1: When Minutes Matter — Ketamine in Acute Depression and Suicidality

A systematic review and meta-analysis looked at the effects of ketamine on suicidal and depressive symptoms in 1K patients experiencing a major depressive episode. After 24 hours, patients who received a single ketamine infusion had significantly lower suicidal symptoms compared to controls. Within just four hours of infusion, ketamine also significantly reduced depressive symptoms. With related adverse events observed to be transient and reversible, ketamine appears to be a safe and effective option for reducing suicidal and depressive symptoms in an acute setting.

2: mRNA Vaccines Show Promise Beyond COVID-19

A phase 3 RCT found that an mRNA-based vaccine was superior to standard-dose influenza vaccines in adults 50+. Among 40K participants, RT-PCR-confirmed influenza illness was observed in 411 recipients of the mRNA vaccine (2.0%) compared to 557 of those who received the standard-dose comparator (2.8%). Injection-site pain, fatigue, headache, and myalgia were more common in the mRNA vaccine group, though most reactions were considered mild to moderate and transient. The findings suggest mRNA platforms may have a growing role beyond COVID-19.

3: Canada's Safer Supply Experiment — What Went Wrong

A viewpoint in JAMA Health Forum offers a candid post-mortem on Canada's safer supply programs, which provided pharmaceutical-grade opioids to individuals for whom traditional therapies had failed. Early evaluations showed reduced overdose risk and improved stability, but rapid scale-up without standardized care models, sustainable funding, or robust monitoring created the conditions for collapse. Diversion concerns, largely unquantified due to weak data infrastructure, fueled a media and political backlash that culminated in federal funding being abruptly cut in March 2025, with no evidence-based assessment, no stakeholder consultation, and no transition planning. The authors argue the failure wasn't purely political. It was structural, and the Canadian experience offers an actionable blueprint for how future harm reduction interventions need to be built if they're going to survive.

🚨 Newly Identified Drug Safety Risk

A rare virus, an unusual strain, an all-too-familiar response

What happened: Several Canadians were exposed to hantavirus during a recent South American cruise outbreak, and now health officials are drawing comparisons between this virus and COVID-19.

Why it matters: Hantavirus is a rodent-borne illness with fatality rates ranging roughly between 20% to 50%, depending on the strain. This outbreak caught international attention after about 150 people, including 4 Canadians, were exposed to the rare Andes strain — the only version that can spread from human to human —  on a cruise. Most hantavirus infections occur after exposure to aerosolized rodent urine or droppings and do not spread between people, making the Andes strain particularly unusual.

Symptoms can appear anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks after exposure and include severe fatigue, fever, muscle pain, nausea, and, in more severe cases, difficulty breathing.  And early symptoms can also closely resemble influenza or COVID-19, making travel history and exposure screening especially important in frontline assessments. There is currently no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine, with management relying largely on supportive care. There are currently 5 confirmed cases, and none of the exposed Canadians have developed symptoms. They’re currently isolating at home in Ontario. 

But: Unlike COVID-19, which is highly infectious and air-borne, hantavirus is spread by prolonged close contact, like tuberculosis or measles. That’s why contact tracing is so important. Infectious disease experts hope that tracing back to the source can help them determine who’s at risk of exposure and should isolate. 

Despite repeated reassurances from experts, including the WHO, and Argentina officially on rodent-trapping duty, social media is doing what it does best: spreading misinformation, fear, and speculation. Some are already preparing for “another lockdown.” Others claim the virus could “wipe out the entire human race.” Old anxieties are bound to resurface, with the revival of all-too-familiar, loaded terms: contact tracing, quarantines, and international coordination. Just 3 years after COVID-19 and the recent outbreak being called “a real-life simulation exercise”, public panic is inevitable.

Bottom line: Health officials continue to stress that the public risk remains low, but the outbreak is a reminder that even rare pathogens can trigger outsized concern when they behave in unexpected ways. Until more is known, it might still be wise to avoid that shed with the mouse droppings for now.

1: 💊 Ontario is expanding pharmacist scope of practice, allowing them to treat 9 new conditions and administer more vaccines. The province has been gradually broadening what pharmacists can do over the past few years, and this latest round adds more common ailments to the growing list. For Ontario pharmacists, it means more autonomy at the counter and more patients who can skip the walk-in entirely. In the meantime, the rest of Canada is watching as scope expansion has been a slow but steady national trend, and Ontario tends to move the needle.

2: 🥛 If you’ve been down the dairy aisle lately, you might have noticed a new "heavyweight" on the shelf. Sealtest has officially launched 6% fat milk across Ontario, nearly doubling the fat content of standard whole milk. While Health Canada still nudges adults toward lower-fat options, Agropur (the farmer-owned co-op behind the brand) says they’re just answering the call from Canadian families looking for a richer, more traditional taste. Whether it’s for a creamier morning double-double or a DIY yogurt project, it looks like full-fat dairy is having a major Canadian comeback.

3: ⚽ The FIFA World Cup 2026 is officially less than 30 days away, and Canada is splitting host duties between Toronto and Vancouver. The action kicks off at Toronto Stadium (BMO Field) June 12, when Canada opens against Bosnia and Herzegovina, then moves west to BC Place June 18 for Canada vs. Qatar. Can't get to the matches? Both cities are launching official FIFA Fan Festivals: a new 10,000-seat open-air amphitheatre in Vancouver’s Hastings Park (PNE grounds), and watch parties at Toronto's historic Fort York.

4: 🌌 The James Webb Space Telescope just spotted a pair of "planets that shouldn’t exist" — forcing astronomers to throw out the playbook on the origin of solar systems. 190 light-years away, this bizarre duo consists of 2 massive planets orbiting together so closely (and so far from their host star), they're defying every model of gravity-driven formation. Scientists say this planetary paradox hints that the universe may build solar systems in far stranger ways than we ever imagined. Once again, even with the most advanced technology humanity has ever created, we’re reminded that we’re still just peering into a vast, mysterious dark room with a flashlight that barely reaches the corners.

🍱 Make: one of these 10-minute high-protein work lunches. Because eating a granola bar over the dispensary counter at 2pm is not a meal plan.

📖 Read: about ketamine's expanding role in chronic pain. Low-dose infusions are increasingly being used as an opioid-sparing strategy for refractory neuropathic pain, CRPS, and cancer pain.

🎧 Listen: to the unbelievable story of pharmacist Natalie Cochran on the podcast, Scamfluencers. What begins with suspicious wealth and government contracts unravels into a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, fake cancer diagnoses, and murder.

⌚ Pre-order: the new Google Fitbit Air by May 25th and score CA$50 in Google Store credit after it ships.

🎬 Watch: Doctor Mike taste-test protein snacks and separate the genuinely decent from the ultra-processed imposters.

RxBriefly is a new newsletter designed for Canada’s busiest pharmacists, and we’re glad you’re among the 1st to experience it. As we continue to fine-tune the content, we’d really value your feedback.

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First clue: Localized centres of infection or disease

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