As of Monday, in Quebec, rapid tests will no longer be offered free of charge to everyone in pharmacies. Only people deemed at high risk of complications and citizens who receive free drugs, according to the public pharmacare system, will have free access to these COVID-19 tests.
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Topic: breath testView all posts for the topic: breath test
Astronomy Tool Can Now Detect COVID in Breath
Researchers are investigating a promising technique that may be used to check for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. A frequency comb involves the use of lasers to look for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are associated with COVID infections.
Comments closedTopic: universal maskingView all posts for the topic: universal masking
Masks Work. Distorting Science to Dispute the Evidence Doesn’t
Masks work. Especially respirator-style N95 masks.
Amid an ongoing pandemic and outbreaks of influenza and RSV caused by airborne viruses, arguing over the virus-blocking power of masks remains one of the COVID era’s signature follies. Disconcertingly, despite decades of evidence of their efficacy, some of the disagreement comes from a few in the medical field itself, misusing science and endangering lives.
Comments closedTopic: dementiaView all posts for the topic: dementia
Rapid Progression of Dementia Following COVID-19
In a new study, researchers examined the cognitive impacts of COVID-19 on people with dementia. They found that having COVID-19 rapidly accelerated the structural and functional brain deterioration of patients with dementia, regardless of the type of dementia being experienced.
Comments closedTopic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
DoNoHarm BC to stage a die-in protesting end of hospital mask mandate
Comments closedGetting rid of masking means I can’t safely get the care I need. I need regular follow-up care, and because I’m immunocompromised, getting Covid in hospital is a massive risk… Right now, one of my greatest health risks is accessing medical care.
Nature
April 26, 2023
“People with repeat infections were twice as likely to die and three times as likely to be hospitalized, have heart problems or experience blood clots than were people who were infected only once. In a surprising twist, vaccination status didn’t seem to have an impact — although other studies show vaccines to be protective. Whether these results hold true for the general population is up for debate. The Veterans Affairs cohort was made up mostly of older white men, which is not representative of the wider population.”
Comments closedTopic: NunavutView all posts for the topic: Nunavut
Highly transmissible COVID-19 variant detected in Nunavut
The COVID-19 XBB.1.5 variant — described as highly transmissible and likely to overtake previous strains of the virus — has been detected in Nunavut.
Comments closedTopic: universal maskingView all posts for the topic: universal masking
Opinion: Why hospitals should keep mandatory masking
Masks unequivocally mitigate the spread of airborne pathogens. When the havoc being wreaked by COVID is still rampant, it is dumbfounding why universal mandatory masking would be removed in health-care settings — especially acute-care hospitals filled with the vulnerable sick, the immunocompromised, and those with significant pre-existing illness.
Comments closedTopic: Newfoundland and LabradorView all posts for the topic: Newfoundland and Labrador
The N.L. government has been downplaying COVID-19 deaths for months
Newfoundland and Labrador’s online COVID-19 data hub doesn’t always accurately reflect how many people have died of the virus, according to data collected by CBC News.
Comments closedTopic: human rightsView all posts for the topic: human rights
End of health-care mask mandates puts vulnerable at risk: B.C. human rights commissioner
B.C.’s human rights commissioner is criticizing provincial health officials for ending mask mandates in health-care settings, saying it puts the most vulnerable and marginalized people at risk.
Comments closedTopic: JapanView all posts for the topic: Japan
Mask use in Japan at 86% despite eased guidelines, AI analysis finds
About 86% of people are still wearing masks in public a month after Japan’s guidelines were eased, according to an artificial intelligence system developed by broadcaster NTV surveying people at Tokyo Station.
Comments closedTopic: dementiaView all posts for the topic: dementia
Covid infection could speed up progression of dementia, new study finds
A new study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports, has discovered that infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid) has a significant impact on cognitive function in patients with pre-existing dementia.
Comments closedTopic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec
Le CIUSSS ouvre une clinique virtuelle pour les patients atteints de COVID longue
It is the turn of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean to be entitled to its clinic to treat people with long COVID. The disease is still poorly understood, but…
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Se battre contre la COVID longue et Retraite Québec
Comments closedWhy can’t I get that help? Why can’t you just give me a little breathing room? I have to fight so many battles already. My daily life is full of fights.
Topic: JapanView all posts for the topic: Japan
Over 10% of children in Japan with COVID-related brain disease died, survey finds
More than 10% of children in Japan who developed acute brain syndrome after infection with COVID-19 have died, results of a nationwide survey recently announced by a health ministry research team has shown.
The survey identified 34 cases of acute encephalopathy associated with COVID-19 infection among those under 18 between January 2020 and May 2022. The team analyzed 31 patients who did not have any underlying illnesses that could be responsible for causing the brain disease.
Comments closedTopic: Northwest TerritoriesView all posts for the topic: Northwest Territories
GNWT completes climbdown over Covid-19 leave
The NWT government has ended a rule limiting employees to five days of Covid-19 leave per year, effectively completing a climbdown in a dispute over the measure.
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
Board of health calls for Ontario to upgrade to building code ventilation standards
An Ontario board of health is asking the province to amend the building code to mandate higher standards for ventilation, in light of the spread of COVID-19.
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