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Category: News

Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Albertans can get COVID-19 vaccinations for free in B.C.

Published August 21, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:
By Michelle Bellefontaine

Albertans who don’t qualify for free COVID-19 vaccinations in their home province can get one in British Columbia.

B.C.’s Ministry of Health confirmed that detail in response to a query from CBC News. Canadian residents can get vaccinated due to a reciprocal agreement between all provinces and territories.

“Any publicly funded immunization in B.C. can be provided at no cost to any Canadian travelling within the province,” a statement from the ministry said. “This includes providing publicly funded COVID-19 vaccine to people of Alberta.”

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Alberta expands COVID-19 shots coverage for health workers, but calls grow for wider access

Published August 20, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Mark Villani

Calls are growing louder in Alberta for the COVID-19 vaccine to be covered free of charge for all residents, following the province’s decision Tuesday to partially reverse its vaccine policy and expand coverage to some health-care workers.

While the move has been welcomed by workers and unions, public health experts and critics say it doesn’t go far enough, leaving many Albertans uncertain about access to the vaccine.

“The government has now taken a step towards admitting that they had the wrong approach,” said Chris Galloway, executive director at Friends of Medicare.

Continue readingAlberta expands COVID-19 shots coverage for health workers, but calls grow for wider access
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Topic: tick-borne diseasesView all posts for the topic: tick-borne diseases

Tick-borne Rocky Mountain spotted fever spreading in Canada

Published August 20, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:
By Emily Chung

Quebec has reported a case of the potentially deadly tick-borne disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever that was likely acquired in Ontario or Quebec. The disease was also reported in dogs in Ontario earlier this year.

Here’s what you need to know about preventing, identifying and treating the disease.

Continue readingTick-borne Rocky Mountain spotted fever spreading in Canada
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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Alberta government to cover COVID-19 shots for health-care workers in policy reversal

Published August 19, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

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

EDMONTON – In a partial policy reversal, Alberta’s government said Tuesday it will cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations for health-care workers.

Maddison McKee, spokesperson to Primary and Preventative Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange, said in an email that COVID-19 vaccine coverage will be extended to all health-care workers this fall under the first phase of the province’s vaccination rollout.

“Immunization will remain voluntary,” said McKee.

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Topic: wildfiresView all posts for the topic: wildfires

Wildfire smoke far more dangerous to health than thought, say scientists

Published August 19, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Guardian
Published on:
By Ajit Niranjan

Choking smoke spewed by wildfires is far more dangerous than previously thought, a new study has found, with death tolls from short-term exposure to fine particulates underestimated by 93%.

Researchers found that 535 people in Europe died on average each year between 2004 and 2022 as a result of breathing in the tiny toxic particles known as PM2.5 that are released when wildfires rage.

Under standard methods, which assume PM2.5 from wildfires is as deadly as from other sources, such as traffic, they would have expected just 38 deaths a year.

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First case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever confirmed in QuebecCloseup photo of an American dog tick, crawling on the skin of a person. Photo: Jerry Kirkhart. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Topic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec

First case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever confirmed in Quebec

Published August 18, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Le Devoir
Published on:
By Florence Morin-Martel

For the first time in Quebec, a person has contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne disease that is potentially fatal, a doctor stated on Monday. The patient, recently infected in Estrie, has nevertheless responded well to treatment and has now recovered.

As milder temperatures favour the proliferation of ticks, we expect to see more and more cases in the coming years in Quebec, says Dr. Alex Carignan, infectious disease microbiologist and professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke. “It is concerning, because it is an infection with significant severity.”

The disease, which is treated with antibiotics, can lead to death if not properly managed. The first symptoms, which appear a few hours or days after a person is bitten, include a high fever, headache, muscle aches, and skin lesions in the form of small red spots.

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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Pfizer Canada and BioNTech Receive Health Canada Approval of LP.8.1 Variant Adapted COVID-19 Vaccine

Published August 18, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CNW
Published on:
By Pfizer Canada Inc.

LP.8.1 variant adapted COVID-19 vaccine COMIRNATY is now authorized in Canada for individuals 6 months of age and older. It is expected to be available in Canada in the coming weeks.

KIRKLAND, QC, Aug. 18, 2025 /CNW/ – Pfizer Canada ULC and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) “BioNTech” announced today that Health Canada has authorized the LP.8.1 variant adapted COMIRNATY® COVID-19 vaccine for individuals aged 6 months and older. The updated COMIRNATY® vaccine targets the Omicron LP.8.1 variant, one of the most recently circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages.

This season’s Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be available in pharmacies across the country in the fall. The public program operates according to the eligibility criteria determined by each province. If an individual meets these criteria, they will be eligible to receive the vaccine for free.

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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

Long COVID left her son with debilitating stomach pain. Why it’s an ‘uphill battle’ for so many kids to get treated

Published August 17, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Toronto Star
Published on:
By Kevin Jiang

When Rebecca Lewkowicz’s 10-year-old son, Ethan, first tested positive for COVID-19, the Toronto-based mom of two thought little of it — the boy had only minor symptoms, which went away in a matter of days.

She had little reason to suspect the mild infection in April 2022 would soon derail Ethan’s life trajectory and her plans for his future. Nor did she anticipate she would spend more than a year fighting for her son’s illness to be taken seriously.

“We were lucky because it only took us 13 months to be believed,” Lewkowicz told the Star. ”People (living with long COVID) go two, three, four years without being believed, and children even longer.”

Continue readingLong COVID left her son with debilitating stomach pain. Why it’s an ‘uphill battle’ for so many kids to get treated
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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

Why Canadians with long COVID feel forgotten by the health-care system: ‘The pandemic still isn’t over’

Published August 16, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Toronto Star
Published on:
By Kevin Jiang

Parts of Tracey Thompson’s home are papered with notes.

Post-its and sheets of paper are pinned to her fridge and bookshelves, chronicling everything from doctor’s appointments to errands and upcoming tasks — physical reminders of what the 57-year-old says her brain can no longer keep track.

Five years after the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thompson has become one of the faces of long COVID, her journey chronicled by numerous news articles.

“I understand why more folks aren’t willing to be interviewed because they can garner a lot of negative attention,” she told the Star. “While telling my story can feel repetitive and is often stressful, there are still folks who don’t know what’s wrong with them or what the risks are, so I feel obligated to keep talking.”

Her profile may be higher than most, but Thompson is far from alone.

Continue readingWhy Canadians with long COVID feel forgotten by the health-care system: ‘The pandemic still isn’t over’
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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

Do you have long COVID? Here’s how to tell, and what we know about the condition so far

Published August 16, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Toronto Star
Published on:
By Kevin Jiang

It has been more than five years since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet innumerable Canadians are still living with the consequences months or even years after their initial infection.

Much remains unknown about long COVID, or Post COVID Condition (PCC), despite the ailment affecting millions of Canadians and leaving thousands out of work. But as research continues to develop, scientists have gleaned some pieces of the puzzle.

Here’s what we know so far about what long COVID is, why it happens and how to tell if you have it.

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Topic: Trump regimeView all posts for the topic: Trump regime

Eli Lilly says it will raise drug prices in Europe to ‘make them lower’ in U.S.

Published August 14, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: STAT
Published on:
By Elaine Chen, Daniel Payne

Eli Lilly said Thursday that it would increase the prices of medicines in Europe and other developed markets “in order to make them lower” in the U.S., an apparent response to the Trump administration’s calls to do so. It singled out the list price of its popular weight-loss drug in the U.K. as part of that effort.

The announcement is among the first moves by a major drugmaker to raise prices abroad in order to lower them in the U.S., in line with President Trump’s agenda. But it’s not clear if these actions would actually increase the amount of revenue that Lilly earns abroad, since governments and private providers that cover drugs often negotiate discounts off the list prices. Lilly did not immediately announce any new price reductions in the U.S.

Continue readingEli Lilly says it will raise drug prices in Europe to ‘make them lower’ in U.S.
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Topic: kakistocracyView all posts for the topic: kakistocracy

‘Distracting the public’: group of health professionals call for RFK Jr to be removed

Published August 13, 2025

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Published by: The Guardian
Published on:
By Melody Schreiber

A grassroots organization of health professionals have released a report outlining major health challenges in the US and calling for the removal of Robert F Kennedy Jr from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The report from Defend Public Health, a new organization of about 3,000 health professionals and allies, is an attempt to get ahead of misinformation and lack of information from health officials.

In an effort to keep making progress in public health, Defend Public Health’s report was slated to coincide with that of the anticipated second US report to “make America healthy again” (Maha). The first Maha report was released in May, and a second report was expected this week – but amid turmoil at the health agencies, it has reportedly been delayed for several weeks.

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

Funding Changes Might Leave BC’s Long-COVID Patients in the Lurch

Published August 12, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Tyee
Published on:
By Michelle Gamage

Upcoming changes to B.C.’s Medical Services Plan could affect how thousands of long-COVID patients access care.

Starting Sept. 1, MSP is capping all online group medical visits to just 20 patients, to “ensure there can still be a one-on-one interaction between each patient and the attending physician,” the Health Ministry told The Tyee.

Most long-COVID care in B.C. is currently delivered through large online group telehealth sessions from the Bowen Island-based BC Centre for Long COVID, ME/CFS, and Fibromyalgia, or BC-CLMF, which currently has over 5,200 patients — with 25 more referred every day, Dr. Ric Arseneau told The Tyee.

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Topic: researchView all posts for the topic: research

Lab-made sugar-coated particle blocks Covid-19 infection — Possible new treatment on the horizon

Published August 11, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Swansea University
Published on:

Groundbreaking research led by a Swansea University academic has revealed a synthetic glycosystem — a sugar-coated polymer nanoparticle — that can block Covid-19 from infecting human cells, reducing infection rates by nearly 99%.

The glycosystem is a specially designed particle that mimics natural sugars found on human cells. These sugars, known as polysialosides, are made of repeating units of sialic acid — structures that viruses often target to begin infection. By copying this structure, the synthetic molecule acts as a decoy, binding to the virus’s spike protein and preventing it from attaching to real cells.

Unlike vaccines, which trigger immune responses, this molecule acts as a physical shield, offering a novel approach to infection prevention.

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Topic: war on scienceView all posts for the topic: war on science

RFK Jr.’s war on mRNA vaccines breeds distrust, threatens Canada’s access to development: experts

Published August 8, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

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

TORONTO – Canadian doctors and scientists say Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s defunding of mRNA vaccine research and development projects will have negative health effects in Canada and around the world.

“I think that Canadians do need to understand that this and a lot of the changes that Kennedy is making to vaccination policy in particular are definitely going to affect Canadians,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization.

Unlike other vaccines, mRNA vaccines can be made very quickly. They can also be easily modified to fight new viruses and adapt to changing strains — something that we saw as new variants emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rasmussen said.

Continue readingRFK Jr.’s war on mRNA vaccines breeds distrust, threatens Canada’s access to development: experts
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Topic: pro-virus policiesView all posts for the topic: pro-virus policies

HHS scraps further work on life-saving mRNA vaccine platform

Published August 6, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on:
By Mary Van Beusekom

In what experts say will hobble pandemic preparedness, US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday announced the dismantling of the country’s mRNA vaccine-development programs—the same innovation that allowed rapid scale-up of COVID-19 vaccines during the public health emergency.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine-development contracts totaling just under $500 million, including an award to Moderna/University of Texas Medical Branch for a vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu now sweeping the world. That grant was terminated in late May.

Contracts awarded to Emory University and Tiba Biotech were cancelled, and agreements with Luminary Labs, ModeX, and Seqirus have been scaled back.

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Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles

Canada likely to lose measles elimination status as outbreak continues: expert

Published August 6, 2025

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Pauline Chan

Canada is at risk of losing its measles elimination status as an outbreak that started in New Brunswick last year continues to grow.

Measles has been considered eliminated in Canada since 1998, and the country saw an average of 91 cases annually before October 2024, when the outbreak began. The designation means that, within a certain geographical region, there has been no sustained measles transmission over 12 consecutive months.

Since then, of the 4,394 measles infections nationwide, Health Canada data shows that most individuals were exposed to the virus domestically (94 per cent) and were not vaccinated (88 per cent).

Continue readingCanada likely to lose measles elimination status as outbreak continues: expert
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