Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: Canada

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

RFK Jr. is a danger to health care in the U.S. — and Canada

Published November 20, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on:
By Raywat Deonandan

You would think that the return of a Kennedy scion to the White House would be a moment to celebrate, at least for many of a particular political stripe. But the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the new Trump administration has left many aghast, especially doctors, scientists, and educators.

Despite president John F. Kennedy having famously championed the polio vaccine, his nephew, RFK Jr., is an avowed anti-vaccination zealot, blaming a host of repeatedly unproven ills on such inoculations.

Continue readingRFK Jr. is a danger to health care in the U.S. — and Canada
Comments closed
Topic: human rightsView all posts for the topic: human rights

Masking is a right

Published November 19, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Peak
Published on:
By Abigail Streifel

Content warning: brief mentions of genocide.

We’re still in a pandemic nearly five years after the first outbreak of COVID-19, but some places in the US and Canada are criminalizing the use of face masks in public. North Carolina has passed a law that restricts wearing masks, the governor of New York supports similar restrictions, and university campuses in California have enacted policies limiting masks. Here in Canada, people in Toronto have been arrested for wearing masks while protesting. Each of these restrictions seek to stop people from “concealing their identities.” The bans present multiple problems: the first is that they pose a risk to public health, and particularly the safety of disabled people. Second, they specifically target activists protesting against the genocide of Palestinians. Both of these issues are related to the right to keep our communities safe, which should not be questioned.

Continue readingMasking is a right
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

Bird flu in Canada may have mutated to become more transmissible to humans

Published November 19, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Guardian
Published on:
By Melody Schreiber

The teenager hospitalized with bird flu in British Columbia, Canada, may have a variation of the virus that has a mutation making it more transmissible among people, early data shows – a warning of what the virus can do that is especially worrisome in countries such as the US where some H5N1 cases are not being detected.

The US “absolutely” is not testing and monitoring bird flu cases enough, which means scientists could miss mutated cases like these, said Richard Webby, a virologist at St Jude children’s research hospital’s department of infectious diseases.

Continue readingBird flu in Canada may have mutated to become more transmissible to humans
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

H5N1 bird flu virus in Canadian teenager displays mutations demonstrating virus’ risk

Published November 18, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: STAT
Published on:
By Helen Branswell

The genetic sequence of the H5N1 bird flu virus that infected a teenager in British Columbia shows that the virus had undergone mutational changes that would make it easier for that version of H5N1 to infect people, scientists who have studied the data say.

There’s currently no evidence the teenager, who remains in critical condition in hospital, infected anyone else. If that’s the case, it is likely this mutated version of the virus would die out when the teen’s illness resolves. The source of the teen’s infection has not been determined, so it’s impossible to know for sure if the mutations were in the virus that infected him or her. But scientists think it is more likely that the mutations developed during the course of his or her infection.

Continue readingH5N1 bird flu virus in Canadian teenager displays mutations demonstrating virus’ risk
Comments closed
Topic: air qualityView all posts for the topic: air quality

Student’s article spurs inspection of school’s HVAC system

Published November 17, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: The Kingston Whig Standard
Published on:
By Peter Hendra

Kingston Secondary School will have its automated heating, ventilation and air conditioning system inspected next week following the publication of a student-written article that found the concentration of carbon dioxide in the school exceeded safe levels.

Principal Darren Seymour sent a letter to students, staff and parents last week in response to the article that appeared in “The Bears Bulletin.”

Continue readingStudent’s article spurs inspection of school’s HVAC system
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

Canadian teen’s bird flu infection is not the version found in cows

Published November 13, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: STAT
Published on:
By Helen Branswell

A Canadian teenager who is in critical condition after contracting H5N1 bird flu was infected with a version of the virus that is different from the one circulating in dairy cattle in the United States, Canadian authorities announced Wednesday.

The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg confirmed the infection was indeed caused by the H5N1 virus. But genetic sequencing showed that it is of a genotype that has been found in wild birds, not the version that has been circulating in dairy cattle in the U.S.

Continue readingCanadian teen’s bird flu infection is not the version found in cows
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

Testing confirms B.C. teen infected with Canada’s first human case of avian flu

Published November 13, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Lisa Steacy

Federal health officials have confirmed that a B.C. teen who is currently in hospital has Canada’s first human case of H5N1 avian flu.

Testing at the national microbiology labaratory in Winnipeg confirmed the case Wednesday, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Continue readingTesting confirms B.C. teen infected with Canada’s first human case of avian flu
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

Avoid contact with sick or dead birds, health officials urge, amid concerns about avian flu

Published November 13, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:

Carolyn Law didn’t think much of it when a snow goose landed in her Richmond, B.C., backyard, on Halloween.

But hours later it had barely moved. Then it started bobbing its head repeatedly. About eight hours after she first saw the bird, it rolled over, began convulsing and died.

Continue readingAvoid contact with sick or dead birds, health officials urge, amid concerns about avian flu
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

Canadian teen with suspected avian flu in critical condition

Published November 12, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on:
By Lisa Schnirring

A British Columbia (BC) teen from the Fraser Health region who was hospitalized with an earlier announced presumptive positive H5 avian flu infection is in critical condition, the province’s top health official said today.

In a media briefing streamed live on Canada’s Global News, Bonnie Henry, MD, BC’s health officer, shared the latest investigation findings, noting that the patient’s symptoms began on November 2, and he or she was seen that day at a hospital emergency room. She said initial symptoms included conjunctivitis, fever, and cough.

Continue readingCanadian teen with suspected avian flu in critical condition
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

B.C. investigating 1st presumptive human avian flu case in Canada

Published November 9, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:

British Columbia health officials are investigating what’s believed to be Canada’s first human case of avian influenza after a teenager tested presumptively positive for the disease, the Ministry of Health announced Saturday.

Continue readingB.C. investigating 1st presumptive human avian flu case in Canada
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

First-ever human case of H5 avian influenza in Canada found in B.C.: officials

Published November 9, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CTV News
Published on:
By Ian Holliday

B.C. health officials say they have detected Canada’s first-ever case of H5 avian influenza in a human.

In a news release Saturday afternoon, the office of the provincial health officer said a positive test for the H5 influenza virus was performed at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control’s public health laboratory.

Continue readingFirst-ever human case of H5 avian influenza in Canada found in B.C.: officials
Comments closed
Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu

Wastewater testing for avian influenza to begin in some Ontario communities

Published November 8, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on:
By Elizabeth Payne

As bird flu infections continue to rise among livestock and humans in the United States, surveillance is ramping up in Canada.

Wastewater testing for the H5N1 bird flu virus is set to begin in the coming weeks in Ontario communities considered at high risk, said Rob Delatolla, whose University of Ottawa lab will lead the wastewater surveillance as part of a research program based at the University of Guelph. That will likely mean testing wastewater in communities in agricultural regions of the province. It is unclear whether there will also be testing in larger cities.

Continue readingWastewater testing for avian influenza to begin in some Ontario communities
Comments closed
Topic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick

‘A bit disappointing’: How many NBers have gotten new COVID, flu shots

Published November 8, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Telegraph-Journal
Published on:
By Andrew Waugh

Just over 52,000 New Brunswickers have received the latest COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 91,000 have received this year’s flu shot since they became available on Oct. 3, according to the government.

Continue reading‘A bit disappointing’: How many NBers have gotten new COVID, flu shots
Comments closed
Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

She helped thousands get COVID-19 shots. Now she’s on the hook for $600K

Published November 7, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: CBC News
Published on:
By Dan Taekema

A Kingston, Ont., doctor celebrated for organizing drive-thru vaccination clinics that helped thousands get shots at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic is now being ordered to pay back more than $600,000 in fees for those same services.

Dr. Elaine Ma said she organized 45 mass vaccination clinics that administered roughly 35,000 doses between April 2021 and the following February.

Her work was recognized by the Ontario College of Family Physicians, which granted her its Award of Excellence in 2021, in part pointing to Ma’s role in boosting local vaccination rates.

Continue readingShe helped thousands get COVID-19 shots. Now she’s on the hook for $600K
Comments closed
Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Three years and waiting for Canada’s made-in-Montreal COVID shot

Published November 4, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Montreal Gazette
Published on:
By Jacob Serebrin

Vaccine production is nearly three years behind schedule at a federally owned plant in Montreal and the future of a deal between Ottawa and an American company to make COVID-19 vaccines here is now under review.

Continue readingThree years and waiting for Canada’s made-in-Montreal COVID shot
Comments closed
Topic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec

About 2,000 patients are on the long COVID clinic waiting list

Published November 1, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: La Presse / The Canadian Press
Published on:
By Katrine Desautels

(Montreal) The rehabilitation process is long for patients with long COVID, which can limit professionals in their acceptance of new patients. This issue, added to the other ills of the healthcare system, means that some 4,000 patients end up in the network of long COVID clinics, half of whom are on the waiting list.

Continue readingAbout 2,000 patients are on the long COVID clinic waiting list
Comments closed
Topic: labour rightsView all posts for the topic: labour rights

Sick days skyrocketed as Treasury Board employees returned to the office

Published October 31, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on:
By Catherine Morrison

The number of sick days employees working for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat took during the month of September skyrocketed as the department urged public servants to make their way back to their offices at least three days a week.

According to departmental data, TBS employees took a total of 2,191 sick days between Sept. 1 and Sept. 30.

That was up significantly from previous years. During the same period in 2023, employees took 1,708.9 sick days. In 2022, they took 1,477.9 sick days and in 2021 they had 1,075.4 sick days. In 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, TBS employees’ sick days totalled a mere 827.6 days.

Continue readingSick days skyrocketed as Treasury Board employees returned to the office
Comments closed
Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID

The risk of long COVID reaches 37% after three infections, according to the INSPQ

Published October 30, 2024

Still COVIDing Canada Posts

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on:
By Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

As COVID-19 continues to circulate widely, a report from the INSPQ warns that the risk of getting long COVID increases with each reinfection, and notes that the Quebec health system is failing to help the growing number of people who have had persistent symptoms for months or even years.

The report by the Institut national de la santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), which surveyed thousands of health workers in Quebec who were infected between the beginning of the pandemic and summer 2023, was released quietly on Monday. Yet, this report warns that post COVID-19 condition, commonly known as long COVID, is affecting more and more people.

« This is an important and real issue. We want to raise awareness among the public and public health authorities,” says Sara Carazo, one of the authors of the report.

Continue readingThe risk of long COVID reaches 37% after three infections, according to the INSPQ
Comments closed