cancer screening. Vaccine related precautions. family doctor. Our watch list for health stories in 2026
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Last year, we compiled a comprehensive list of health stories to watch in 2025, ranging from avian flu to vaccines and the strain on the Canadian health-care system. We covered all of that and many more, including the approval of a new drug postpartum depression And new genetic treatments For rare diseases,
What’s on the CBC Health Unit’s watch list for 2026: New approaches to connecting people with family doctors, anticipated changes in cancer screening, misinformation and vaccine caution, future use for GLP-1 agonists (like Ozempic and Vegovy) and the toxic drug crisis.
The city that is meeting the shortage of doctors
2025 was a year in which new solutions to old problems were found. A new survey Found that nearly six million Canadian adults still do not have the disease regular family doctorPhysicians who were expected to manage the administrative and clinical aspects of their practices were becoming frustrated and leaving the profession,
However, one small town in British Columbia decided to take matters into their own hands. Colwood, just outside Victoria, offered Make your doctors municipal employeesThese doctors get a salary, pension and most of all, work/life balance,
The Colwood Clinic opened earlier this year. Three doctors have been hired so far, with a goal of hiring five more by 2030. The idea is spreading across the country, with municipalities, community health care organizations and doctors all trying to replicate the same plan. This may not be something that every family physician will accept. But in times when solutions are in short supply, thinking outside the box can lead to success.
-Marci Cutler
A Vancouver Island city is trying a new health clinic model to address the provincial shortage of doctors. At Colwood’s new city-run clinic, physicians will be paid as municipal employees. Michelle Gomez reports.
Changes in cancer screening
New cancer screening guidelines for Canadians are expected in 2026 and will come from a newly revised panel of experts.
The body that issues national cancer screening guidelines Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health CareIs going through a major change After an external review. The task force was created by the federal government.
Earlier this year, the Federal Health Minister Task force work stoppedAfter receiving increasing scrutiny for this continues to recommend Regular breast cancer screening begins at age 50.
the guidance went against the grain Proof This showed that screening should start at age 40.
This, with the years Increasing criticism against the panel The federal health minister was forced to launch a review after failing to take expert advice, using outdated research and being too slow to update its guidelines.
published review Presented several recommendations that the task force is currently working on. It is expected to be held again in April 2026.
In an email to CBC News earlier this month, the Public Health Agency of Canada said that once the panel is operational, it will decide which health topic guidelines to prioritize.
when its work was stopped was watching the panel Screening guidelines for prostate, cervical, and lung cancer.
-Jennifer LaGrasa
The return of vaccine-preventable diseases
Around the world, vaccine-preventable diseases have made an unwanted comeback.
Canada This year it has lost its measles elimination status After experiencing more than 5,000 cases of the highly infectious disease since October 2024 – it was seen across the country falling vaccination rates including measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, among others. Cases are continuously increasing in America also Amid decline in routine vaccinations.
Globally, more than 15 million children missed routine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic, A recent study showed,
What’s behind those drops? In addition to the widespread disruptions of the pandemic, vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and politicization of time-tested vaccines are fueling this dire trend in high-income countries.
South of the border, vaccines remain a key issue for the Trump administration, which now has a tight grip on the country’s public health bodies.
Canada has lost measles elimination status after the disease continued to spread for more than a year, causing more than 5,000 infections and killing two infants.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory panel recently voted Cancel long standing recommendation All infants should receive one dose of hepatitis B vaccine at birth; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally guided The government agency’s statement on the CDC’s website has rejected its long-standing position that vaccines do not cause autism.
Time will tell whether those policy changes will also impact views on vaccines in Canada.
But already, data shows Canadians’ support for vaccines is waning: New nationwide poll from Leger Healthcare found that, while most of the population is confident about vaccines, more than a quarter of those surveyed reported that they are less confident about vaccination than before.
The decades-old, controversy and chaos surrounding routine vaccinations – and the rise of vaccine-preventable diseases – is a topic we will be watching closely through 2026, because lives are at stake. A major study from The Lancet Found that global vaccination efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past half century. Can that trend continue in today’s environment?
-Lauren Pelley
What’s next for Ozempic?
The new year may bring a cheaper version of Ozempic for Canadians.
Health Canada has approved Ozempic for the treatment of diabetes but it is often prescribed off-label for obesity. In Canada, semaglutide’s patent will expire in January, and six companies are seeking Health Canada approval to manufacture and sell generic versions.
Due to the backlog at Health Canada, it is unlikely the cheaper drugs will hit shelves until late spring or early summer.
No one knows how cheap generic drugs will be because it depends on how many companies get approval.
Ozempic currently costs between $200 and $400 per month. According to Mina Tadras, a pharmacy professor at the University of Toronto, if three companies manufactured the drug, the base price could fall to between $75 and $100 per month.
Another reason to look at semaglutide drugs (like Ozempic) in 2026 is research.
There’s been a lot of discussion about all the things they could treat in the future. it takes everything AddictionHeart disease and dementia are being studied. The results so far have been mixed. When it comes to dementia the news is not good.
Last month, Novo Nordisk halted a major study that found Drug did not slow progression of early Alzheimer’s disease,
– Melanie Glanz
The World Health Organization has issued its first guidelines for the use of GLP-1, such as Ozempic, to treat obesity. The National’s Erica Johnson asked Dr. Daniel Drucker – whose research helped lead to the development of these drugs – about the significance of the announcement and the key things to consider when using GLP-1 for weight loss.
‘Sad blow’ from illegal drug supply
Health Canada’s medical authorities said in a year-end update that the illicit drug supply has cost lives and affected many communities.
on average, Now 17 people died every day across the country due to the toxic drug crisis…this is the lowest seen since 2020.
Why the decline occurred is not yet known, but researchers point to drug seizure data that show a decline in powerful carfentanil and other changes. illegal drug supply as a possible major cause. Greater availability and use of naloxone to treat opioid overdoses also helps, the agency said.
But transformed supply also presents challenges, with some provinces and territories reporting overcapacity nitazane And other compoundsDoctors say that where these substances are involved, it may be harder to reverse an overdose than with opioids alone,
“We look at xylazine and Medetomidine (A veterinary tranquilizer) appears in pieces,” said Dr. Monty Ghosh, an addiction specialist in Edmonton and Calgary, adding that smaller laboratories across Canada use precursors shipped from China.
“Supply is constantly changing, making it difficult to understand trends and take action,” Ghosh said. “This often equates to a tragedy.”
, Amina Zafar
