Can you put a price on protecting your children from a potentially deadly meningitis-causing bacterial infection?
Right now, it’s about $320 per child, unless you happen to have private insurance, for a two-dose vaccine recommended by public health officials in Kingston, Ont. — one of a handful of regions in Canada seeing a spike in local cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD).
IMD is a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection that can infect the brain and spinal cord, causing meningitis, and the bloodstream, causing septicemia.
Up to 10 per cent of people infected with IMD die, according to Health Canada, and complications include deafness, limb amputations and permanent brain damage. There are almost 200 cases in Canada per year on average.
Most IMD cases are caused by five types of bacteria: A, B, C, Y and W-135, though in Canada, group B causes most illness, according to the health department.
Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health (KFL&A) is recommending the meningococcal Bvaccine for people under age 25. It’s not a routine vaccine like meningococcal C, typically given to babies at age one, or meningococcal ACYW-135, administered in Grade 7 in Ontario, said the health unit.
Currently, no provinces or territories cover the cost of the meningococcal B vaccine for all children, according to the Canadian Paediatric Society.
Crystal Harris, 45, plans to vaccinate her two teenagers after getting letters from their schools in Kingston last week recommending the shots. She says she was surprised when she realized how much it would cost, and was grateful she has private insurance that covers it. She also knows she’s one of the lucky ones.
“I cannot imagine having to pay that money to keep your children safe and healthy,” Harris told CBC News. “It’s simply wrong.”
Crystal Harris, of Kingston, Ont., with her husband, Luke Harris. Crystal, 45, says she’s grateful her insurance will cover the cost of vaccinating her two teenagers against invasive meningococcal disease. (Submitted by Crystal Harris)
People with certain high-risk medical conditions are eligible for a free vaccine, as is anyone who comes in contact with a case. But at this point, the Kingston community at large isn’t eligible for publicly funded vaccination, said Dr. Piotr Oglaza, medical officer of health at KFL&A Public Health.
The cost for the general population — about $160 per dose, with two doses required — is “absolutely” a barrier, especially for someone who doesn’t have private insurance, Oglaza said.
“I fully understand and appreciate that dilemma and that struggle that individuals may face.
“But really, the best protection against this is the vaccine.”
Rare but risky
Last Thursday, KFL&A Public Health warned of an increase in invasive meningococcal disease type B activity in the region — three cases in recent months, including one pediatric case, according to Oglaza.Its last case was in 2013, he said.
Kingston isn’t the only region seeing an increase. Last month, health officials in the Eastern Townships of Quebec called for vigilance after confirming two cases of invasive meningococcal infection in the region, one of which resulted in a death. The specific type of case isn’t yet known.
Manitoba public health officials also recently warned that the province had seen 11 cases and one death between Dec. 21 and Feb. 29. The serogroup of one of those cases was identified as type B.
Manitoba typically has six cases of IMD reported in a year.
Most cases came from children under age five and adolescents aged 15 to 19, the report said.
“Outbreaks of meningococcal B disease are usually small and localized, and are primarily seen among adolescents and young adults, especially those living in dormitory or other group settings,” said Devon Greyson, an assistant professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.
University campuses in Atlantic Canada have had outbreaks in the last few years, including student deaths.
In May 2023, Nova Scotia began offering the meningococcal B vaccine for free to people aged 25 and under living in group settings, such as university residences. Then in January, Prince Edward Island expanded its free vaccine eligibility to all post-secondary students.
Representatives from the post-secondary institutions in the four Atlantic provinces made posters and other materials encouraging students to get vaccinated against meningococcal B infection. (Nicola MacLeod/CBC)
‘Multiple tiers of privilege’
There are “multiple tiers of privilege going on” in terms of vaccine accessibility, between the out-of-pocket cost, the potential for coverage by private insurance, and the fact that if you don’t have a family doctor, you may not even be having these conversations, said Ian Culbert, the executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association.
“For low-income people, it simply isn’t an option.”
Funded vaccine programs have much higher uptake rates than unfunded ones, he noted. But even the hesitancy for funded vaccines — such as the measles shot — is increasing post-pandemic, he added.
A new poll released last week by the Angus Reid Institute found that a growing number of Canadian parents say they are opposed to vaccinating their children. Among the 1,626 survey respondents, 17 per cent of parents of minors said they were “really against” vaccinating their kids, compared with about four per cent in 2019.
Given that, there’s even less incentive for provincial and territorial governments to fund some of the vaccines for diseases that are less common, Culbert said, even though the outcome of catching IMD can be much more serious than mumps or measles.
“It’s this risk-benefit that as individuals we have to think about, but that the governments need to think about, as well.”
WATCH | How to protect yourself against measles:
How to protect yourself against measles
3 days ago
Duration 7:50
The potential community spread of measles in several cities and an alarming rise in cases abroad has health officials warning Canadians to make sure their vaccinations are up to date. The National asks the experts to break down how we got here and what you can do to protect yourself from one of the world’s most contagious viruses.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
