Vaxx Populi

As Canada rolls out the country’s most complex vaccination project to date, Maclean’s presents Vaxx Populi, an ongoing series in which Patricia Treble tackles the most pressing questions related to the new COVID-19 vaccines. Send us a question you’d like answered at [email protected]. Plus, other important vaccine stories.

A doctor wears goggles and an N95 mask during a drive through COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Kingston, Ont., Dec. 18, 2021. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press)
Canada

It’s time to switch to an N95 mask in the battle against Omicron

It’s easier for the virus to move through surgical or cloth masks, experts say, while respirators filter tiny aerosols

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Canada

Omicron versus booster shots: The high-stakes race in Canada is on

Most provinces off to a painfully slow start giving third doses of the vaccine, and one expert warns that new variant will make things ‘pretty ugly’

Health

Experts are hopeful the Omicron wave will be short, but fear for health care capacity continues

Case counts are soaring and hospitalizations are rising. But things are very different now than they were in March 2020.

News

With the Omicron variant on the rise, should you attend your work Christmas party?

Vaxx Populi: Even if you’re double-vaxxed and you take a rapid test before arriving, the odds may not be in your favour

News

Omicron variant will likely be worse than Delta, according to early research

Vaxx Populi: Omicron has a higher effective reproduction number than Delta, so can vaccines protect against more hospitalizations and deaths? Time will tell.

Health

What to do as we walk into the pandemic’s fifth wave

Vaxx Populi: If the worsening situation in Europe is foreshadowing what’s to come, get ready, Canada

Families watch planes on the tarmac at Johannesburg's OR Tambo's airport, Nov. 29, 2021. WHO urged countries around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African nations due to concern over the new Omicron variant. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Canada

Omicron: Here’s what we know so far about the latest variant of concern

Vaxx Populi: From how vulnerable Canada is to what the vaccine makers are doing in response, here’s what we know about the newest variant of concern

(iStock)
Canada

The roadblock to full pandemic recovery: ‘Pockets’ of unvaccinated Canadians

Vaxx Populi: Reaching tracts of unjabbed rural residents is one of the last key steps toward a pre-COVID normal. But are they willing to get their shots?

Dr. Janice Fitgerald, Chief Medical Officer of Health receives a high-five from 11 year old Keira O'Keefe following administering her a COVID-19 vaccine in St. John's N.L., today, Thursday, November 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly
Canada

How did Newfoundland manage to vaccinate 75 per cent of 5-11-year-olds?

Clear communication, speedy mobilization and a culture of vaccine acceptance has helped the province get first doses to more kids than any province or territory

A doctor wears goggles and an N95 mask during a drive through COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Kingston, Ont., Dec. 18, 2021. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press)
Canada

It’s time to switch to an N95 mask in the battle against Omicron

It’s easier for the virus to move through surgical or cloth masks, experts say, while respirators filter tiny aerosols

Health

Experts are hopeful the Omicron wave will be short, but fear for health care capacity continues

Case counts are soaring and hospitalizations are rising. But things are very different now than they were in March 2020.

Canada

Omicron versus booster shots: The high-stakes race in Canada is on

Most provinces off to a painfully slow start giving third doses of the vaccine, and one expert warns that new variant will make things ‘pretty ugly’

Rapid response COVID-19 antigen test devices pictured in Kingston, Ont. on Dec. 10, 2021. (Lars Hagberg/CP)
News

With the Omicron variant on the rise, should you attend your work Christmas party?

Vaxx Populi: Even if you’re double-vaxxed and you take a rapid test before arriving, the odds may not be in your favour

A security man stands guard outside a ward being prepared for the omicron coronavirus in Ahmedabad, India, on Dec. 6, 2021. (Ajit Solanki/AP)
News

Omicron variant will likely be worse than Delta, according to early research

Vaxx Populi: Omicron has a higher effective reproduction number than Delta, so can vaccines protect against more hospitalizations and deaths? Time will tell.

Families watch planes on the tarmac at Johannesburg's OR Tambo's airport, Nov. 29, 2021. WHO urged countries around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African nations due to concern over the new Omicron variant. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Canada

Omicron: Here’s what we know so far about the latest variant of concern

Vaxx Populi: From how vulnerable Canada is to what the vaccine makers are doing in response, here’s what we know about the newest variant of concern

A pupil takes a Corona antigen rapid test in Cologne, Germany on Apr. 9, 2021. (Marius Becker/ AP)
Health

What to do as we walk into the pandemic’s fifth wave

Vaxx Populi: If the worsening situation in Europe is foreshadowing what’s to come, get ready, Canada

(iStock)
Canada

The roadblock to full pandemic recovery: ‘Pockets’ of unvaccinated Canadians

Vaxx Populi: Reaching tracts of unjabbed rural residents is one of the last key steps toward a pre-COVID normal. But are they willing to get their shots?

Canada

Will this flu season be worse than usual?

Vaxx Populi: In 2020-21, Canada saw just 69 confirmed cases of influenza. Some experts worry we may have lower immunity to the flu, after nearly two years of social distancing.

Avalynn Kwok, 4, puts on her face mask to curb the spread of COVID-19 as her parents drop her off at Lynn Valley Elementary School for her first day of kindergarten, in North Vancouver, B.C. (Darryl Dyck/CP)
Health

COVID vaccines for children are here. How well have we protected the kids so far?

Vaxx Populi: The answer varies by province, but some jurisdictions could do a lot more when it comes to masking and rapid testing

(Nathan Denette/CP)
Education

Back-to-school as the Delta variant spreads: How great is the risk?

Vaxx Populi: With so many Canadians still unvaccinated, and a nastier version of COVID on the move, experts are more worried for children than last year