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Month: May 2024

Topic: researchView all posts for the topic: research

New electrostatic sampler boosts indoor virus detection speed

Published May 30, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Medical Xpress
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By Frontiers Journals

Airborne transmission of viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, has been a focal point for infection prevention in multi-use facilities with dense populations. Traditional air samplers often require long sampling times, increasing the risk of false negatives due to RNA degradation. A newly developed electrostatic sampler addresses this issue by increasing the airflow rate and improving collection efficiency.

Researchers from Yonsei University, in collaboration with the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, have developed an electrostatic air sampler that enhances the rapid monitoring of airborne influenza and coronavirus.

The device, capable of high air flow rates, offers significant advancements in detecting viral presence in indoor environments through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. An article on the research is published in Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering.

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Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

COVID can cause new health problems to appear years after infection, according to a study of more than 130,000 patients

Published May 30, 2024

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Published by: Fortune
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By Carolyn Barber

Even as national institutions struggle to coordinate meaningful trials for possible long COVID treatments, researchers continue to tally the damage. New findings suggest that the disease’s reach isn’t merely long—it’s still growing.

Three years after their initial bouts with COVID-19, patients who’d once been hospitalized with the virus remained at “significantly elevated” risk of death or worsening health from long COVID complications, according to a paper published May 30 in Nature Medicine.

Even among those whose initial cases didn’t require a hospital stay, the threat of long COVID and several of its associated issues remained real, the researchers found. And cumulatively, at three years, long COVID results in 91 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) per 1,000 people—DALYs being a measure of years lost to poor health or premature death. That is a higher incidence than either heart disease or cancer.

Continue readingCOVID can cause new health problems to appear years after infection, according to a study of more than 130,000 patients
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Vancouver’s Opera Mariposa presents month-long programme benefitting the ME | FM Society of BCViolet, blue and teal graphic featuring a side profile of a young Asian woman with her hand upheld, a purple butterfly hovering above it. The background features translucent torn strips of paper twined with blue watercolour flowers. Gauzy purple and blue text reads, Opera Mariposa 2024, May 1 - June 1. Benefit + Awareness Month for the ME | FM Society of BC. Smaller dark blue lettering features the URL Benefit.OperaMariposa.com above a globe icon next to the words All online; a spoon icon next to the words self-paced; a closed captioning icon next to the word English; and a dollar icon next to the words By donation and free. Collage by Christina Baltais. Design by Stephanie Ko.
Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Vancouver’s Opera Mariposa presents month-long programme benefitting the ME | FM Society of BC

Published May 28, 2024

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Published by: Opera Mariposa
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This May, Opera Mariposa is rallying the community to support people with chronic and post-viral illnesses. From May 1 to June 1, 2024, the disability-led indie arts company is presenting their 2024 Benefit + Awareness Month: an all-digital charity extravaganza featuring music, art, prizes, and special events benefiting the ME | FM Society of BC.

The initiative honours the International Awareness Month for chronic neuro-immune diseases, and it showcases disabled and chronically ill artists from around the world. Proceeds aid people and families affected by myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME or ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, and long COVID – a group of complex chronic illnesses that are surging due to long-term health impacts from COVID-19.

Continue readingVancouver’s Opera Mariposa presents month-long programme benefitting the ME | FM Society of BC
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Topic: North CarolinaView all posts for the topic: North Carolina

North Carolina wants to tighten mask restrictions. Disabled residents are concerned.

Published May 23, 2024

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Published by: ABC News
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By Kiara Alfonseca

Disabled North Carolina residents say a mask restriction that is under consideration in the state legislature would make it harder for them to access parts of their communities, pushing them back into isolation.

“This law says to them that you are not welcome in our community and we don’t value your presence to accommodate your need to wear a mask,” Tara Muller, a policy attorney at Disability Rights North Carolina, told ABC News.

House Bill 237, dubbed the “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals” bill, would repeal a COVID-19 pandemic exception that allowed people to wear a face mask in public. It allows exceptions for holiday costumes, rituals or ceremonies, theatrical productions, gas masks or employment-based usage, but would remove the ability for someone to wear a mask to ensure “the physical health or safety of the wearer or others.”

Continue readingNorth Carolina wants to tighten mask restrictions. Disabled residents are concerned.
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Topic: pro-virus policiesView all posts for the topic: pro-virus policies

Video | Feds to stop providing free COVID-19 rapid tests

Published May 23, 2024

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Published by: Global News
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The federal government, which spent billions on COVID-19 rapid tests during the height of the pandemic, says it will stop supplying provinces and territories with those tests. Heidi Petracek explains the move, and the reaction from some provinces and doctors.

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Topic: pro-virus policiesView all posts for the topic: pro-virus policies

Masks no longer mandatory at N.S. Health facilities

Published May 23, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Cassidy Chisholm

Nova Scotia Health will no longer require people to wear masks when entering its facilities, unless they are symptomatic.

The health authority updated its rules on Tuesday, stating that it will continue to monitor levels of respiratory illness, including COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

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Topic: North CarolinaView all posts for the topic: North Carolina

Mask ban bill shot down in North Carolina House

Published May 22, 2024

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Published by: WFMY News 2
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By Blair Barnes, Tom Santaniello

The North Carolina House voted against a bill that would’ve banned mask-wearing in public Wednesday.

The Senate passed it last week as part of an effort to crack down on people who wear masks at protests so they can commit crimes.

Lawmakers in the House worried it went too far, saying the law may be unfairly enforced against people who wear masks for health concerns.

Leaders in the House and Senate will soon meet to try to iron out a compromise.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

Masks should be mandatory in healthcare

Published May 22, 2024

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Published by: The Peak
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By Yasmin Hassan

As of April 8, 2024, masks are “no longer required in healthcare settings” in BC. This decision comes after data showing decreased COVID-19 levels in the province. However, COVID-19 hasn’t suddenly become less dangerous, nor has it disappeared. Data surrounding masks suggests the decision is questionable, if not dangerous. Healthcare settings have always been environments with increased pathogenic risk, which is why masks are so important.

Medical masks have been a thing long before COVID-19. Countries in Asia have worn masks for a variety of reasons “since at least the 1950s.” With the propagation of the SARS outbreak back in 2002, masks as a layer of protection have become a staple in many societies. Throughout the ongoing pandemic, and previous ones, they’ve been proven to be an efficient form of protection and prevention of airborne diseases. A wealth of studies have demonstrated masking’s effectiveness for both the wearer and those around them. One study showed masks were effective in “reducing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections.” N95s are especially effective, with efficacy rates 48% higher than cloth masks.

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Topic: North CarolinaView all posts for the topic: North Carolina

North Carolina House pauses passage of bill that would ban masking for health reasons

Published May 22, 2024

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Published by: The Associated Press
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A North Carolina bill partially meant to address mask-wearing at protests was under review Wednesday after some House Republicans raised issue with the legislation’s impact on people who wear masks for health reasons.

The state House voted not to accept changes made to the bill by the state Senate that would remove a pandemic-era masking exemption for health purposes.

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Topic: masksView all posts for the topic: masks

Masks work, our comprehensive review has found

Published May 22, 2024

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Published by: The Conversation
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By Trish Greenhalgh, C Raina MacIntyre, David Fisman

When a Texan farm worker caught bird flu from cattle recently, social media was abuzz with rumours. While bird flu is not a human pandemic, scientists and policymakers the world over are keen to prepare as best they can for when such a pandemic emerges – a tricky task, given that science is messy, policy must be pragmatic and people’s values don’t always align.

It’s time for masks to enter the chat. At the beginning of a pandemic caused by a novel or newly mutated virus, there may be no vaccine, no firm knowledge about how bad things will get and no specific treatment. Slowing transmission until more is known will be critical.

Getting most people to wear a mask could nip the outbreak in the bud, preventing a pandemic or lessening its impact. Wearing a mask is inconvenient, but not as inconvenient as lockdowns.

Continue readingMasks work, our comprehensive review has found
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Topic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick

Two more COVID deaths, another killed by the flu: province

Published May 22, 2024

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Published by: Telegraph-Journal
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By Andrew Waugh

Two New Brunswickers died from COVID-19 and one was killed by influenza between May 5-11, according to new data from the province.

All three were 65 or older.

Eight people required hospital treatment for COVID between May 5-11; none needed intensive care. There were three lab-confirmed COVID outbreaks, including one in a nursing home and two in “other facilities.”

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Topic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick

Winding down of free COVID-19 rapid test kit access in N.B. ‘an abdication of what public health is supposed to be,’ says epidemiologist

Published May 21, 2024

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Published by: CTV News
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By Nick Moore

We know that COVID-19 is not an equal-opportunity disease, we’ve known this for four years. COVID tends to have a disproportionately high impact on people who are lower on the socio-economic ladder; people who don’t have the luxury of working from home, people who are doing essential work, people who because of their income are living in more crowded conditions. These are all risk factors and they’re all socio-economically tied. So to say, ‘Yeah, there’s this tool that will keep you safe if you have enough money to pay for it,’ I think is an abdication of what public health is supposed to be, which is public.

— Colin Furness, infection control epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Toronto
Continue readingWinding down of free COVID-19 rapid test kit access in N.B. ‘an abdication of what public health is supposed to be,’ says epidemiologist
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Topic: Cue HealthView all posts for the topic: Cue Health

San Diego COVID-19 testmaker Cue Health is shutting down

Published May 21, 2024

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Published by: The San Diego Union-Tribune
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By Natallie Rocha

Cue Health, the once high-flying San [Diego] biotech supplying rapid COVID-19 test kits to the NBA and others, is shutting down this week.

Cue’s closure comes a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers to throw out any of its COVID-19 test kits because they could give false results. The San Diego firm said it has stopped selling the COVID-19 tests, which was its only fully FDA-approved commercial product.

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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Alberta premier’s support for town hall questioning COVID vaccines worries experts

Published May 20, 2024

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Published by: Global News
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By Carolyn Kury de Castillo

The issue is not that there is a difference of opinion here. It’s that there is a huge amount of science that shows that these vaccines save lives and they are overwhelmingly safe so to claim otherwise becomes a statement of misinformation.

— Blake Murdoch, senior research associate with the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law
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Topic: climate crisisView all posts for the topic: climate crisis

This wildfire season, changes are coming to better inform people about smoke hazards

Published May 20, 2024

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Published by: The Canadian Press
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By Sonja Puzic

Last year’s record-breaking wildfire season forced Canadians to become familiar with the scale of air pollution as hazardous smoke drifted across the country.

Environment Canada’s colour-coded Air Quality Health Index, designed to help people understand health risks associated with contaminated air, was closely watched under hazy, orange skies that stretched beyond the Canada-U.S. border.

But the AQHI, measured on a scale from one to 10+, was not calculated the same way in all provinces and some people were unsure how index values applied to their daily activities.

Environment Canada hopes several changes being made this year will improve how air quality-related health risks are communicated and understood by the public.

Continue readingThis wildfire season, changes are coming to better inform people about smoke hazards
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Topic: SingaporeView all posts for the topic: Singapore

Singapore facing new Covid-19 wave; vaccination recommended especially for seniors: Ong Ye Kung

Published May 18, 2024

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Published by: The Straits Times
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By Chin Soo Fang

Singapore is seeing a new Covid-19 wave, with rising cases of infection in the last two weeks, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on May 18.

“We are at the beginning part of the wave where it is steadily rising,” said Mr Ong. “So I would say the wave should peak in the next two to four weeks, which means between mid- and end of June.”

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said that to protect hospital bed capacity and as a precaution, public hospitals have been asked to reduce their non-urgent elective surgery cases and move suitable patients to facilities like transitional care facilities or back home through Mobile Inpatient Care@Home.

Continue readingSingapore facing new Covid-19 wave; vaccination recommended especially for seniors: Ong Ye Kung
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Topic: variantsView all posts for the topic: variants

New virus variants threaten a summer Covid-19 wave, but experts say the risk remains uncertain

Published May 17, 2024

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Published by: CNN
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By Deidre McPhillips

Covid-19 levels are about the lowest they’ve ever been in the United States, but another new crop of virus variants once again threatens to disrupt the downward trend as the country heads into summer.

KP.2 — one of the so-called FLiRT variants — has overtaken JN.1 to become the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data through May 11 shows that it’s responsible for more than a quarter of cases in the country, which is nearly twice as many as JN.1. A related variant, KP.1.1, has caused about 7% of cases, CDC data shows.

Continue readingNew virus variants threaten a summer Covid-19 wave, but experts say the risk remains uncertain
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Topic: Hamilton RegionView all posts for the topic: Hamilton Region

Ontario sees first measles death in more than a decade after young child dies

Published May 17, 2024

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Published by: CTV News
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By Codi Wilson

A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.

The child, who was under the age of five, was not immunized against the virus, according to the report, which was published on Thursday.

The report also confirms this is the first measles death in the province in more than a decade.

Public Health Ontario says that there have been 22 confirmed cases of measles reported in the province in 2024. Of those individuals, 13 were children and nine were adults. Four of the adults were previously immunized, two were unimmunized, and two had an unknown immunization status.

Continue readingOntario sees first measles death in more than a decade after young child dies
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