Corona Virus Symptoms

Two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was protective against severe disease in children aged five to 11 during the recent Omicron variant surge, but quickly lost most of its ability to prevent infection in the age group, according to a study by New York State researchers.

A widow and mother living in Lake Country, B.C., has filed a lawsuit claiming her husband's strep infection was misdiagnosed three times before he died of necrotizing fasciitis — also known as flesh-eating disease — nearly two years ago to the day.

As society embraces the lack of any government restrictions, Melissa Fuller writes she is left feeling unvalued as a registered nurse, a mother to a child too young to be vaccinated, and a cancer survivor.

Canada's ability to track new and existing variants is in jeopardy with testing access still heavily restricted — leaving us vulnerable to pandemic whiplash from new and existing variants.

For the second time in Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 history the province is dropping all its COVID-19 public health orders, including the requirement to wear a mask.

In a world first, preliminary research suggests deer may be able to transmit the COVID-19 virus to humans, following analysis by a team of Canadian scientists monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in animals.

Most remaining public health restrictions will be lifted in Alberta on Tuesday as the province proceeds with the second phase of moving to an endemic approach to COVID-19.

Most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday.

At least 50 calls have been made to poison control centres in Canada over accidental exposure to certain ingredients in COVID-19 rapid test kits, which can be poisonous if swallowed or absorbed through the skin, warns Health Canada.

Almost one year after the New Brunswick government raised alarm about “a distinct atypical neurological syndrome” causing symptoms ranging from muscle spasms to visual hallucinations, the province now says there is no mystery neurological illness.

Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine is now approved by Health Canada, which will soon give Canadians the option of getting a homegrown shot against SARS-CoV-2.

Getting infected more than once by subvariants in the Omicron family does seem possible, but appears rare, scientists in Denmark found in a recent real-world study — offering reassurance that countries won’t experience another sudden surge of infections.

Ontario long-term care homes, where the majority of residents have three or four COVID-19 vaccine doses, have been spared mass deaths during the Omicron wave despite infection levels similar to those seen in early 2020, according to new figures from the province.

During a briefing Wednesday, Premier Dennis King said the pass, which is currently required to access certain services, will no longer be in use as of Monday at 12:01 a.m. 

A 10-bed care home just down the street — that's what these families of dementia patients say they want for their loved ones. They'll be watching Thursday's budget for signs of hope.

Seniors must continue to be protected from COVID-19, but advocates say that protection must not come through isolation. They're calling on the province to rethink its long-term care system and want it to establish an official advocate for seniors.

According to an online poll conducted on behalf of the B.C. Pharmacy Association, 56 per cent of survey respondents — who have received two doses of the vaccine but not a booster — say they do not plan to get a booster dose right away. 

People with COVID-19 won't be legally required to self-isolate in England starting in the coming week, the British government has announced, as part of a plan for 'living with COVID' that is also likely to see testing for the coronavirus scaled back.

Melatonin use has increased since 1999, according to a new study out of the United States. Canadian sleep and drug safety experts say more people are turning to the supplement to fall asleep.

Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday the country is past the peak of the COVID-19 wave caused by the Omicron variant, but that COVID-19 is still spreading at high levels and hospitals remain stretched thin.

SHA executive Dr. Kevin Wasko says a number of factors, akin to burnout, have led to his decision to step away from leadership and move out of the province.

An additional 33 deaths were also reported Friday, pushing Ontario's official death toll to 12,237.

Travel agents are being flooded with requests from Canadians eager to book vacations now that the federal government has said it will drop pre-arrival PCR tests for fully vaccinated travellers as of Feb. 28

Hong Kong has identified more than 20,000 hotel rooms for quarantine accommodation, leader Carrie Lam said on Friday, as hospitals in the financial hub hit 95 capacity.

Nurses say Manitoba's hospitals are low on critical supplies they use to feed premature babies, deliver intravenous nutrition to sick children and adults, and monitor patients' vital signs. The province confirms hospitals have been short on some supplies for the past several weeks.

Some Canadians are at risk of severe complications in case of a coronavirus infection because of their medical conditions. And some of those people say they now face a more anxious future as many provinces announce the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

Ontario is lifting more COVID-19 restrictions as over 30 communities in the province's north are still managing an Omicron surge, a discrepancy that's led to calls for better representation in reopening plans.

Denmark health officials say they no longer consider COVID-19 "a socially critical disease" and have lifted most of their pandemic restrictions. But one epidemiologist says Canada should not take a similar approach.

Dr. Kieran Moore told CBC Radio's Metro Morning that key metrics including wastewater data and the rate of hospitalizations are showing a "profound decline."

Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says it is time for the United States to start inching back towards normality, despite remaining risks from COVID-19.

People in Ontario, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island will face fewer COVID-19 restrictions as of Thursday.

Ontario is facing a backlog of more than one million surgeries, in large part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now a doctor's group is recommending the province fund a new model of outpatient care centres to help tackle the problem. 

Radon is an odourless, tasteless gas that comes from the ground. A new study out of the U.K. says people in the Arctic might be exposed to plumes of the cancer-causing gas as a protective layer of permafrost continues to thaw.

Ontario’s Science Advisory Table shows COVID-19 levels in wastewater data are steadily declining in all regions except in northern areas of the province.

Ontario reported 1,403 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 47 more deaths on Wednesday as the province gears up to lift capacity limits on businesses that were imposed amid a surge in Omicron cases.

While some business owners and customers may be breathing a sigh of relief after the Quebec government announced its plans to abandon the vaccine passport system, reactions are mixed among experts and politicians alike.

B.C. will lift most COVID-19 restrictions Wednesday at 11:59 p.m., B.C. health officials announced Tuesday.

The number of new coronavirus cases globally fell by 19 per cent in the last week, while the number of deaths remained stable, according to the World Health Organization.

A U.S. patient with leukemia has become the first woman and the third person to date to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus that causes AIDS, researchers reported on Tuesday.

A B.C. doctor says as more people become infected, more research is needed to understand the impacts of long COVID.

Premier Blaine Higgs has abandoned a pledge to make life "increasingly uncomfortable" for the unvaccinated.

On Tuesday, British Columbia is expected to join most other provinces in announcing a timeline for removing some COVID-19 restrictions — but lifting the vaccine card isn't expected to be part of the discussion. 

British Columbia's top doctor is expected to announce a plan Tuesday for gradually easing public health restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

A Canadian research team found that COVID-19 cases were “disproportionately concentrated” in communities with lower incomes and a higher share of visible minorities, recent immigrants, high-density housing and essential workers.

As the province lifts further restrictions, health-care workers say unless the system undergoes a major overhaul, the long-standing problems highlighted by the pandemic will have disastrous consequences in the years to come.

Alberta's mandatory mask requirement for children under 12 in all settings and for all students in schools ends today. Saskatchewan's vaccine passport is over today, too.

COVID-19 has created division in the province of Saskatchewan. The pandemic has taken over lives and relationships.

COVID-19 vaccine mandates have worked extraordinarily well at getting more Canadians vaccinated, but they are increasingly hard to justify — not because of protests or political pressure but because they’re a victim of their own success.

An early look at the performance of COVID-19 booster shots during the recent Omicron wave in the U.S. showed a decline in effectiveness against severe cases, though the shots still offered strong protection. Experts caution more research is needed.

Ontario is declaring a state of emergency in response to convoy protests against public health measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, which have caused major disruptions in multiple areas of the province in recent weeks.

The Ontario Science Advisory Table says rapid antigen tests are less likely to detect the Omicron variant. So they want you to swab much more than your nostrils to make the tests more accurate.

Pediatricians are hoping a vaccine for young children could be available before summer if approved by Health Canada. However, no applications have yet been received by the regulator.