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Month: January 2024

Topic: ChinaView all posts for the topic: China

China’s population dropped for a second straight year as deaths jumped after COVID lockdowns ended

Published January 16, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Associated Press
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By Ken Moritsugu

China’s population dropped by 2 million people in 2023 in the second straight annual drop as births fell and deaths jumped after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the government said Wednesday.

The number of deaths rose by 690,000 to 11.1 million, more than double last year’s increase. Demographers were expecting a sharp rise in deaths because of COVID-19 outbreaks that started at the end of the previous year and continued through February of last year. The total population stood at 1.4 billion, the statistics bureau said. China, long the most populated country in the world, dropped into second place behind India in 2023, according to U.N. estimates.

Continue readingChina’s population dropped for a second straight year as deaths jumped after COVID lockdowns ended
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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

Study: COVID-19 vaccine tied to lower risk of long COVID in kids

Published January 16, 2024

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Published by: CIDRAP
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By Stephanie Soucheray

A study today in the journal Pediatrics from researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia suggests COVID-19 vaccines have a moderately protective effect in kids against long COVID.

The authors of the retrospective study mined electronic health records from 17 healthcare systems to assess whether the vaccine protected children from long COVID, which has been less common in kids than in adults. The study began in October 2022.

Continue readingStudy: COVID-19 vaccine tied to lower risk of long COVID in kids
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Topic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick

COVID-19 and flu kill 14 in N.B., 5 young children among more than 100 hospitalized

Published January 16, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

COVID-19 and the flu have killed at least 14 New Brunswickers in a week and hospitalized more than 100 people, including five children under four, the latest figures from the Department of Health show.

COVID-19 activity remains “moderate,” according to the Respiratory Watch report. “All indicators remained stable throughout the current reporting period,” Dec. 31 to Jan. 6.

Influenza activity remains “elevated,” it says.

Eight people died from COVID-19, up from six the previous week. They were all aged 65 or older.

Their deaths raise the pandemic death toll to at least 997. Only confirmed cases who die in hospital are counted.

Continue readingCOVID-19 and flu kill 14 in N.B., 5 young children among more than 100 hospitalized
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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

Rosa (12) heeft long covid en zingt in speciaal koor: ‘Nu sta ik er niet alleen voor’

Published January 16, 2024

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Published by: Omroep West
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ZOETERMEER – 12-year-old Rosa sings in a children’s choir. Nothing extraordinary in itself, but it turns out that all the children have one thing in common: they are all suffering from a COVID-19 infection they contracted years ago. The participants come from all over the world and sing together via a video link.

Two years ago, Rosa from Zoetermeer contracted COVID-19. She became very ill and even needed help with showering. Only after a few months was she able to sit up again and take online lessons for half an hour.

Continue readingRosa (12) heeft long covid en zingt in speciaal koor: ‘Nu sta ik er niet alleen voor’
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Topic: TorontoView all posts for the topic: Toronto

Toronto may be past its flu peak, but COVID-19 remains high, public health agency says

Published January 16, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Lane Harrison

Toronto likely reached its influenza season peak in December, but according to Toronto Public Health’s latest respiratory illness update, COVID-19 infections are expected to remain high for now.

The percentage of positive influenza tests dropped to 6.6 per cent the week of Dec. 31 to Jan. 6, down from 15.6 per cent the week prior, Toronto Public Health (TPH) told the city’s Board of Health Monday. When it comes to COVID-19, positivity dropped only slightly to 17.6 per cent for the week of Dec. 31 to Jan. 6 from 18.6 per cent the week before.

But getting over the influenza peak doesn’t mean there aren’t still high levels of the illness in the city.

Continue readingToronto may be past its flu peak, but COVID-19 remains high, public health agency says
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Topic: COVID infectionsView all posts for the topic: COVID infections

What to do if you get COVID

Published January 15, 2024

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Published by: Monkeys on Typewriters
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By Arijit Chakravarty, T. Ryan Gregory

That moment you’ve been dreading has arrived (perhaps not for the first time). You or someone in your household woke up with a sore throat maybe, or a nagging cough, and you did the swab. Double red line. Dammit.

What to do now? “Pax and relax”? Sit it out and hope for the best? Go about your normal business (as an increasingly alarming number of “experts” seem to be advising)? Is it really all down to a matter of good luck, good genes and good health? Not really. The available science says that there are differences in outcomes for people based on the choices they make after they get COVID, provided they move quickly.

Continue readingWhat to do if you get COVID
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Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

Arguments begin in proposed class action against 304 long-term care homes

Published January 15, 2024

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Published by: The Trillium
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By Jack Hauen

Lawyers representing long-term care residents who suffered or died during the COVID-19 pandemic argued a class-action suit against hundreds of homes is the best way for those patients — and their loved ones — to get justice.

On Monday, plaintiff lawyers laid out their case before a Superior Court judge who will decide whether or not the proposed class action can go ahead. The suit, which is actually eight proceedings combined, names 304 independent and municipal homes, capturing almost half of the long-term care facilities in Ontario.

Continue readingArguments begin in proposed class action against 304 long-term care homes
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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

A spring COVID-19 booster? NACI has released updated guidelines

Published January 15, 2024

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Published by: Global News
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By Katie Dangerfield

Canadians may be in the thick of winter, but the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recently unveiled guidelines for an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for the upcoming spring.

On Friday, NACI released updated guidelines on the COVID-19 boosters for spring 2024.

Continue readingA spring COVID-19 booster? NACI has released updated guidelines
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Topic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec

Video | COVID longue : une personne sur dix serait touchée

Published January 15, 2024

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Published by: Radio-Canada
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By Téléjournal Montréal

About 10% of people infected with COVID-19 would still experience symptoms after three months. This is called long COVID. For some, it’s much longer. They suffer from extreme fatigue, pain, problems with concentration, and they just can’t get back to a normal life. Report by Jacaudrey Charbonneau.

Continue readingVideo | COVID longue : une personne sur dix serait touchée
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Topic: AustraliaView all posts for the topic: Australia

Queensland GPs flooded with patients reporting heart problems after long Covid

Published January 14, 2024

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Published by: The Courier Mail
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By Jackie Sinnerton

Queenslanders are flooding GPs practices with heart problems sparked by long Covid, the state’s peak medical body has revealed.

Doctors are seeing more patients with myocarditis and pericarditis due to inflammation caused by the virus that can cause palpitations chest pain or shortness of breath.

Continue readingQueensland GPs flooded with patients reporting heart problems after long Covid
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Topic: the pandemic is not overView all posts for the topic: the pandemic is not over

COVID levels are up to 19 times higher than reported, WHO says as it warns of the potential dangers of repeat reinfection: ‘We don’t know everything about this virus’

Published January 12, 2024

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Published by: Fortune
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By Erin Prater

Five years, 10 years, 20 years from now, what are we going to see in terms of cardiac impairment, pulmonary impairment, neurologic impairment? It’s year five in the pandemic, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about it.

—Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove
Continue readingCOVID levels are up to 19 times higher than reported, WHO says as it warns of the potential dangers of repeat reinfection: ‘We don’t know everything about this virus’
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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Older, immunocompromised people may get COVID-19 vaccine dose in spring, NACI says

Published January 12, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News / The Canadian Press
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Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization says some groups of people vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19 should be eligible for another dose of vaccine in the spring.

The recommendation issued Friday says people aged 65 and older, residents of long-term care homes and seniors living in other congregate settings may get another shot of the vaccine targeted to the XBB.1.5 variant.

It also says children and adults aged six months and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised due to an underlying condition may also get the booster.

Continue readingOlder, immunocompromised people may get COVID-19 vaccine dose in spring, NACI says
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“They’re Taking Away Your Right To Be Healthy.”Image of a plague doctor wearing a plague mask and black clothes. The setting appears to be a smoky, dimly-lit room, with a bright light near the centre. Art by нυвιѕ тανєяη on Unsplash.
Topic: activismView all posts for the topic: activism

“They’re Taking Away Your Right To Be Healthy.”

Published January 12, 2024

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Published by: OK Doomer
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By Jessica Wildfire

The tide is turning. Thanks to all the people making noise on social media and bugging their families, while continuing to wear masks and build air purifiers no matter what anyone says, there’s a trace of hope.

—Jessica Wildfire
Continue reading“They’re Taking Away Your Right To Be Healthy.”
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Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

Ford government under fire over ER wait times

Published January 11, 2024

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Published by: CityNews
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By Richard Southern, Mike Visser

Calls are growing for the Ontario government to recall the legislature and deal with rising emergency room wait times.

“We’re extremely busy,” said Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency room physician at one Greater Toronto Area hospital. “I walk in, there’s usually 10, 15 ambulances outside waiting to bring patients in.”

The situation is so bad that some hospitals like Markham Stouffville and Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay are advising patients to consider alternatives to the emergency room if their condition isn’t urgent.

Continue readingFord government under fire over ER wait times
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Topic: digestive diseasesView all posts for the topic: digestive diseases

COVID-19 survivors at higher risk for digestive diseases, study suggests

Published January 11, 2024

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Published by: CIDRAP
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By Mary Van Beusekom

Adult COVID-19 survivors are at higher risk for digestive diseases, including gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction, peptic ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gallbladder disease, nonalcoholic liver disease, and pancreatic disease—even among patients with mild infections, according to a study published yesterday in BMC Medicine.

Southern Medical University researchers in China mined the UK Biobank database to compare rates of digestive diseases among COVID-19 survivors 30 or more days after infection (112,311), a contemporary comparison group (359,671), and a pre-COVID group (370,979) in the United Kingdom. Median follow-up was 8.4 months.

Continue readingCOVID-19 survivors at higher risk for digestive diseases, study suggests
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Topic: Nova ScotiaView all posts for the topic: Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Health changes COVID-19 rapid test supplier over expiry dates

Published January 11, 2024

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Published by: Global News
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By Alex Cooke

The Nova Scotia government has changed the brand of COVID-19 rapid tests it distributes due to the newer tests having a longer expiry date.

In a statement, Nova Scotia Health spokesperson Jennifer Lewandowski said the province has transitioned to the Flowflex COVID-19 rapid tests, as they have a longer expiry date than the previously used BTNX rapid tests.

Continue readingNova Scotia Health changes COVID-19 rapid test supplier over expiry dates
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Topic: rapid testsView all posts for the topic: rapid tests

Health Canada ignored warning signs before Ottawa spent billions on BTNX rapid tests

Published January 11, 2024

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Published by: Global News
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By Patti Sonntag

Health Canada ignored critical warnings about a rapid-test supplier before approving its COVID-19 kits for distribution nationwide, Global News has found.

A year-long Global News investigation into federal procurement revealed that BTNX, a Toronto-area rapid-test supplier that buys the devices from China, deleted dozens of specimens, or samples, from a study it submitted to Health Canada in October 2020. Deleting the specimens increased the estimate of the rapid test’s ability to detect the virus.

Continue readingHealth Canada ignored warning signs before Ottawa spent billions on BTNX rapid tests
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Topic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec

La COVID-19 et la « tempête des virus respiratoires »

Published January 10, 2024

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Published by: Radio-Canada
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By Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

SARS-CoV-2 may not be the only virus on the loose, but it is certainly one that continues to hit hard. The new data on COVID-19 and respiratory diseases from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), published on Wednesday, tend to confirm this.

Everyone talks about the fact that they are constantly ill, that their family and friends are ill. Yes, it could be a cold or RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], but in many cases it’s probably COVID-19, says Dr Raywat Deonandan, epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Ottawa.

According to the INSPQ, in the week of December&nbs;24, there were 983,000 cases of respiratory infections, a number that has continued to rise since mid-October.

Continue readingLa COVID-19 et la « tempête des virus respiratoires »
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