Walk-in clinics for the flu and Covid-19 vaccine open in Yellowknife later in October, the NWT’s health authority confirmed in a schedule issued late last week.
Comments closedTag: SARS-CoV-2
Topic: researchView all posts for the topic: research
A surprise bonus from COVID-19 vaccines: bolstering cancer treatment
The innovative messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that thwarted the ravages of COVID-19 may also help fight tumors in cancer patients, according to a new analysis of medical records and studies in mice.
People with cancer who coincidentally received the mRNA shots before starting drugs designed to unleash the immune system against tumors lived significantly longer than those who didn’t get vaccinated, a research team announced yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin. Laboratory experiments by the group suggest the vaccines rev up the immune system, making even stubborn tumors more susceptible to treatment.
Comments closedTopic: PhilippinesView all posts for the topic: Philippines
Quezon reinstates mandatory face masks amid flu-like illnesses spike
LUCENA CITY — Citing a spike in influenza-like illnesses, Quezon Governor Angelina Tan has reinstated the mandatory wearing of face masks.
“Due to the increasing number of cases of illnesses such as colds, coughs, influenza-like illness, and severe respiratory infections like community-acquired pneumonia—and in accordance with Executive Order No. DHT-60—the wearing of face masks is hereby strictly mandated in all indoor settings, as well as in outdoor areas where physical distancing cannot be observed,” Tan, a medical doctor, said in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 19.
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Toronto to develop wastewater surveillance program for FIFA World Cup
TORONTO – Toronto Public Health is developing a wastewater surveillance program to detect any potential spread of diseases during the FIFA World Cup.
Toronto’s new Medical Officer of Health Dr. Michelle Murti said the pilot will collect sewage samples in areas where fans congregate and test them for infections such as COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
Murti said the public health unit is looking into whether other illnesses, such as measles, could also be monitored in wastewater given the large international audience expected next summer.
Comments closedTopic: indoor air qualityView all posts for the topic: indoor air quality
Federal Contract for up to $40 Million Fuels Research to Revolutionize Clean Indoor Air and Defend Against Next Pandemic
When a public building catches fire, its built-in systems automatically respond: Smoke alarms blare, sprinklers kick on, and occupants quickly evacuate.
But what if the life-threatening danger isn’t fire but invisible airborne contaminants that can make occupants sick? Could a similar smart-building system monitor and improve the quality of the air indoors, where Americans spend 90 percent of their time?
With a contract for up to $40 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an ambitious multi-institutional research team led by Virginia Tech and including researchers at the University of California, Davis, aims to create just such a system.
Comments closedTopic: PEIView all posts for the topic: PEI
P.E.I. hospitals bring back mask mandates as experts warn of viral surge across Canada
Mandatory masking is back at health facilities across Prince Edward Island as public health officials work to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.
The newest numbers from Canada’s respiratory virus surveillance report show that during the week ending Oct. 4, COVID-19 activity was increasing on the Island, with about 20 per cent of tests coming back positive. Nationally, the average was under 10 per cent.
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Covid virus changes sperm in mice, may raise anxiety in offspring: study
Sydney (AFP) – Covid-19 infection causes changes to sperm in mice that may increase anxiety in their offspring, a study released Saturday said, suggesting the pandemic’s possibly long-lasting effects on future generations.
Researchers at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia, infected male mice with the virus that causes Covid, mated them with females, and assessed the impacts on the health of their offspring.
“We found that the resulting offspring showed more anxious behaviours compared to offspring from uninfected fathers,” the study’s first author Elizabeth Kleeman said.
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Here’s when you can get flu and COVID-19 vaccines in B.C.
As respiratory illness season approaches, B.C. will begin rolling out its annual vaccination campaign for COVID-19 and influenza.
British Columbians began receiving notifications with a link to book vaccine appointments on Oct. 7 and they will continue to be sent out into November.
Appointments for both influenza and COVID-19 shots will begin on Oct. 14, starting with those at highest risk of severe illness.
Both vaccines are available for free for anyone older than six months.
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Masks will be required in all Health P.E.I. facilities starting Oct. 14
Officials with Health P.E.I. say people will have to wear masks inside all of the provincial health authority’s facilities beginning next week.
The policy is being put in place in response to the growing presence of respiratory illnesses on the Island.
Lara MacMurdo, director of occupational health, safety and wellness with Health P.E.I., said rates of respiratory illness are often higher this time of year.
Comments closedTopic: Nova ScotiaView all posts for the topic: Nova Scotia
Nova Scotians can now book COVID-19, flu vaccine appointments
Nova Scotia residents can now book appointments for the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
The Nova Scotia government says the free vaccines are recommended for everyone aged six months and older.
Nova Scotians can book an appointment with their family doctor, nurse practitioner or family practice nurse, or at their local pharmacy, public health office or mobile unit.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Scientists may have discovered what’s behind long COVID-related brain fog
If you’re among the estimated one-in-five Canadians who developed long COVID symptoms after infection with COVID-19, you might be familiar with the memory problems, focusing difficulties and a whole slew of other cognitive impairments that have become emblematic of the condition — collectively known as “brain fog.”
But despite these cognitive symptoms being present in nearly 90 per cent of long COVID cases, the biological mechanism behind why brain fog happens — and how we can treat it — has remained largely elusive. Until now.
A new paper, published in peer-reviewed journal Brain Communications, found that people living with long COVID had more significantly higher levels of a certain brain receptor than their healthy peers. The more they had, the worse their symptoms tended to get, the study suggested.
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Quebec launches fall vaccination campaign: COVID-19 shots no longer free for all
Quebecers can now book their appointments as the province’s fall vaccination campaign is underway but unlike previous years the COVID-19 shot is no longer free for all.
Unless an individual is part of a high-risk group, the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires (AQPP) had said that the cost for a vaccine dose will range between $150 and $180.
The COVID-19 vaccine remains free of charge to:
- Immunocompromised individuals or have chronic illnesses
- People aged 65 and older
- On dialysis
- Residents of long-term care facilities (CHSLDs)
- Private seniors’ residences (RPAs)
- Adults living in remote and isolated areas
- Healthcare workers
- Pregnant individuals
Topic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Long COVID exhibition co-produced with community opens at the Museum of Vancouver
One in nine Canadians have experienced Long COVID symptoms, ranging from mild to debilitating. A new exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver, co-produced by Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, invites visitors into the often-invisible world of those living with the life-altering effects of COVID-19.
Long COVID is a chronic condition affecting one or more organ systems that occurs after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and lingers for at least three months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state. Despite its prevalence, the condition remains widely misunderstood, under-researched, and stigmatized.
The Living with Long COVID exhibition brings these realities to light and offers a unique opportunity to intimately understand Long COVID through the eyes of those living it.
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COVID ages women’s blood vessels, according to a study
COVID-19 causes women’s blood vessels to age prematurely, according to an international study involving two researchers from Université Laval. The disease should therefore be considered an additional risk factor in cardiovascular health analyses. Specifically, in those who have developed severe symptoms, they warn.
The aging of blood vessels results in greater rigidity, which can increase the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases.
“The heart must work a little harder to propel blood through the arterial system, and this causes variations in pressure that can damage sensitive organs, including the brain and kidneys,” explains Catherine Fortier, a kinesiologist and researcher in vascular aging at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Uncovering the Molecular Basis of Long COVID Brain Fog
Researchers use a specialized brain imaging technique to identify a potential biomarker and therapeutic target of Long COVID
Long COVID is a chronic condition that causes cognitive problems known as “brain fog,” but its biological mechanisms remain largely unclear. Now, researchers from Japan used a novel imaging technique to visualize AMPA receptors—key molecules for memory and learning—in the living brain. They discovered that higher AMPA receptor density in patients with Long COVID was closely tied to the severity of their symptoms, highlighting these molecules as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
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Long Covid Risk for Children Doubles After a Second Infection, Study Finds
Children and teenagers are twice as likely to develop long Covid after a second coronavirus infection as after an initial infection, a large new study has found.
The study, of nearly a half-million people under 21, published Tuesday in Lancet Infectious Diseases, provides evidence that Covid reinfections can increase the risk of long-term health consequences and contradicts the idea that being infected a second time might lead to a milder outcome, medical experts said.
Dr. Laura Malone, director of the Pediatric Post-Covid-19 Rehabilitation Clinic at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, who was not involved in the study, said the findings echo the experience of patients in her clinic.
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