This story idea came from audience members, like you, who asked about the RSV vaccine. Email us your questions. We are listening: ask@cbc.ca.
It’s that time of year, respiratory illnesses are going around — including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Typically, mild RSV symptoms can include runny nose, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, fever and a decrease in appetite and energy. For most people, it appears like a common cold.
However, older people and infants may be at greater risk of developing more severe outcomes from RSV, like a severe infection of the lower respiratory tract, which could lead to hospitalization.
This year, for the first time, a vaccine is available to help protect older adults against the virus. Health Canada approved Arexvy in August for adults aged 60 and over. There is no approved vaccine for children or younger adults.
In a clinical trial published earlier this year, Arexvy showed nearly 83 per cent efficacy in preventing lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV. It also showed a 94 per cent efficacy in preventing severe RSV-associated illness, according to the FDA’s analysis of data.
Many of you wrote to us or left comments asking questions about where you can get the shot and how much it costs. Here’s what we know.
Will my province or territory cover the cost?
It depends where you live.
Ontario is currently the only province that is publicly funding the RSV vaccine to some people over 60. That includes people living in long-term care homes, elder care lodges, and some retirement homes licensed to provide dementia care services in the province.
Many provincial and territorial health authorities say they are waiting for guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) before deciding whether or not to include Arexvy in any publicly funded programs. NACI analyzes available evidence and provides guidance on who vaccines should be offered to, and how.
Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick, N.L., Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Saskatchewan and Yukon noted the vaccine would be available for purchase out-of-pocket in pharmacies or may be covered by private health insurance.
Other details may vary by province. For example, in Nova Scotia you will need a prescription to access the vaccine. New Brunswick said individuals will have to pay for both the vaccine and having it administered. B.C. told CBC News about their searchable database for pharmacies that will offer the shot.
There is no publicly available guidance for N.W.T. and Nunavut and they have not responded to our request by the time of publication.
What’s it going to cost me?
If you do have to pay out-of-pocket, provinces and territories told CBC News the vaccine will cost you in the range of $200 to $350, depending on where you live.
Why are some vaccines covered, but others aren’t?
It boils down to what the provincial and territorial health authorities decide to put on their drug plans for their province or territory.
Without guidance from NACI, those health authorities have been reluctant to include Arexvy for this season. It may be covered in the future, but that will depend on each province or territory and how they implement NACI’s guidance.
Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto, says the biggest challenge when a vaccine isn’t publicly covered is that people feel it’s probably not important, and that’s not correct.
Some people may have coverage through a private drug plan, said Sinha.
“Because the effectiveness of this vaccine is quite significant, many insurers have already decided when they look at the data, despite not having a NACI recommendation … there’s such compelling evidence already in their view that they’re going ahead and covering it.”
Should I get it?
If you are eligible, that decision is up to you.
Health-care professionals are urging seniors to get the shot if they can access it.
“The reason I’m recommending that all of my patients above 60 get it is because RSV is a very, very common virus that’s been circulating for years, but one that we’ve been relatively helpless against,” said Sinha.
“The challenges with RSV is that, unlike influenza and COVID-19, we don’t actually have anything to give you other than oxygen and fluids,” he said.
“It’s been a tricky virus to create a vaccine for and we still don’t actually have any effective treatments for people who might catch RSV.”
In the U.S., research has shown adults over 65 have the highest mortality risk from RSV, and there was a six to eight per cent fatality rate among older adults hospitalized with RSV, according to a report from The National Institute on Ageing, a Canadian think tank focused on Canada’s aging population.
It’s unclear exactly how many people 60 and older in Canada are hospitalized or die from the illness each year, as experts say it’s not properly tracked.
When is the best time to get it?
If you can, Sinha says “get it now.”
“RSV starts to really circulate in November and all the way through to May. So if you get your vaccine now, it’ll last you two seasons and it may even last you a third,” he said.
Dr. Samir Gupta, a respirologist, clinician-scientist and associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, agreed.
“I would recommend a two week gap before or after COVID or flu vaccination,” Gupta told CBC News in an email.
What are the side effects?
You might experience some side effects like a sore arm, tiredness and fatigue.
“You’re probably going to have some sort of reaction,” said Sinha. “A reaction is a good sign because it tells me that you have an immune system that’s working and responding to the vaccine.”
“But I advise my patients to not get the vaccine a day before a significant event like your granddaughter’s wedding, you know, because you might be down and out for a day or two,” he said.
He also added that if you’ve gotten the shingles vaccine and you can recall what your symptoms might have been around that, you might have a similar symptom profile because the RSV vaccine uses that same adjuvant therapy.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
