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Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response

Canada’s top doctor Theresa Tam leaving position when term ends June 20

Published June 13, 2025

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Published by: The Canadian Press
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By Nicole Ireland

TORONTO – As Dr. Theresa Tam prepares to leave her position next week, Canada’s top doctor says it’s more important than ever for Canada to stand up for science and combat disinformation.

She’s held the role of chief public health officer for eight years, but became a household name in the last five years as she led the country’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her term ends June 20 and she doesn’t have another job lined up, Tam said in a wide-ranging interview Friday that touched on her desire to be remembered for more than COVID, her passion for health equity and the musical side of her the public hasn’t seen.

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Alberta’s measles outbreaks are now the worst in nearly half a century

Published June 12, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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By Jennifer Lee

Alberta’s measles surge is so dramatic, the last time case counts were higher Calgary did not have an NHL team, O Canada was not yet the official national anthem and gasoline would set you back 24 cents a litre.

The province reported 29 more cases on Thursday, bringing the total since the outbreaks began in March to 868. That pushes the province past the levels seen during a surge in 1986, when 854 cases were reported.

A higher case count hasn’t been recorded since 1979.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

RFK Jr. names new members of CDC’s vaccine advisory panel

Published June 11, 2025

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Published by: STAT
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By Chelsea Cirruzzo, Isabella Cueto, Andrew Joseph, Helen Branswell

WASHINGTON — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday unveiled the names of the eight new members who will sit on the panel of experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy, and said they would review the current vaccine schedule, as well as evaluate new shots.

The new members include several well-known critics of vaccines.

“The slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians,” Kennedy wrote in a post on X.

The appointment comes just days after Kennedy dismissed every member of the committee, calling for a “clean slate” with new members. The committee is scheduled to hold a meeting later this month.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Kennedy dismisses entire US CDC vaccine panel, replacing all 17 members

Published June 9, 2025

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Published by: Reuters
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By Ahmed Aboulenein, Michael Erman, Julie Steenhuysen

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) – Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all members sitting on a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts and is reconstituting the committee, his department said on Monday.

Kennedy removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement, and is in the process of considering new members to replace them.

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Topic: Bethesda DeclarationView all posts for the topic: Bethesda Declaration

NIH scientists publish declaration criticizing Trump’s deep cuts in public health research

Published June 9, 2025

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Published by: The Associated Press
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By Calvin Woodward, Nathan Ellgren

WASHINGTON (AP) — In his confirmation hearings to lead the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya pledged his openness to views that might conflict with his own. “Dissent,” he said, ”is the very essence of science.”

That commitment is being put to the test.

On Monday, scores of scientists at the agency sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, challenging “policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Poor air quality supports activated in Edmonton

Published June 7, 2025

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Published by: CityNews
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The City of Edmonton has activated its extreme weather response due to high-risk air quality caused by wildfire smoke. The response began at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, and will continue until 9:00 a.m. on Monday, with possible extension if conditions persist.

City recreation centres, pools, and libraries are open to anyone needing relief from the smoke.

These indoor spaces offer cleaner air, unlike transit centres and LRT stations, which are exposed to outdoor air.

Free N95 masks and bottled water are also available at some City facilities, including libraries and recreation centres.

Residents are urged to stay indoors, keep windows closed, and check on vulnerable neighbours.

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

Ottawa’s air quality among the worst in the world as wildfire smoke blankets the region

Published June 6, 2025

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Published by: CTV News
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By Josh Pringle

The City of Ottawa is experiencing some of the worst air quality in the world due to wildfire smoke on Friday, with the poor air quality expected to continue into Saturday.

A special air quality statement remains in effect for Ottawa, eastern Ontario and western Quebec, warning smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility.

“High risk air quality due to wildfire smoke is expected over the area overnight. As smoke levels increase, health risks increase,” Environment Canada said in an updated statement at 5 p.m. Friday.

“Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events.”

Ottawa’s air quality was rated 10+ or “Very High Risk” at 4 p.m., after a slight improvement earlier in the day. The Air Quality Health Index shows Ottawa’s air quality will be or 10 or “High Risk” tonight, improving to to “5-Moderate Risk” tomorrow.

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Topic: TorontoView all posts for the topic: Toronto

Air quality in Toronto among worst in the world amid wildfire smoke, global tracker shows

Published June 6, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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By Rochelle Raveendran

Toronto is currently the second most polluted major city in the world as wildfire smoke spreads across the city, according to a global tracker.

The ranking by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, puts the city below Santiago, Chile, and above Montreal, which is in third place as it also faces wildfire smoke from western provinces.

As of noon Friday, air quality in Toronto was above 10 on Environment Canada’s air quality health index, which means “very high risk,” according to the weather agency’s website.

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Topic: climate crisisView all posts for the topic: climate crisis

Wildfires: Toronto and Montreal among the cities with the worst air pollution in the world

Published June 6, 2025

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Published by: Radio-Canada
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By Stéphane Bordeleau

The smoke generated by the fires raging in the forests of western Canada worsened air quality on Friday in the Prairies, Ontario and Quebec, where…

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Topic: wildfiresView all posts for the topic: wildfires

A warning from Canadian eye doctors about wildfires and smoke

Published June 6, 2025

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

TORONTO — The Canadian Ophthalmological Society is urging people to take care of their eyes as wildfires burn across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

People on the frontlines of the fires may get airborne particles in their eyes that need to be flushed out with sterile solution, said Dr. David Plemel, an eye surgeon in London, Ont., who was speaking on behalf of the society.

If it’s not easy to get the particle out, he recommends seeing an eye professional so they can remove it without damaging the cornea.

Smoke travels long distances and can affect people’s eyes even if they are far away from an actual blaze, said Plemel, who is also an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Western University.

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

Special air quality statement in effect for eastern Ontario, western Quebec

Published June 5, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
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By Toula Mazloum

A special air quality statement is in effect for eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

The statement was issued by Environment Canada Thursday, saying smoke caused by wildfires is expected to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility over the area tonight into Friday morning — the health risk will be high at these times.

“As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events,” reads the statement.

“You may experience mild and common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough. More serious but less common symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or severe cough. If you think you are having a medical emergency, seek immediate medical assistance.”

The air quality statement extends as far west as Lake Huron, south into Toronto and Windsor, and north of Gatineau, Que.

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Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

Ontario confirms death of infant infected with measles

Published June 5, 2025

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Published by: CTV News
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By Joshua Freeman

An infant in southwestern Ontario who contracted measles from their mother before birth and was born prematurely has died, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says.

The child’s mother had not been vaccinated against the viral illness, Dr. Kieran Moore said in his statement.

While measles can be fatal, especially for young children, Moore noted the child also faced other “serious medical complications.”

“While measles may have been a contributing factor in both the premature birth and death, the infant also faced other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus,” Moore said.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Exclusive: CDC expert resigns from COVID vaccines advisory role, sources say

Published June 3, 2025

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Published by: Reuters
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By Julie Steenhuysen, Michael Erman, Dan Levine

Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the U.S. CDC resigned on Tuesday as co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on COVID-19 vaccines and is leaving the agency, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters.

Panagiotakopoulos said in an email to work group colleagues that her decision to step down was based on the belief she is “no longer able to help the most vulnerable members” of the U.S. population.

In her role at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s working group of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, she co-led the gathering of information on topics for presentation.

Her resignation comes one week after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic who oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, said the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women had been removed from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule.

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Topic: wildfiresView all posts for the topic: wildfires

Federal government to match Red Cross donations to help wildfire victims

Published June 3, 2025

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Published by: CBC News
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The federal government says it will match donations made to the Canadian Red Cross as wildfires tear across the Prairies, forcing thousands from their homes.

Speaking on Parliament Hill Tuesday, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said the money will go toward wildfire relief and disaster recovery.

The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba will also match donations, she said.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

RFK Jr.’s stance on Covid vaccines for pregnant women is profoundly unethical

Published June 3, 2025

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Published by: STAT
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By Ruth R. Faden

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy’s proposal to end the government’s existing Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy pregnant women, if enacted, will be a major setback to decades’ worth of efforts to advance the health of pregnant people and their babies.

It also profoundly unethical.

Pregnant people are consistently left behind in biomedical R&D in ways that are deeply harmful to the health of both mother and child. In the decade before the Covid pandemic, consensus reports emerged denouncing this pregnancy evidence gap and providing road maps for how to ethically generate evidence during pregnancy within the confines of existing research regulations. I co-led one of these efforts, the PREVENT project, initiated in response to the Zika epidemic and completed in fall 2019. PREVENT specifically focused on how to ethically include pregnant women in the development and deployment of new vaccines for emerging pandemic threats.

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

Cancelling funding for mRNA vaccine is both risky and foolish

Published June 2, 2025

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Published by: The Ottawa Citizen
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By Raywat Deonandan

With Donald Trump’s second administration, disruptive news seems to arise on a daily basis. Most concerning for clinicians and health scientists in Canada and around the world was Trump’s appointment of anti-vaccination zealot Robert Kennedy Jr. to the enormously influential position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy’s ideological dismantling of the U.S.’s vaunted health research apparatus has been at speeds surprising even to his most ardent critics.

But his recent decision to cancel a nearly $600-million contract with vaccine manufacturer Moderna might be among his most shortsighted and destructive moves, with ripple effects globally.

The contract with the mRNA pioneer, signed under the Joe Biden administration, was meant to fund the development, testing and licensing of vaccines targeting particular flu strains, including the strain responsible for the dreaded avian flu, H5N1. Many scientists fear that H5N1 could become the next world-stopping infectious disease pandemic.

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Topic: climate crisisView all posts for the topic: climate crisis

Much of Manitoba under air quality warnings as wildfires rage

Published June 2, 2025

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Published by: CTV News
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Air quality warnings have been issued for a large swath of Manitoba, though rain could bring some much-needed relief.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) upgraded a number of air quality statements to warnings Monday morning in a large portion of southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg, Steinbach, and Lac du Bonnet.

These areas join much of northern Manitoba, which have been under air quality warnings for days due to wildfires burning in the region and in northern Saskatchewan.

However, the weather agency notes smoke will improve with rain forecast through southern Manitoba on Monday, while northern communities under wildfire threat will likely have to wait until the weekend for precipitation.

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Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response

COVID-19 Disease Burden Remains Greater Than Influenza, Study Shows

Published May 31, 2025

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Published by: Forbes
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By Dave Wessner

Researchers in Denmark conducted a large-scale evaluation of the disease burdens associated with COVID-19 and influenza. Their conclusion? COVID-19 has a greater impact than influenza, resulting in more hospitalizations and deaths. These findings, they note, emphasize the continued need for a strong public health response.

COVID-19 Exhibits Greater Disease Burden Than Influenza

To compare the disease burden of COVID-19 and influenza, the researchers evaluated data available from Danish health registries from May 16, 2022 to June 7, 2024. The results were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. A commentary about the findings was published in the same issue of the journal.

During this period, the risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 was approximately two times higher than the risk of hospitalization due to influenza. The risk of death was approximately three times higher. The researchers note that these increased risks were greater during the first year of the study period but still were evident during the second year. The risk of mortality, for example, was five times greater for COVID-19 during the first year of the study. That increased risk dropped during the second year, but COVID-19 still had a two and a half times greater risk of mortality than influenza.

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