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Tag: pandemic response

Topic: New ZealandView all posts for the topic: New Zealand

Covid-19: Vaccines saved thousands of lives during Omicron outbreak, study estimates

Published February 9, 2024

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Published by: RNZ
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A new study estimates vaccines prevented between 4000 and 12,000 deaths during the Omicron phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The paper, published in the medical journal Vaccine, models scenarios with different levels of vaccine coverage in the 18 months from January 2022.

The authors say the elimination strategy meant most people were able to be vaccinated before being exposed to the virus.

The researchers say it meant there were between 34,000 and 56,000 fewer hospitalisations over the period.

Continue readingCovid-19: Vaccines saved thousands of lives during Omicron outbreak, study estimates
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Topic: seniorsView all posts for the topic: seniors

Thousands of seniors are still dying of Covid-19. Do we not care anymore?

Published February 8, 2024

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Published by: CNN
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By Judith Graham

The Covid-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults.

The death toll was shocking, as were reports of chaos in nursing homes and seniors suffering from isolation, depression, untreated illness, and neglect. Around 900,000 older adults have died of Covid-19 to date, accounting for 3 of every 4 Americans who have perished in the pandemic.

But decisive actions that advocates had hoped for haven’t materialized. Today, most people — and government officials — appear to accept Covid as a part of ordinary life. Many seniors at high risk aren’t getting antiviral therapies for Covid, and most older adults in nursing homes aren’t getting updated vaccines. Efforts to strengthen care quality in nursing homes and assisted living centers have stalled amid debate over costs and the availability of staff. And only a small percentage of people are masking or taking other precautions in public despite a new wave of covid, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus infections hospitalizing and killing seniors.

Continue readingThousands of seniors are still dying of Covid-19. Do we not care anymore?
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Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response

Montreal university study describes COVID-19 sanitary measures as ‘generally effective’

Published January 21, 2024

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Published by: CBC News / The Canadian Press
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By Laurie Trottier

A study aimed at countering online misinformation finds that health measures taken by governments to protect against COVID-19 helped save lives and reduce the number of people hospitalized in 2020.

Continue readingMontreal university study describes COVID-19 sanitary measures as ‘generally effective’
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Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response

Opinion: The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe?

Published January 4, 2024

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Published by: Los Angeles Times
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By Eric J. Topol

The pandemic is far from over, as evidenced by the rapid rise to global dominance of the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2. This variant is a derivative of BA.2.86, the only other strain that has carried more than 30 new mutations in the spike protein since Omicron first came on the scene more than two years ago. This should have warranted designation by the World Health Organization as a variant of concern with a Greek letter, such as Pi.

By wastewater levels, JN.1 is now associated with the second-biggest wave of infections in the United States in the pandemic, after Omicron. We have lost the ability to track the actual number of infections since most people either test at home or don’t even test at all, but the very high wastewater levels of the virus indicate about 2 million Americans are getting infected each day.

Continue readingOpinion: The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe?
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Topic: WashingtonView all posts for the topic: Washington

Washington Department of Health cuts hundreds of jobs as federal COVID funds run out

Published December 29, 2023

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Published by: Spokane Public Radio
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By Grace Deng / Washington State Standard

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
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Topic: United StatesView all posts for the topic: United States

States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire

Published December 20, 2023

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Published by: The Associated Press
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By Jennifer Peltz, David A. Lieb

When the coronavirus pandemic took hold in an unprepared U.S., many states like Ohio scrambled for masks and other protective gear. Supplies were so limited in 2020 that the state bought millions of medical gowns from a marketing and printing company and spent about $20 million to try to get personal protective equipment made in-state.

Three years later, as the grips of the pandemic have loosened, Ohio and other states are now trying to deal with an excess of protective gear, ditching their supplies in droves.

Continue readingStates are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire
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Opinion: This is a pandemic of attritionElectron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. Image captured and colourized at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana. Photo by: NIAID. Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Generic license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/.
Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response

Opinion: This is a pandemic of attrition

Published December 7, 2023

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Published by: Calgary Herald
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By Joe Vipond, Julia M. Wright, Dan Furst

It’s time for our society to admit that we’ve made a mistake and change course. The COVID-is-mild experiment, despite the wishing and the hoping, has been a tragic failure. We aren’t just accepting ongoing hospitalizations and deaths to protect the economy, but also ignoring the social and economic costs of continuing high levels of acute infections. Worse still are more cases of Long COVID, a condition that takes many people entirely out of the workforce. And with every wave, the staffing attrition worsens.

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Topic: United StatesView all posts for the topic: United States

‘A vicious cycle’: Low Covid-19 vaccination rates lead to fewer doses at pediatric offices. Now, some parents can’t find it

Published December 7, 2023

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Published by: CNN
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By Amanda Musa

As of November 25, less than 3% of children 6 months to 4 years and 10% of children 12 to 17 have received the new shot, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading‘A vicious cycle’: Low Covid-19 vaccination rates lead to fewer doses at pediatric offices. Now, some parents can’t find it
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Topic: United StatesView all posts for the topic: United States

US prison deaths soared by 77% during height of Covid-19 crisis, study finds

Published December 3, 2023

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Published by: The Guardian
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By Edward Helmore

A study of US prison deaths at the height of the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 has found that mortality rates soared by 77% relative to 2019, or more than three times the increase in the general population.

Continue readingUS prison deaths soared by 77% during height of Covid-19 crisis, study finds
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Ottawa Public Health to let go most remaining COVID-19 staff as province ends special pandemic fundingA healthcare worker is administering a vaccine dose to a patient. The healthcare worker is holding the needle with their right hand. They are wearing black clothes, and there is a green background.
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

Published December 3, 2023

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Published by: Ottawa Citizen
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By Elizabeth Payne

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.

Continue readingOttawa Public Health to let go most remaining COVID-19 staff as province ends special pandemic funding
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Topic: pandemic responseView all posts for the topic: pandemic response

The 10 Chilling Laws of Pandemics

Published November 24, 2023

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Published by: The Tyee
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By Andrew Nikiforuk

The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, an institutional offshoot of the dysfunctional World Health Organization and its equally wonky partner the World Bank, recently declared the obvious: the world is not ready for the next pandemic.

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Topic: COVID-19 inquiryView all posts for the topic: COVID-19 inquiry

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘bamboozled’ by science, COVID-19 inquiry told

Published November 20, 2023

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Published by: The Associated Press
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By Pan Pylas

Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, struggled to come to grips with much of the science during the coronavirus pandemic, his chief scientific adviser said Monday.

In keenly awaited testimony to the country’s public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Vallance said he and others faced repeated problems getting Johnson to understand the science and that he changed his mind on numerous occasions.

Continue readingFormer British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘bamboozled’ by science, COVID-19 inquiry told
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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta

Manning panel gives 90 recommendations on Alberta’s COVID‑19 pandemic response

Published November 15, 2023

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Published by: Global News / The Canadian Press
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A panel reviewing Alberta’s COVID-19 response is calling for rule changes to ensure the province’s premier and cabinet have the last word in future crises, with help from a new senior science officer.

Continue readingManning panel gives 90 recommendations on Alberta’s COVID‑19 pandemic response
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Topic: COVID denialView all posts for the topic: COVID denial

We Interrupt This Mood of Denial to Update COVID’s Threat

Published November 10, 2023

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Published by: The Tyee
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By Andrew Nikiforuk

Although many Canadians act as though the pandemic has ended, the airborne virus that causes COVID-19 continues to evolve at an amazing pace with devastating consequences for both individuals and the public at large.

Continue readingWe Interrupt This Mood of Denial to Update COVID’s Threat
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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Canada has ‘sufficient supply’ of new COVID-19 vaccines amid ‘pandemic amnesia,’ experts say

Published November 9, 2023

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Published by: CTV News
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By Mitchell Consky

As doctors recommend new COVID-19 vaccine doses to combat the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant, a mutation of COVID-19 that has continued to spread despite misconceptions that the virus is in the past, officials say Canada has sufficient supply.

Continue readingCanada has ‘sufficient supply’ of new COVID-19 vaccines amid ‘pandemic amnesia,’ experts say
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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Vaccine passport policies boosted COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada, study suggests

Published November 8, 2023

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Published by: CBC News
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By Nicholas Frew

COVID-19 proof of vaccination requirements — commonly known as vaccine passports — led to more Canadians under 50 getting their first dose shortly after the policies were implemented, according to a newly published study by public health researchers.

Continue readingVaccine passport policies boosted COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada, study suggests
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