The City of Hamilton says it is investigating a confirmed case of measles.
Hamilton Public Health (HPH) says the confirmed case is tied to a Hamilton area child and they are investigating several local exposures.
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Topic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu
Urgent CDC Data and Analyses on Influenza and Bird Flu Go Missing as Outbreaks Escalate
Sonya Stokes, an emergency room physician in the San Francisco Bay Area, braces herself for a daily deluge of patients sick with coughs, soreness, fevers,…
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11 new measles cases confirmed: Grand Erie Public Health
Another 11 cases of measles have been confirmed by Grand Erie Public Health, bringing the total cases to 48 in the Brantford/Brant, Haldimand/Norfolk area.
One person is recovering in hospital, according to a news release, and the health unit is busy trying to contact those who may have been exposed to that person but the infection source is “unknown at this time.”
The cases involve 42 children and six adults. There are another 19 cases known in the Southwestern Public Health area.
A spokesperson for the Grand Erie health agency said all but one of the cases is from the Haldimand-Norfolk area, with just one case in Brantford-Brant.
Comments closedTopic: kakistocracyView all posts for the topic: kakistocracy
Scientists React to RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation as HHS Secretary
Comments closedThe future of America as a superpower in research appears grim. Even on issues he claims he supports, he does not follow scientific evidence. Picking a person like this to lead is like having the wolf guard the sheep.
Topic: kakistocracyView all posts for the topic: kakistocracy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as Trump’s health secretary after a close Senate vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, putting the prominent vaccine skeptic in control of $1.7 trillion in federal spending, vaccine recommendations and food safety as well as health insurance programs for roughly half the country.
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Canadian residents are racing to save the data in Trump’s crosshairs
The call to Angela Rasmussen came out of the blue and posed a troubling question. Had she heard the rumour that key data sets would be removed from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website the next day?
It’s something Rasmussen had thought could never happen.
“It had never really been thought of before that CDC would actually start deleting some of these crucial public health data sets,” said the University of Saskatchewan virologist. “These data are really, really important for everybody’s health — not just in the U.S. but around the world.”
The following day, Jan. 31, Rasmussen started to see data disappear. She knew she needed to take action.
Comments closedTopic: kakistocracyView all posts for the topic: kakistocracy
Here are all the agencies that Elon Musk and DOGE have been trying to dismantle so far
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency group has made swift work of the billionaire’s goal to scale back or dismantle much of the federal government, end diversity policies and otherwise further President Donald Trump’s agenda.
DOGE employees, many of whom have no government experience, have been going through data systems, shutting down DEI programs and in some cases, whole agencies.
As of Feb. 10, ABC has tracked Musk and his DOGE team gaining access to at least 15 federal agencies.
Comments closedTopic: kakistocracyView all posts for the topic: kakistocracy
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Cuts to Medical Research Funding
A coalition of 22 attorneys general sued the federal government, claiming that the $4 billion in cuts would “grind to a halt” studies on cancer, heart disease and other conditions.
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the National Institutes of Health from cutting research funding in 22 states that filed suit earlier in the day arguing that the plan would eviscerate studies into treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and a host of other ailments.
The funding cuts, announced late Friday, were to take effect on Monday. But the attorneys general of Massachusetts and 21 other states sued. They argued that the Trump administration’s plan to slash $4 billion in overhead costs — known as “indirect costs” — violated a 79-year-old law that governs how administrative agencies establish and administer regulations.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Long COVID patients show brain swelling linked to memory and concentration problems, study finds
Long COVID patients exhibit swelling in an area of the brain linked to memory problems, poor concentration and delayed responses during conversations, researchers have found.…
Comments closedTopic: kakistocracyView all posts for the topic: kakistocracy
Five Former Treasury Secretaries: Our Democracy Is Under Siege
When we had the honor of being sworn in as the 70th, 71st, 75th, 76th and 78th secretaries of the Treasury, we took an oath to support and defend the United States Constitution.
Our roles were multifaceted. We sought to develop sound policy to advance the president’s agenda and represent the economic interests of the United States on the world stage. But in doing that, we recognized that our most fundamental responsibility was the faithful execution of the laws and Constitution of the United States.
We were fortunate that during our tenures in office no effort was made to unlawfully undermine the nation’s financial commitments. Regrettably, recent reporting gives substantial cause for concern that such efforts are underway today.
Comments closedTopic: kakistocracyView all posts for the topic: kakistocracy
NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately
The Trump administration is cutting billions of dollars in biomedical research funding, alarming academic leaders who said it would imperil their universities and medical centers and drawing swift rebukes from Democrats who predicted dire consequences for scientific research.
The move, announced Friday night by the National Institutes of Health, drastically cuts NIH’s funding for “indirect” costs related to research. These are the administrative requirements, facilities and other operations that many scientists say are essential but that some Republicans have claimed are superfluous.
Comments closedTopic: USAIDView all posts for the topic: USAID
I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere.
We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history. Less than three weeks into Donald Trump’s second term, he, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have halted the U.S. Agency for International Development’s aid programs around the world. In so doing, they have imperiled millions of lives, thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars of investment in American small businesses and farms while severely undermining our national security and global influence — all while authoritarians and extremists celebrate their luck.
I am shocked by the gleeful assault perpetrated by our own government against U.S.A.I.D.’s programs and the public servants who work on them. But after running the agency for four years, I am not surprised that the attacks are being cheered by Moscow and Beijing. They understand what those seeking to dismantle the agency are desperate to hide from the American people: U.S.A.I.D. has become America’s superpower in a world defined by threats that cross borders and amid growing strategic competition.
Comments closedTopic: SaskatchewanView all posts for the topic: Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan government working on COVID vaccination plan after feds discontinue supply
With province[s] now responsible for purchasing COVID-19 vaccines, the Government of Saskatchewan says it’s figuring out what the coming flu season response will be.
The federal government announced in early January that it would stop funding COVID-19 vaccines this year, with provinces and territories now responsible for buying, determining the timing and rollout of the vaccinations.
Comments closedTopic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
Nasal COVID-19 vaccine based on WashU technology to enter U.S. clinical trials
A nasal vaccine for COVID-19 – based on technology developed at Washington University in St. Louis – is poised to enter a phase 1 clinical trial in the U.S. after an investigational new drug application from Ocugen, Inc. was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ocugen, a U.S.-based biotechnology company, licensed the innovative technology from WashU in 2022.
The trial will be sponsored and conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The FDA’s action is a critical first step toward initiation of the phase 1 trial, planned for this spring.
While cases of COVID-19 have fallen dramatically since the early years of the pandemic, the virus continues to circulate and still causes significant illnesses and deaths. The nasal vaccine technology is designed to induce strong immunity in the nose and upper respiratory tract, right where the virus enters the body, thereby potentially stopping transmission of the virus in addition to reducing serious illness and death. Most COVID-19 vaccines are injected into the arm or leg, and while they are effective at reducing illness and death, they do not halt transmission. The new trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine administered via two routes: inhaled into the lungs and sprayed into the nose.
Comments closedTopic: Trump regimeView all posts for the topic: Trump regime
Deaths predicted amid the chaos of Elon Musk’s shutdown of USAid
The impact of the billionaire’s declaration has been swift and brutal, with food and crucial drugs abandoned in warehouses, vital programmes closed and workers laid off
Critical supplies of life-saving medicines have been blocked and children left without food and battling malnutrition as multiple effects were reported across the globe after Elon Musk resolved to shut down the US government’s pre-eminent international aid agency.
Chaotic scenes were seen in scores of countries as aid organisations warned of the risk of escalating disease and famine along with disastrous repercussions in areas such as family planning and girls’ education, after President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze funding to USAid. In 2023, the agency managed more than $40bn (£32bn).
Comments closedIn early February 2020, China locked down more than 50 million people, hoping to hinder the spread of a new coronavirus. No one knew at the time exactly how it was spreading, but Lidia Morawska, an expert on air quality at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, did not like the clues she managed to find.
It looked to her as if the coronavirus was spreading through the air, ferried by wafting droplets exhaled by the infected. If that were true, then standard measures such as disinfecting surfaces and staying a few feet away from people with symptoms would not be enough to avoid infection.
Dr. Morawska and her colleague, Junji Cao at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, drafted a dire warning. Ignoring the airborne spread of the virus, they wrote, would lead to many more infections. But when the scientists sent their commentary to medical journals, they were rejected over and over again.
Comments closedTopic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta
A Canadian Province Released a COVID Report Full of Pseudoscience. Who Wrote It, and Why?
Last week the province of Alberta published a report on its pandemic-response calling for COVID vaccines to be restricted to “high-risk groups” and to stop “their use in healthy children and teenagers.” A mix of vaccine skeptics, fringe academics, and a Trump-appointee were behind it.
The report also recommends regulators, namely the province’s medical licensing body, be stripped of powers to discipline doctors who promote risky and ineffective off-label treatments.
The report has garnered nationwide criticism from the scientific and medical communities, with dozens of experts calling on the government to officially dismiss the report in an open letter. Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the Canadian Medical Association, said the report was “an unfortunate use of public dollars” that funneled CAD$2,000,000 into furthering misinformation. She said it will cause harm globally, as it will be referenced in jurisdictions outside of Canada.
Comments closedTopic: Trump regimeView all posts for the topic: Trump regime
CDC Data Are Disappearing
Last night, scientists began to hear cryptic and foreboding warnings from colleagues: Go to the CDC website, and download your data now. They were all telling one another the same thing: Data on the website were about to disappear, or be altered, to comply with the Trump administration’s ongoing attempt to scrub federal agencies of any mention of gender, DEI, and accessibility. “I was up until 2 a.m.,” Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan who relies on the CDC’s data to track viral outbreaks, told me. She archived whatever she could.
What they feared quickly came to pass. Already, content from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which includes data from a national survey, has disappeared; so have parts of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Social Vulnerability Index and the Environmental Justice Index. The CDC’s landing page for HIV data has also vanished. And the agency’s AtlasPlus tool, which contains nearly 20 years of CDC surveillance data on HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis, is down. Several scientists I talked with told me they had heard directly from contacts at the CDC that the agency has directed employees to scrub any mention of “gender” from its site and the data that it shares there, replacing it with “sex.”
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