Lauren Pelley

Senior Health & Medical Reporter

Lauren Pelley covers the global spread of infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness and the crucial intersection between health and climate change. She's a two-time RNAO Media Award winner for in-depth health reporting in 2020 and 2022, a silver medallist for best editorial newsletter at the 2024 Digital Publishing Awards, and a 2024 Covering Climate Now award winner in the health category. Contact her at: lauren.pelley@cbc.ca.

Latest from Lauren Pelley

CBC Explains

Canada approved multiple RSV shots to ward off infections this fall — here's how to get them

Multiple RSV vaccines for adults are rolling out in the months ahead, along with two monoclonal antibody shots to provide protection for infants. How you access the various shots will depend on where you live, with some provinces covering certain options and not others.

AI tool cuts unexpected deaths in hospital by 26%, Canadian study finds

A year-and-a-half-long study on Chartwatch, an artificial intelligence system in use at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, shows the tool led to a striking 26 per cent drop in the number of unexpected deaths.
Second Opinion

Whooping cough cases are soaring to new heights in Canada. What's behind the sudden spike?

Canada is seeing more than 12,000 whooping cough infections this year, far more than usual. Scientists say the sudden spike echoes a trend seen around the world. So what's causing such a massive surge in this potentially-deadly bacterial infection?
Second Opinion

Canadian ERs keep closing this summer — but there's no easy fix

Many medical experts warn constant closures of Canadian emergency departments are merely a symptom of bigger issues throughout the country’s strained health-care system, and won’t be an easy fix.
CBC Explains

Mpox is a global emergency again. How deadly is it? What are 'clades'? What you need to know

A global outbreak of mpox cooled down, but the virus never went away. Now a new form is transmitting throughout parts of Africa, stoking fears of broader spread and raising alarms among top scientists. So what's different now? And how deadly is this strain of the virus?

WHO names mpox a global health emergency for 2nd time as virus surges in Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named mpox a public health emergency of international concern for the second time, on the heels of a continental emergency declaration from African health officials as the region remains gripped by outbreaks of the potentially deadly virus.

Growing mpox 'crisis' prompts Africa CDC to declare first-ever public health emergency

As cases of mpox skyrocket in Africa, health officials there have declared the continent’s first-ever public health emergency as a “call to action” for more global support.

IUD insertions can hurt — a lot. Can Canada learn from new U.S. pain management guidelines?

For the first time, U.S. health officials are encouraging health-care providers to counsel patients on pain management options for IUD insertions. Can Canada learn from that approach?
Analysis

Human H5N1 cases in the U.S. are rising. That's bad timing with flu season, bird migrations just months away

A new, unusual cluster of human H5N1 cases in Colorado hints at looming challenges to come, all while the broader U.S. bird flu outbreak may be surging out of control, several scientists told CBC News.

Canada's vaccine advisers now recommend 1 dose of HPV shot for younger groups

Canada's federal vaccine advisory body is now recommending a single dose of the HPV vaccine for children and youth, bringing the country in line with multiple others that have already reduced the number of required doses for young people.