Hastings Prince Edward Public Health officials reported eight new high-risk cases as of April 17 in the region, the same as in the previous reporting period.
The health unit also reported eight active high-risk cases, the same as in the last health unit report.
There were no new deaths attributed to COVID-19 leaving the number of deaths since the pandemic to 150 in the region.
Comments closedHamiltonians at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 infection are eligible for vaccination this spring.
In an April 19 news release, Hamilton public health services announced it’s joining forces with the Ontario Ministry of Health to administer vaccine doses to high-risk community members.
Comments closedThe World Health Organization (WHO) and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
The Geneva-based U.N. health agency released a technical document on the topic on Thursday. It said it was the first step toward working out how to better prevent this kind of transmission, both for existing diseases like measles and for future pandemic threats.
Comments closedMpox cases in Ontario are on the rise, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is warning local doctors and nurses.
The province has reported 26 cases so far in 2024, with OPH noting in its Wednesday statement that four had been confirmed in Ottawa.
Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is a rare viral disease that is typically endemic in some central and west African countries.
Comments closedLast year, Chicago resident Emily Dupree attended a concert with her partner, who caught COVID-19 at the show. While Dupree treated her sick partner and tried to avoid getting ill in their shared home, some thoughts began to form in her mind. Dupree and her partner still wore masks everywhere they went, and had adopted air purification in their home early in the pandemic to mitigate the risk of transmission. But she knew that wasn’t the case for most people.
Around this time, Dupree came across a question the father of prolific abolitionist organizer Mariame Kaba used to ask her when she was frustrated: “It sounds like this is something you are very upset about. What will you do about it?” That question helped Dupree “channel a lot of despair I was feeling during the pandemic into concrete action,” she told Teen Vogue. And Clean Air Club was born.
Comments closedQuebec appears to be winning its battle against the rising tide of measles after 45 cases were confirmed province-wide this year.
“We’ve had no locally transmitted measles cases since March 25, so that’s good news,” said Dr. Paul Le Guerrier, responsible for immunization for Montreal Public Health.
There are 17 patients with measles in Quebec currently, and the most recent case is somebody who was infected while abroad, he said.
Comments closedAdvocates say a disability benefit that was supposed to be a historic move to lift people out of poverty turned out to be a disappointment in the federal budget.
The new Canada Disability Benefit will provide a maximum of $2,400 a year—or $200 a month — for low-income people with disabilities.
The benefit is expected to be given to about 600,000 people and won’t kick in until July 2025.
Comments closedTORONTO, April 17, 2024 – OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and members working at Public Health Ontario (PHO) Labs were at Queen’s Park today to sound the alarm about the potential closure of six (6) out of 11 PHO labs in Ontario, and the risk it poses for all Ontarians – especially rural families and communities.
“If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that public health should never be taken for granted,” said Hornick. “Like many choices made by this government, if Premier Ford decides to shutter the doors of these 6 labs it will be short-sighted and dangerous.”
Comments closedManitoba indicated that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines will be discontinued as of May 1. The vaccination campaign will resume in autumn 2024.
A provincial spokesperson says the province has taken this approach based on scientific evidence and advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
Based on seasonal trends in respiratory viruses in Manitoba, a dose administered in the fall is more likely to provide protection when respiratory virus circulation levels are higher, he said.
Comments closedMichael Gordon Jackson acknowledged some people might view what he did — taking his then seven-year-old daughter on the run across Western Canada — as…
Comments closedA New Brunswicker aged 45 to 64 has died from COVID-19, while the flu sent eight people to the hospital, including two youth aged five to 19, updated data from the province Tuesday shows.
“COVID-19 activity remains moderate,” according to the Respiratory Watch report. “Some indicators (number of cases, percent positivity, and hospitalizations) decreased slightly during the current reporting period, between March 31 and April 6.
Influenza activity remained “relatively stable,” it says.
Comments closedComments closedThese findings provide further evidence supporting the effectiveness of the elimination strategy for minimising mortality from the pandemic.
Montreal’s first family health clinic adapted to Indigenous people’s needs officially opened its doors on Friday morning.
The Native Montreal Family Clinic project, which was launched in 2021, is being led by Native Montréal to ensure the deployment and sustainability of health and social services adapted to the identity and specific needs of the Indigenous clientele in the metropolitan area.
Health Minister Christian Dubé made the announcement on Friday alongside the Minister responsible for Relations with First Nations and Inuit, Ian Lafrenière.
Comments closedA new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there is no evidence to suggest COVID vaccines cause sudden cardiac death or other fatal heart problems in young people.
Comments closedThe recent detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has been confirmed in three additional dairy herds in Michigan counties: Ionia, Isabella, and Ottawa, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said Friday. That brought the total to four affected counties, with Montcalm County the first to detect the disease in a dairy herd about two weeks earlier.
Comments closedWhen COVID-19 first reared its head back in 2019, it brought with it a slew of strange symptoms beyond just respiratory problems. One of the most puzzling symptoms in those early days was something called “brain fog” — cognitive issues like confusion, forgetfulness, and trouble focusing.
And while other symptoms have changed as the virus mutated, brain fog is still a common complaint of COVID sufferers not only during the initial illness, but extending for months or even years afterwards. Several recent studies have been trying to understand exactly what this virus is doing to our brains — and how to stop it.
Comments closed