Long COVID can have wide-ranging impacts, but is most commonly associated with brain fog, breathing difficulties and debilitating fatigue.
“Long COVID has really mystified a lot of physicians and scientists,” according to Dr. Douglas Fraser. Fraser is a researcher with Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, based in London, Ont.
Comments closedShipments of updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines have arrived in the London region, according to the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU), with more rolling in as respiratory virus season inches closer.
A spokesperson for the MLHU said high risk populations are eligible for the shots for now, and the general population will have to wait until the end of the month to update their immunization.
Comments closed✉️ Send letters to municipal councillors to voice your support for wastewater monitoring. Use our online tool to send emails.
Comments closedThe Ontario government abruptly ended its wastewater surveillance program earlier than planned this summer, despite having funding in place until the end of September and being warned that the move could leave gaps in crucial information for public health, internal documents indicate.
The government pulled the plug at the end of July on the globally praised program that, at its peak, covered about 75 per cent of the province.
The program, overseen by the Ministry of the Environment, provided an early warning signal to health officials about the spread of COVID-19, influenza, RSV and other infectious diseases, based on wastewater testing.
Documents obtained through access to information by the Ottawa Citizen indicate that the province’s hasty decision last spring to end the program came before Ontario’s Ministry of Health had even begun negotiations with the federal government about taking over wastewater surveillance.
Comments closedSmall towns and rural communities are likely to see the biggest impact when the province stops paying scientists to monitor wastewater for COVID-19 and other illnesses, an expert says.
Also likely to suffer is the scientific community’s ability to learn from rich, robust data that is currently being collected but won’t be after the provincial surveillance program wraps up at the end of July, said Chris deGroot, the lead researcher at the Western University lab that monitors the wastewater in this region.
“It’s safe to assume that with the transition to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), there will be a reduction in the total number of sites and that we’re most likely going to see the sites be in larger urban centres,” deGroot said.
Comments closedAs COVID wastewater data hits significant highs in the Middlesex-London area, more cases of the virus and other respiratory infections can be expected in the new year, says the region’s top doctor.
The start of 2024 will be the midst of respiratory virus season, with continued COVID activity and an increase in influenza infections and other cold and cough viruses, said medical officer of health Dr. Alex Summers.
Comments closedNot enough people are getting vaccinated for COVID-19. That’s according to a Western University professor involved in the Ontario COVID-19 Waste Water Survey Program. “What…
Comments closedThe Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is closing its mass vaccination clinic in mid-December.
Comments closed✉️ Send letters to voice your support for universal masking with respirators in hospitals. You can use your own email software to send the letters.
Why take action? SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne, level 3 pathogen. We need universal masking with respirators to prevent COVID-induced health issues, including long COVID, cognitive issues, and cardiovascular diseases.
Please take a moment to voice your support for universal masking with respirators in Ontario hospitals!
Comments closedAs cases of COVID-19 climb in the London region, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Josephs’s Health Care London are revising their masking rules to require staff and doctors in direct contact with patients to wear masks, and recommend visitors and patients do the same.
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