Coronavirus

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry presents the latest information on COVID-19 and influenza in a briefing on Sept. 28. (The Canadian Press/screenshot)

VIDEO: B.C. prepares for flu and COVID-19 this fall

Province expecting worse influenza season than seen in past 2 pandemic years

 

A bed in need of cleaning is moved in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. may move hospital patients to free up beds ahead of projected COVID, flu surge

Up to 1,800 current patients could be switched to community care or care homes, says province

 

Island Health and pharmacies across Vancouver Island are preparing for the upcoming flu season. (Photo courtesy of Island Health)

B.C. experts predicting bad flu season as people drop masks, return to travel

Estimated 12,200 Canadians hospitalized with flu annually during pre-pandemic years

 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, left, dishes out pancakes at his last Premier’s annual Stampede breakfast as premier in Calgary, Alta., Monday, July 11, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Federal government unlikely to declare victory on COVID as travel restrictions loosen

‘In Canada, our focus has been, every step of the way, on listening to science, to responding to the facts on the ground’

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, left, dishes out pancakes at his last Premier’s annual Stampede breakfast as premier in Calgary, Alta., Monday, July 11, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
People travel at Pearson International Airport, in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. A cabinet order enforcing mandatory vaccinations at the Canadian border will be allowed to expire at the end of the month.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Canada ending requirements for COVID-19 vaccines, ArriveCan app at border Sept. 30

PM to let order enforcing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements at Canadian border expire

People travel at Pearson International Airport, in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. A cabinet order enforcing mandatory vaccinations at the Canadian border will be allowed to expire at the end of the month.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Calgary resident Sarah Olson is seen in an undated handout photo. Olson, a kindergarten teacher, hopes the findings of a study linking long COVID to autoimmune disease will lead to treatment for people like her, so they no longer have to struggle with debilitating symptoms. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sarah Olson

Canadian study builds on link between long COVID and autoimmune diseases

Abnormal antibodies known to cause autoimmune disease, persisted in patients a year after infection

Calgary resident Sarah Olson is seen in an undated handout photo. Olson, a kindergarten teacher, hopes the findings of a study linking long COVID to autoimmune disease will lead to treatment for people like her, so they no longer have to struggle with debilitating symptoms. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sarah Olson
People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, May 12, 2022. The federal Liberal cabinet is considering whether to renew COVID-19 vaccine mandates and mandatory random testing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Federal Liberals weighing whether to lift remaining COVID-19 travel measures

Measures currently in place set to expire at the end of September

People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, May 12, 2022. The federal Liberal cabinet is considering whether to renew COVID-19 vaccine mandates and mandatory random testing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin arrives to be processed at the Gatineau Police Station in Gatineau, Que., on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Fortin’s sexual assault trial is scheduled to begin in a Gatineau courthouse this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Sex assault trial starts for military officer who led COVID-19 vaccine campaign

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin facing charge relating to an alleged incident dating from 1988

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin arrives to be processed at the Gatineau Police Station in Gatineau, Que., on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Fortin’s sexual assault trial is scheduled to begin in a Gatineau courthouse this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) delivers a speech after his reelection, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 24, 2022. While the head of the World Health Organization says the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is “in sight,” some Canadian experts warn it would be premature to declare the global health crisis over.Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP

Deaths are declining, but the pandemic isn’t over yet, experts warn

World Health Organization says the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is ‘in sight’

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) delivers a speech after his reelection, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 24, 2022. While the head of the World Health Organization says the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is “in sight,” some Canadian experts warn it would be premature to declare the global health crisis over.Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks during a COVID-19 update at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Thursday, March 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Don’t blame schools for high COVID rates among B.C. youth: provincial health officer

Bonnie Henry study’s findings similar to those in other jurisdictions

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks during a COVID-19 update at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Thursday, March 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks in the press theatre at the British Columbia legislature in Victoria, Thursday, March 10, 2022. A study co-authored by Henry suggests at least 70 to 80 per cent of children and youth in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have been infected with COVID-19, and most cases are associated with the highly infectious Omicron variant. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Study co-authored by B.C.’s top doctor says 80% of kids have had COVID-19

Report focused on youth in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks in the press theatre at the British Columbia legislature in Victoria, Thursday, March 10, 2022. A study co-authored by Henry suggests at least 70 to 80 per cent of children and youth in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have been infected with COVID-19, and most cases are associated with the highly infectious Omicron variant. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Syringes and vials of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are seen on a work surface during a drive through clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. Health Canada approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine today for use in young children six months to four years old. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Health Canada approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids six months to four years old

Vaccine is the second to be approved for that age group in Canada

Syringes and vials of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are seen on a work surface during a drive through clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. Health Canada approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine today for use in young children six months to four years old. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
A nurse in Nanaimo served a voluntary one-week suspension for falsifying vaccine records and supplying edible cannabis products to a senior, outside the senior’s health plan. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons).

B.C. nurse suspended for faking COVID vaccine records, giving cannabis edible to senior

Jeremiah Isaksen serves voluntary suspension in agreement with B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives

A nurse in Nanaimo served a voluntary one-week suspension for falsifying vaccine records and supplying edible cannabis products to a senior, outside the senior’s health plan. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons).
FILE - This August 2022 photo provided by Pfizer shows vials of the company’s updated COVID-19 vaccine during production in Kalamazoo, Mich. New booster shots are here and social distancing guidelines are easy but COVID-19 infections aren’t going away anytime soon, experts say. They predict the scourge that’s already lasted longer than the 1918 flu pandemic will linger far into the future. (Pfizer via AP, File)

Is COVID-19 winding down? Scientists say no

Pandemic that has already outlasted the 1918 flu, expected to be with us for a while

FILE - This August 2022 photo provided by Pfizer shows vials of the company’s updated COVID-19 vaccine during production in Kalamazoo, Mich. New booster shots are here and social distancing guidelines are easy but COVID-19 infections aren’t going away anytime soon, experts say. They predict the scourge that’s already lasted longer than the 1918 flu pandemic will linger far into the future. (Pfizer via AP, File)
B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks during a COVID-19 update news conference in February 2022. On Tuesday (Sept. 6), she announced the province plans to roll out fourth dose invitations this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

4th COVID vaccine doses to roll out in B.C. as Omicron-specific shots arrive

More than 100,000 Moderna bivalent vaccine doses expected to arrive by Sept. 9

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks during a COVID-19 update news conference in February 2022. On Tuesday (Sept. 6), she announced the province plans to roll out fourth dose invitations this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry talks during a COVID-19 update in the press theatre at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Thursday, March 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Omicron vaccine available to most in B.C. by end of October, say Dix and Bonnie Henry

Health Canada approved the “bivalent” COVID vaccine on Thursday (Sept. 1).

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry talks during a COVID-19 update in the press theatre at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Thursday, March 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Commuters wearing face masks walk along a street in the central business district in Beijing, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China locks down 21 million in Chengdu in COVID-19 outbreak

New school term has been delayed, although public transport continues to operate

Commuters wearing face masks walk along a street in the central business district in Beijing, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Health-care worker Thi Nguyen administers Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a clinic in Ottawa on March 30, 2021. Health officials are expected to make an announcement on the ongoing fight against COVID-19 as provincial health systems eagerly await the approval of a vaccine that targets the Omicron variant of the virus. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Health Canada approves Moderna’s Omicron booster vaccine

bivalent vaccines designed to recognize specific mutations in the Omicron BA.1 subvariant

Health-care worker Thi Nguyen administers Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a clinic in Ottawa on March 30, 2021. Health officials are expected to make an announcement on the ongoing fight against COVID-19 as provincial health systems eagerly await the approval of a vaccine that targets the Omicron variant of the virus. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
(Black Press Media Creative)

Moderna sues Pfizer over patents behind COVID-19 vaccine

Moderna claims Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago

(Black Press Media Creative)
A worker installs parts on the production line at Chrysler’s plant, in Windsor, Ont., on January 18, 2011.Temporary changes to the employment insurance program made during the pandemic are set to expire in a month, putting in jeopardy access to jobless benefits for automotive workers in Windsor expecting to be out of work in the fall, says a Unifor leader.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins

Temporary changes to EI made during pandemic are set to expire late next month

Measures not expected to be extended and some may be affected by tighter framework

A worker installs parts on the production line at Chrysler’s plant, in Windsor, Ont., on January 18, 2011.Temporary changes to the employment insurance program made during the pandemic are set to expire in a month, putting in jeopardy access to jobless benefits for automotive workers in Windsor expecting to be out of work in the fall, says a Unifor leader.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins