Health IQ: Measles vaccine shortage

Measles vaccine makers report shortage as demand rises

Two companies that provide measles vaccines to Canada reported shortages this past week as demand increases amid rising infections.

Pharmaceutical giants Merck and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) posted reports to Canada’s drug shortage website showing they are experiencing shortages for their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines, with the remaining doses reserved for public immunization programs.

The shortage comes as the highly contagious infection is spreading across the country and with health authorities strongly advising Canadians to be fully vaccinated against the disease, especially before travelling.

The companies both cite “demand-increase for the drug” as the reason for the shortage.

Merck’s filing shows the company expects the shortage to end in nearly a month on April 19. GlaxoSmithKline’s estimated end date is “unknown.”

Read more about the shortages here.

Health minister seeks powers over nicotine pouches

This past week, Canada’s health minister had a strong message for tobacco companies marketing nicotine pouches to children: “Stay the hell away from our kids.”

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Mark Holland argued that flavoured nicotine pouches are attracting young Canadians into a dangerous addiction and emphasized the need for stringent regulations to protect the youth from the harmful effects of tobacco products.

“I am seeking authority to restrict products so they are solely for the purposes of cessation,” he said. “We shouldn’t see flavours that are targeting kids, flavours like ‘Winter Berry Splash.’ We all see through it, we all know what the intention is, and it’s over.”

“Whatever dark corner the tobacco industry crawls and creeps into to go after our children, whatever loophole they think they can find, they will meet me like an iron wall.”

In October 2023, Health Canada approved the sale of flavoured nicotine pouches from Imperial Tobacco, called Zonnic. According to the company, the product is a pouch that can help adult smokers quit by delivering nicotine to the body.

Eric Gagnon, vice-president for legal and external affairs at Imperial Tobacco Canada, told Global News in November 2023 that it’s “unfortunate” that nicotine pouches are being targeted, as he argued the company has demonstrated to Health Canada that they help adult smokers quit.

Read more about the warning and the powers the minister is seeking here.

— THE TOPIC —

ALS risks

— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —

With spring finally arriving, Canadians may eagerly consider resuming hobbies like gardening and golfing.

But researchers are warning of potential health risks associated with these hobbies, especially those that heighten pesticide exposure.

Research published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences earlier this year found that certain outdoor recreational activities may increase a person’s likelihood of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), especially among men.

“We know that occupational risk factors, like working in manufacturing and trade industries, are linked to an increased risk for ALS, and this adds to a growing literature that recreational activities may also represent important and possibly modifiable risk factors for this disease,” said first author Stephen Goutman, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan and director of the Pranger ALS Clinic.

David Taylor, the vice-president of research and strategic partnerships at the ALS Society of Canada, says the most recent research sheds light on environmental factors that could be modified to change the trajectory of ALS.

“Of course, in studies like this, it’s really difficult because the associations are certainly not causation,” Taylor cautioned. “And there are a lot of limitations to these studies, especially in a disease like ALS.”

Goutman sees the study as revealing a “fingerprint” of potential exposures occurring through activities such as golf, gardening, woodworking and hunting.

“It’s not the woodworking itself, it’s not the hunting and shooting itself, but maybe a metal and chemical exposure related to that,” he said. “This may just be markers for the types of chemicals or toxins that may be driving a higher risk of ALS.”