Bank of Canada interest rate cut, Ontario wastewater shutdown, Carcross/Tagish First Nation canoe trip, National Field of Honour, Spermageddon questioned, Barbados sheet music, and more.
Comments closedTag: budget cuts
Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
Radio | Peterborough Medical Officer of Health frustrated with the province’s decision to pullback on waste water monitoring
Medical officer of health for Peterborough Public Health, Dr. Thomas Piggott talks with host Molly Thomas about why he believes we shouldn’t drop wastewater testing for diseases — even if COVID-19 is not the same threat it was when the program was rolled out.
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
Radio | Ontario suspends wastewater testing in the province
The provincial government is suspending the program that tests for COVID-19, flu and disease levels in community sewage systems.
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
‘I was shocked’: Ontario to cancel widely used wastewater surveillance program
The Ontario government is shutting down the wastewater surveillance program that has provided early warning for incoming waves of COVID-19 and a growing list of other infectious diseases since it was developed.
By the time it ends on July 31, the program that got its start in Ottawa early in the pandemic will be one of the biggest in the world to monitor the spread of infectious diseases through wastewater. Researchers were told of the decision to end funding last week.
Its closure comes at a time when COVID-19 is again beginning to spread through the world after a lull and when the United States and other countries are ramping up wastewater surveillance programs to warn about the possible spread of H5N1 avian influenza.
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Topic: take actionView all posts for the topic: take action
Ontario: Protect our health — save Ontario’s wastewater monitoring!
📣 Let MPPs know you want funding for Ontario’s wastewater monitoring program to continue
✉️ Send letters to MPPs to voice your support for wastewater monitoring. Use our online tool to send emails.
Why take action? Wastewater monitoring is an essential public health tool that provides insights into the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in Ontario’s communities.
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Topic: take actionView all posts for the topic: take action
Ontario: Call Members of Provincial Parliament on #WastewaterWednesday!
📣 Take action! Let MPPs know you want funding for Ontario’s wastewater monitoring program to continue
📱 Call MPPs to voice your support for wastewater monitoring.
✉️ Use our online tool to send letters to MPPs.
✉️ Use our online tool to send emails to municipal councillors in Ottawa or Waterloo Region.
📸 Post photos on social media.
Why take action? Wastewater monitoring is an essential public health tool that provides insights into the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in Ontario’s communities.
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
“Short-sighted and dangerous” – Public Health Ontario Lab workers are sounding the alarm about potential lab closures
TORONTO, April 17, 2024 – OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and members working at Public Health Ontario (PHO) Labs were at Queen’s Park today to sound the alarm about the potential closure of six (6) out of 11 PHO labs in Ontario, and the risk it poses for all Ontarians – especially rural families and communities.
“If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that public health should never be taken for granted,” said Hornick. “Like many choices made by this government, if Premier Ford decides to shutter the doors of these 6 labs it will be short-sighted and dangerous.”
Comments closedTopic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario
Manitoulin Health Centre COVID 19 Assessment Centre & Testing closing this week
The Manitoulin Health Centre on Manitoulin Island is closing its testing centre for COVID.
President and CEO Paula Fields says the last day for specimen collection at the Centre is this Friday, March 22nd.
She says since the beginning of the pandemic, the Centre has provided safe and timely access to COVID-19 testing and thanks everyone who played a role in relieving pressure off the emergency departments and in protecting Island communities.
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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
BC’s pandemic budget may “wind down” in 2024
BC’s budget and fiscal report covers a “three year fiscal plan” for housing, sustainability, and healthcare. The report states, “As the funding for pandemic contingencies are set to wind down by the end of 2023/24, it is anticipated that the Ministry of Health will wind down or integrate any services into ministry operations, as appropriate, to support the ongoing health and well-being of British Columbians.”
The report did not elaborate, and The Peak reached out to the Ministry of Health for more information, who said they “will have an update to share following the release of the 2024/25 budget at the end of next month.”
DoNoHarm BC, who advocates for safer COVID-19 protections in the province, is concerned about the effects a potential budget cut could have for residents and provides a series of recommendations.
Comments closedTopic: WashingtonView all posts for the topic: Washington
Washington Department of Health cuts hundreds of jobs as federal COVID funds run out
Washington’s Department of Health has cut over 300 employees who helped with the state’s pandemic response and hundreds more of these jobs are on the chopping block as federal COVID aid dries up.
The department already slashed 356 positions and will soon lose funding for 349 more. Funding for most of the jobs will lapse by July 2024 and all federal COVID-19 funds for staff will end by July 2025, according to an agency spokesperson, Roberto Bonaccorso.
Similar cuts are happening nationwide as federal COVID relief funding expires. Public health advocates are warning that as jobs like these are eliminated, it threatens to leave states in a weaker position responding to the next public health crisis.
Continue readingWashington Department of Health cuts hundreds of jobs as federal COVID funds run out
Comments closed Community COVID-19 vaccine clinics operated by the Brant County Health Unit are winding down at the end of this month due to cessation of provincial funding.
Starting January 2, the BCHU will only offer COVID-19 vaccine appointments for children ages six months to 12 years of age. Bookings for that age group can be made online at bchu.org/covid-19-vaccines/.
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Topic: budget cutsView all posts for the topic: budget cuts
This COVID study has been tracking immunity for 3 years. Now it’s running out of money
A long-running study into COVID-19 immunity has unearthed promising insights on the still-mysterious disease, one of its lead researchers says — but she’s concerned its funding could soon dry up.
The Stop the Spread project, a collaboration by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa, has been monitoring antibody responses to COVID-19 in hundreds of people since October 2020.
Comments closedTopic: New ZealandView all posts for the topic: New Zealand
Warning sounded over any moves to defund Covid-19 vaccine
A vaccinologist is warning that restricting access to the Covid-19 vaccine could send a message that it is no longer important.
Covid-19 vaccines and boosters have always been provided free-of-charge – but that funding commitment is due to expire at the end of June next year.
It is possible the Government could move to a more targeted approach like with flu vaccines – where only vulnerable populations get them for free.
Comments closedTopic: letter to the editorView all posts for the topic: letter to the editor
We must invest in COVID programs
Re: Ottawa Public Health to let go most remaining COVID-19 staff as province ends special pandemic funding, Dec. 3.
I’m deeply disappointed to hear that Ottawa Public Health will be cancelling COVID-19 programs, including immunization services for the general population. The pandemic is not over. According to Statistics Canada, COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death for Canadians last year.
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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia
Now is not the time to end Covid-related services in BC
After 2023, funding for Covid-related services is set to end in BC.
For nearly four years now, British Columbians have been grappling with Covid-19. We’re currently aided by health management initiatives like vaccination, testing, and protective equipment for healthcare workers. Since 2021, these measures have been funded by BC’s Pandemic Recovery Contingencies, a three-year plan that also sustains economic recovery programs and supports for vulnerable community members.
This plan expires at the end of 2023. After that, our government anticipates that “most initiatives will wind down or be integrated into existing government programs.”
Comments closedTopic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Ottawa Public Health wrapping up COVID-19 operations, cutting pandemic staff
Ottawa Public Health will layoff most of its COVID-19 staff by the end of the year and wrap up its immunization programming at the end of March, as the Ontario government stops reimbursing for extraordinary costs related to the pandemic.
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Topic: Ottawa-GatineauView all posts for the topic: Ottawa-Gatineau
Ottawa Public Health to let go most remaining COVID-19 staff as province ends special pandemic funding
Ottawa Public Health will let go most of its remaining COVID-19 staff by the end of the year as the province stops directly reimbursing most costs related to the pandemic.
OPH will continue offering vaccines to the most vulnerable, including long-term care residents and recent immigrants, but will wrap up broader COVID-19 efforts by the end of March.
Comments closedTopic: TorontoView all posts for the topic: Toronto
With COVID-19 clinics set to close, Toronto wants to focus on boosting student immunization rates
With four of Toronto’s temporary COVID-19 vaccination sites set to close for good, the city is hoping to switch focus to boosting immunization rates for school-aged children.
Provincial funding will soon run out, meaning “fixed-site” vaccination clinics at Metro Hall, Cloverdale Mall, North York Civic Centre and one near Scarborough Town Centre will close after Dec. 13, the city announced in a release Monday.
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