Canada2009 WHO declares swine flu pandemic, no change in Canada's approach Swine flu, or H1N1 influenza, has reached the pandemic level, the World Health Organization warned Thursday — marking the first time it has called a global flu epidemic in 41 years. Canada2009Swine Swine flu roots traced to Spanish flu The CDC in the U.S. said on Friday the new strain is "a very unusual" combination of human genes and genes from swine and avian flu viruses found in North America, Asia and Europe. Canada2010dump B.C. to dump $20M in swine flu vaccine The B.C. government hopes to recover at least part of the $20-million cost of swine flu vaccine it has to dump because the serum is unexpectedly spoiling far in advance of its best-before date. The province is stuck with about 2.5 million doses of the vaccine, which were supposed to be good for 18 months, but have turned out to have only a six-month shelf life. The un-adjuvanted vaccine — intended for use by pregnant women and people who are immune-compromised — is lasting longer but it's not yet known if it will remain usable for the full 18 months. Canada2011 $425.9M pandemic flu contract awarded GlaxoSmithKline gets 10-year contract, Canada2011who H1N1 pandemic response flawed: report Swine flu was a mild virus and most people infected didn't need medical treatment to recover. That led some critics to suggest WHO's declaration of a pandemic was the result of collusion with pharmaceutical companies, who made millions selling vaccines worldwide. Canada2012 Flu deaths reality check Nov 25, 2012 5:14 PM ET Credibility of flu models disputed Canada2012Fail Flu shot linked to higher incidence of flu in pandemic year Canadian researchers noticed in the early weeks of the pandemic that people who got a flu shot for the 2008-2009 winter seemed to be more likely to get infected with the pandemic virus than people who hadn't received a flu shot. Five studies done in several provinces showed the same puzzling and unsettling results. But initially, research outside Canada did not, and the effect was dismissed as "the Canadian problem." She and her colleagues worked with 32 ferrets, giving half the 2008 seasonal flu shot and the remainder a placebo injection. The work was blinded, meaning the researchers didn't know which ferrets received which shot. Later, all the ferrets were infected with the pandemic H1N1 virus. The ferrets in the vaccine group became significantly sicker than the other animals, though all recovered. "The findings that we show are consistent with the increased risk that we saw in the human studies," Skowronski said. Skowronski likened the mechanism to what happens with dengue viruses. People who have been infected with one subtype of dengue don't develop immunity to the other three. In fact, they are more at risk of developing a life-threatening form of dengue if they are infected with one of the other strains. Canada2012H1N1 H1N1 flu shots likely tied to increase in paralysis syndrome The Canadian Press · Posted: Jul 11, 2012 11:59 AM ET | Last Updated: July 11, 2012 The flu vaccine used during the 2009 pandemic may have led to a slight increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Quebec, a new study from the province suggests. The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that use of the vaccine may have led to a doubling of the rate of cases of the rare neurological condition. Canada2012pulled Health Canada pulls distribution of Novartis flu vaccines Small clumps of virus particles found in some batches, affecting efficacy. Canada2013 "its severity is in line with the 1968 Hong Kong flu" The 64-year-old was sick for a week before she was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with H1N1. She died on Wednesday after spending nearly a month in intensive care, said her son Greg Scheelar. "Since that time, this particular H1N1 strain has now become one of our seasonal influenza strains we expect to see every year," said Dr. Judy MacDonald, the province’s medical officer of health for the Calgary zone. "And there’s still cases of it and sometimes it can be very serious, but it’s not like it was when it first arrived." Alberta Health Services officials said they cannot comment on Husby-Scheelar’s death, but confirmed they are seeing three strains of the flu this year, including H1N1. H1N1 is the same strain of flu that made headlines in 2009. Canada2013H1N1 "expects it will be similar to last year's 60 per cent effectiveness" Health officials in B.C. are advising young people to get a flu vaccine after determining that the H1N1 influenza strain, which circulated during the global pandemic in 2009, has returned to become the predominant strain this flu season. Young children and people with chronic health conditions are especially vulnerable and should get their flu shot now, said Dr. Danuta Skowronski, a flu expert with the BC Centre for Disease Control. Skowronski says this year's flu vaccine does offer protection against the H1N1 strain. She says it's too soon to quantify the effectiveness of the vaccine, though she expects it will be similar to last year's 60 per cent effectiveness, which is average. Canada2014 "As well, AstraZeneca — the maker of FluMist, a vaccine puffed into a nostril — is providing 157,000 doses" "Perplexingly, last year's flu season was harsher than this year's — or at least from what can be seen to date. But the main strain this year, H1N1, can hit young and middle-aged adults very hard. Reports of people in that demographic being hospitalized, placed in intensive care and occasionally even dying have received heavy media coverage."

Canada2014H1N1 More flu-related deaths this year than pandemic in 2009 There are now 16 flu-related deaths in Saskatchewan this flu season, which is more than the 15 people who died during the pandemic in 2009. Canada2015 Flu vaccine only 23% effective in U.S., even less effective in Canada Jan 15, 2015 1:44 PM ET The effectiveness was highest among children aged six months to 17 at 26 per cent. Effectiveness fell to about 12 per cent among people aged 18 to 49 and 14 per cent for those aged 50 and older. In Canada, the flu vaccine could be working even more poorly, with "little or no protection." Canada2015Fail The 2015 shot offered no protection Jan 29, 2015 7:16 PM ET "This year's flu vaccine offers little or no protection in Canada against becoming sick enough to require medical care, a study published Thursday suggests." Canada2015Paradox CBC/BC CDC - seasonal flu vaccination almost doubled the risk of infection with pandemic flu "The more shots you get the less they work." People who receive flu vaccines year after year can sometimes show reduced protection, an effect that Canadian infectious disease specialists say muddies public health messages for annual flu vaccine campaigns. People who receive flu vaccines year after year can sometimes show reduced protection, an effect that Canadian infectious disease specialists say muddies public health messages for annual flu vaccine campaigns. During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, researchers at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control originally thought seasonal flu shots from 2008 might offer extra protection against the new pandemic strain. They were puzzled to find instead, seasonal flu vaccination almost doubled the risk of infection with pandemic flu. Dr. Danuta Skowronski and her colleagues went on to do five more studies during the summer that showed the same effect What was originally called "the Canadian problem" has since been found in a randomized control trial by researchers in Hong Kong, with more supporting evidence from Japan and the U.S. The paradoxical finding of increased risk of H1N1 infection only occurred during the pandemic. Protection was greatest among those who weren’t vaccinated previously. "People do not have a good explanation for why," said Dr. Michael Gardam, director of infection prevention and control at Toronto's University Health Network. "The idea basically is that your immune system is occupied elsewhere. It would be like getting the swirling ball of death on your Mac where your operating system is doing something else rather than opening the file." The end result of both puzzles is the same: more sickness. Canada2016 Flu shot effectiveness for 2015-16 disappointing, data shows July 2016 'It's an improvement over the previous year, because it couldn't be worse, frankly.' - Dr. Danuta Skowronski, BC Centre for Disease Control "Overall, just shy of 45 to 50 per cent," said Dr. Danuta Skowronski of the BC Centre for Disease Control, who presented the data to the Global Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness meeting at the World Health Organization last week. "That's lower than we would like to see, but it's an improvement over the previous year, because it couldn't be worse, frankly" In 2014-15, the flu shot offered essentially zero protection against the circulating influenza virus of that season. Back then, the prevailing strain was H3N2. This year's main circulating virus was H1N1, which flu watchers will remember from the pandemic of 2009-10. Skowronski said the vaccine was well-matched, but overall, the protection was disappointing 'There's no use promoting a vaccine that isn't working well.' - Dr. Danuta Skowronski, BC Centre for Disease Control Canada2016mist Flu spray fails again, U.S. panel urges shot instead Nasal spray dismal for third straight year, traditional flu jab worked reasonably well this winter, CDC finds The Associated Press · Posted: Jun 23, 2016 10:37 AM ET | Last Updated: June 23, 2016 The nasal spray version of the annual flu vaccine failed to protect U.S. kids again last year, the latest in a string of failures that has prompted an expert panel to recommend that doctors stop giving it to patients. Health officials reported Wednesday that the spray performed dismally for the third straight year, while the traditional flu shot — the one that stings — worked reasonably well this winter. "We could find no evidence [the spray] was effective," said Dr. Joseph Bresee, a flu expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Canada2017 This year's flu shot may be ineffective, but you should still get it This flu season is turning into a particularly nasty one as Canada, the U.S. and other parts of the world battle epidemic levels of the illness, overwhelming hospitals. Canada2017miscarriage Puzzling study prompts call to examine flu vaccine and miscarriage A puzzling study of U.S. pregnancies found that women who had miscarriages between 2010 and 2012 were more likely to have had back-to-back annual flu shots that included protection against swine flu. Canada2018 Last year's flu vaccine wasn't very effective. This year's looks more promising "Health officials believe they have a better vaccine match for this year's expected flu strains" If you had the flu vaccine last season and still got the flu, you might be wondering, why bother this year? Last year, the vaccine was indeed a bit of a disappointment. "The Canadian Sentinel Practitioner Surveillance Network researches the annual efficacy of the vaccine. It found last year's shot was only 17 per cent effective in preventing respiratory illness from H3N2 overall, the dominant A strain of influenza, and only 10 per cent effective for adults aged 20 to 64. It was better at warding off respiratory illness caused by the dominant B strain of influenza; about 55 per cent effective. Still, not great. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada's FluWatch, there were 64,403 lab-confirmed cases of influenza in Canada last season, mostly Influenza A/H3N2. There were 302 deaths directly attributed to influenza, including nine children." "The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says the 2018-19 season vaccine has been revised to better match circulating viruses: the B/Victoria component was changed and the influenza A (H3N2) component was updated. This year's vaccine contains two A strains of the H1N1 and H3N2 viruses, and two strains of the B/Victoria and B/Yamagata. Health officials think that will be a good match." Canada2019bad Worst start to flu season since 2010 Data released by the office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health show that the start of the 2018-19 flu season has been the worst in almost a decade. As of Dec. 29, there were 579 confirmed cases of influenza in the province, with the majority coming in the past two weeks. This is the same number seen by the end of 2017. stats Official government flu statistics