EU lawmakers approved a report on lessons to take from COVID-19 on Wednesday (12 July). The text analysed the impact of the pandemic, evaluated EU and national health systems’ responses and set a roadmap for future health emergencies.
The European Parliament adopted the report “COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned and recommendations for the future” by 385 votes in favour, 193 against and 63 abstentions.
Comments closedThe country’s national vaccine advisers are recommending Canadians get another COVID-19 booster shot this fall, with updated vaccines expected in the months ahead.
The next round of vaccines will likely be monovalent — meaning they will specifically target the Omicron family of sub-lineages that are still circulating globally, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said Tuesday.
Leave a commentHealth-care workers are warning a lack of masking could lead to a new COVID wave come fall.
Comments closedMost politicians know that in any public debate, persuasion, charm and oratory count more than do mere facts.
Leave a comment“Hundreds of studies from around the world have consistently shown that a COVID-19 infection in pregnancy carries significantly higher risk for admission to intensive care units (ICU), invasive ventilation, preeclampsia and death, compared to other COVID-19 patients.”
Comments closedMore than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools, one in 20 K-12 educators believe they have long COVID. Another 14 percent think or know they previously had it but eventually recovered.
Comments closedAt the peak of a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant wave in Ontario, wastewater sampling conducted before the surge suggested that COVID-19 cases were 19 times higher than reported because of changes in clinical testing.
Re: Heavy smoke, smog wallop Ottawa, cancelling Dragon Boat, Indigenous festivals, June 25.
Thanks to climate change, we’re experiencing unprecedented hazardous air quality. Concentrations of pollutants have been an order of magnitude greater than the levels in major cities. And more smoke is on the way.
Ottawa Public Health should follow the example of public health organizations in other cities: it should distribute N95 respirators to Ottawa residents. Huron Perth Public Health is now offering respirators to residents who are at high risk for respiratory issues.
Comments closedMen recently infected with COVID-19 have decreased sperm counts for more than 3 months following even mild infections, and the sperm they do produce is less able to swim, according to new findings presented today at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Denmark.
The findings are intriguing because men produce new sperm every 2 or 3 months, and the findings are based on semen analyses taken after 100 days, suggesting COVID does long-term damage to the male reproductive tract.
Comments closedThe drug metformin cut long COVID risk by 41 percent in both people who were overweight and those with obesity. But treatments remain elusive.
Comments closedComments closedYou can’t be putting the responsibility for basic measures to protect people with disabilities and chronic disease… on them when a very minor, reasonable, easy-to-do accommodation can be just kept in place.
Comments closedSome may think COVID-19 affects just the lungs. What was found is that this new MRI technique that we created is very good at identifying changes to the brain due to COVID-19. COVID-19 changes the white matter in the brain.
According to a new study, rapid antigen tests may provide false negatives — suggesting that a person is infection-free, even though other parts of their respiratory tract are teeming with the virus. The researchers found that most people showed a delay of several days between when the virus first appeared in the throat or saliva and when it appeared in the nose. Importantly, 15 of the 17 study participants had high levels of the virus for at least a day prior to getting a positive result.
Comments closedRetrospective analysis of national data led by investigators from Mass Eye and Ear estimates that over 20 million COVID patients experienced loss of smell or taste in 2021, with a large portion of patients never fully recovering these senses.
Comments closedA retrospective study by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, investigated the loss of olfactory and gustatory senses and estimated that about a quarter of Americans who had COVID-19 reported only partial or no recovery of taste or smell.
Comments closedAn Ontario program that distributes free rapid tests for COVID-19 at grocery stores and pharmacies will end after this month.
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