization and death, although their effectiveness waned over time, according to a study yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study assessed effectiveness against infection, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalization. Protection against infection and ED visits was 45%.

The study was based on outcomes seen among Nebraskan residents during the 2024-25 respiratory virus season and used hospital discharge data from member hospitals of the Nebraska Hospital Association and data from death certificates from the Nebraska Office of Vital Records.

Continue readingAnalysis: Last year’s COVID vaccines protected well against severe illness
Comments closed
Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

Canada’s status as a country without endemic measles can now be revoked

Published October 27, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News / The Canadian Press
Published on:
By Nicole Ireland

TORONTO — Canada is poised to lose its international status as a measles-free country now that an outbreak that began in New Brunswick and spread to other provinces has hit the one-year mark.

The country eliminated measles in 1998 and maintained that status for more than 25 years, meaning there was no ongoing community transmission and new cases were travel-related.

But since Oct. 27, 2024, the virus has spread to more than 5,000 people in Canada, including two infants in Ontario and Alberta who were infected with measles in the womb and died after they were born.

Continue readingCanada’s status as a country without endemic measles can now be revoked
Comments closed
Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Alberta doctors say province’s attempt to save on COVID shots could cost more

Published October 22, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on:
By Lisa Johnson

EDMONTON – Alberta doctors say the province’s effort to save money on COVID-19 vaccines could end up costing taxpayers far more in public health-care costs.

Dr. Brian Wirzba, head of the Alberta Medical Association, which represents doctors in the province, says there’s still time for the government to improve public communication about vaccines and make them more accessible.

“In my clinic talking to patients, they’re still confused about how they could even get it,” said Wirzba, who practises internal medicine in Edmonton.

Continue readingAlberta doctors say province’s attempt to save on COVID shots could cost more
Comments closed
Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Some Albertans frustrated, Health Link overwhelmed as COVID-19 shots roll out to general public

Published October 20, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:
By Jennifer Lee

Some Albertans struggled to book COVID-19 shots as the province’s fall immunization campaign opened to the general public on Monday.

By late afternoon, Health Link had been flooded with more than 10,000 calls related to the COVID vaccine alone and a spokesperson for Primary Care Alberta confirmed the provincial health information phone line was facing extremely high call volumes.

Continue readingSome Albertans frustrated, Health Link overwhelmed as COVID-19 shots roll out to general public
Comments closed
Topic: Northwest TerritoriesView all posts for the topic: Northwest Territories

Health authority firms up Yellowknife flu and Covid-19 clinic dates

Published October 20, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Cabin Radio
Published on:
By Ollie Williams

Walk-in clinics for the flu and Covid-19 vaccine open in Yellowknife later in October, the NWT’s health authority confirmed in a schedule issued late last week.

Continue readingHealth authority firms up Yellowknife flu and Covid-19 clinic dates
Comments closed
Topic: researchView all posts for the topic: research

A surprise bonus from COVID-19 vaccines: bolstering cancer treatment

Published October 20, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Science
Published on:
By Phie Jacobs

The innovative messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that thwarted the ravages of COVID-19 may also help fight tumors in cancer patients, according to a new analysis of medical records and studies in mice.

People with cancer who coincidentally received the mRNA shots before starting drugs designed to unleash the immune system against tumors lived significantly longer than those who didn’t get vaccinated, a research team announced yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin. Laboratory experiments by the group suggest the vaccines rev up the immune system, making even stubborn tumors more susceptible to treatment.

Continue readingA surprise bonus from COVID-19 vaccines: bolstering cancer treatment
Comments closed
Topic: anti-vaxxersView all posts for the topic: anti-vaxxers

Trump Rattles Vaccine Experts Over Aluminum

The president’s call for removal of the metal from childhood inoculations set off alarms. About half of shots for polio, whooping cough and other diseases would be affected.

Published October 15, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The New York Times
Published on:
By Christina Jewett

Federal health officials are examining the feasibility of taking aluminum salts out of vaccines, a prospect that vaccine experts said would wipe out about half of the nation’s supply of childhood inoculations and affect shots that protect against whooping cough, polio and deadly flu.

The review at the Food and Drug Administration began after President Trump listed aluminum in vaccines as harmful during a press briefing about the unproven link between Tylenol and autism.

Aluminum salts have been in vaccines since the 1920s and are added to enhance the immune-stimulating effect against the virus or bacteria covered by the inoculation. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, has been a longtime critic of aluminum in vaccines, which he has suggested is linked to autism.

Vaccine experts said the tiny amount of aluminum salts in vaccines — often measured in the one-millionth of a gram — has a long track record of safety and is essential to generating lasting immunity from disease. Developing vaccines without aluminum salts, they said, would require an entirely new formulation from scratch.

Continue readingTrump Rattles Vaccine Experts Over Aluminum
Comments closed
Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Here’s when you can get flu and COVID-19 vaccines in B.C.

Published October 10, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Kaija Jussinoja

As respiratory illness season approaches, B.C. will begin rolling out its annual vaccination campaign for COVID-19 and influenza.

British Columbians began receiving notifications with a link to book vaccine appointments on Oct. 7 and they will continue to be sent out into November.

Appointments for both influenza and COVID-19 shots will begin on Oct. 14, starting with those at highest risk of severe illness.

Both vaccines are available for free for anyone older than six months.

Continue readingHere’s when you can get flu and COVID-19 vaccines in B.C.
Comments closed
Topic: Nova ScotiaView all posts for the topic: Nova Scotia

Nova Scotians can now book COVID-19, flu vaccine appointments

Published October 9, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Andrea Jerrett

Nova Scotia residents can now book appointments for the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.

The Nova Scotia government says the free vaccines are recommended for everyone aged six months and older.

Nova Scotians can book an appointment with their family doctor, nurse practitioner or family practice nurse, or at their local pharmacy, public health office or mobile unit.

Continue readingNova Scotians can now book COVID-19, flu vaccine appointments
Comments closed
Topic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec

Quebec launches fall vaccination campaign: COVID-19 shots no longer free for all

Published October 7, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CityNews
Published on:

Quebecers can now book their appointments as the province’s fall vaccination campaign is underway but unlike previous years the COVID-19 shot is no longer free for all.

Unless an individual is part of a high-risk group, the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires (AQPP) had said that the cost for a vaccine dose will range between $150 and $180.

The COVID-19 vaccine remains free of charge to:

  • Immunocompromised individuals or have chronic illnesses
  • People aged 65 and older
  • On dialysis
  • Residents of long-term care facilities (CHSLDs)
  • Private seniors’ residences (RPAs)
  • Adults living in remote and isolated areas
  • Healthcare workers
  • Pregnant individuals
Continue readingQuebec launches fall vaccination campaign: COVID-19 shots no longer free for all
Comments closed
Topic: researchView all posts for the topic: research

COVID ages women’s blood vessels, according to a study

Published October 2, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on:
By Marie-Pier Mercier

COVID-19 causes women’s blood vessels to age prematurely, according to an international study involving two researchers from Université Laval. The disease should therefore be considered an additional risk factor in cardiovascular health analyses. Specifically, in those who have developed severe symptoms, they warn.

The aging of blood vessels results in greater rigidity, which can increase the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases.

“The heart must work a little harder to propel blood through the arterial system, and this causes variations in pressure that can damage sensitive organs, including the brain and kidneys,” explains Catherine Fortier, a kinesiologist and researcher in vascular aging at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval.

Continue readingCOVID ages women’s blood vessels, according to a study
Comments closed
Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

COVID vaccines may have averted thousands of hospital stays in infants, pregnant women over 18 months

Published September 30, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on:
By Mary Van Beusekom

A US modeling study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics estimates that vaccinating pregnant women against COVID-19 prevented 7,000 hospitalizations in infants and 3,000 in pregnant women from January 2024 to May 2025.

The Stanford University–led research team analyzed COVID-NET surveillance data on COVID-19 hospitalization rates in infants younger than 6 months and incidence data on pregnant women aged 18 to 49 years under a relative risk of 2.65. The aim was to estimate the health impact of vaccination during pregnancy, mainly during the second or third trimester.

Continue readingCOVID vaccines may have averted thousands of hospital stays in infants, pregnant women over 18 months
Comments closed
Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

COVID-19 vaccine campaigns launch across Canada for 2025-26

Published September 29, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:
By Amina Zafar

Provinces and territories are starting to roll out updated vaccines to protect people from COVID-19.

The Public Health Agency of Canada’s immunization guide says COVID vaccines have been shown to be effective at preventing severe disease, including hospitalization and death and can decrease the risk of post-COVID-19 condition, or long COVID.

The vaccination campaign comes as COVID-19 cases in people going to emergency or urgent care for respiratory symptoms have increased. About 10 per cent of tests were positive for the week ending Sept. 20, up from 9.6 per cent the previous week, according to the federal respiratory virus snapshot.

Continue readingCOVID-19 vaccine campaigns launch across Canada for 2025-26
Comments closed
Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

COVID vaccine still free in Ontario as chief medical officer calls for action to combat skepticism, mistrust

Published September 26, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on:
By Elizabeth Payne

When Ontario rolls out its fall vaccination campaign at pharmacies, doctor’s offices and clinics across the province in the coming weeks, it will be bucking a trend.

At a time when both Alberta and Quebec have stopped funding COVID vaccines for the general public, limiting them to higher risk populations, and access to COVID vaccines is becoming limited in the United States, Ontario is moving in another direction.

The fall vaccination campaign, beginning in October, includes free access to an updated COVID-19 vaccine for the general public as well as expanded access to a vaccine to prevent RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) for older adults, and the flu vaccine.

Continue readingCOVID vaccine still free in Ontario as chief medical officer calls for action to combat skepticism, mistrust
Comments closed
Topic: disinformationView all posts for the topic: disinformation

No evidence that Tylenol causes autism, say Health Canada, World Health Organization

Published September 24, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on:
By Nicole Ireland

ORONTO – Health Canada, the World Health Organization and Canadian autism experts say there is no evidence that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism.

Health Canada and the WHO issued statements last night and this morning in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s unproven claim linking the drug — whose generic name is acetaminophen — to the disorder.

Health Canada says acetaminophen is a “recommended treatment of pain or fever in pregnancy” and “has been used safely by millions of Canadians for decades, including during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.”

Continue readingNo evidence that Tylenol causes autism, say Health Canada, World Health Organization
Comments closed
Topic: science denialView all posts for the topic: science denial

Trump makes unfounded claims about Tylenol and repeats discredited link between vaccines and autism

Published September 22, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Associated Press
Published on:
By Lauran Neergaard, Ali Swenson

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday used the platform of the presidency to promote unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism as his administration announced a wide-ranging effort to study the causes of the complex brain disorder.

“Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump instructed pregnant women around a dozen times during the unwieldy White House news conference, also urging mothers not to give their infants the drug, known by the generic name acetaminophen. He also fueled long-debunked claims that ingredients in vaccines or timing shots close together could contribute to rising rates of autism in the U.S., without providing any medical evidence.

Continue readingTrump makes unfounded claims about Tylenol and repeats discredited link between vaccines and autism
Comments closed
Topic: ManitobaView all posts for the topic: Manitoba

Manitoba offers COVID-19 shots for free as some provinces begin charging residents

Published September 22, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:

Manitoba will continue covering the cost of COVID-19 shots as some other provinces begin charging residents.

The vaccinations are free for anyone six months and up and will remain that way in Manitoba, according to the province.

“There are no plans to change Manitoba’s policy at this time,” reads a statement from a Manitoba government spokesperson.

The news comes as Alberta and Quebec recently announced they would stop offering COVID-19 shots for free to the general public.

Continue readingManitoba offers COVID-19 shots for free as some provinces begin charging residents
Comments closed
Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

The Moderna plant in Laval delivers its first COVID-19 vaccines

Published September 19, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on:

Moderna’s Laval plant has delivered its first doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines. The federal government hopes that the plant, which was built at a cost of $180 million with a $25 million investment from Quebec, will enable Canada to achieve pharmaceutical self-sufficiency.

“We will never find ourselves in this situation again,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Mélanie Joly at a press conference on Friday, recalling that Canada had to rely on the United States, the European Union, and India for its vaccine supply during the pandemic.

“We are building a strong industrial capacity, a sovereign industrial capacity, which will ensure that we are not dependent on other countries for our vaccine production.”

Continue readingThe Moderna plant in Laval delivers its first COVID-19 vaccines
Comments closed