The verdict is in on the nation’s light touch approach. More died. Herd immunity proved a mirage.
Comments closedCategory: News
Topic: New ZealandView all posts for the topic: New Zealand
New Zealand’s Covid strategy was one of the world’s most successful – what can we learn from it?
Two weeks ago marked the two-year anniversary of New Zealand’s adoption of the elimination strategy and a lockdown that successfully stamped out the first wave of Covid-19. By chance, it was also the week that the government announced a major relaxation of Covid-19 control measures in response to the Omicron variant wave sweeping the country.
Comments closedTopic: indoor air qualityView all posts for the topic: indoor air quality
All Yukon classrooms will have HEPA filters soon
Every Yukon classroom will have a portable air filtration unit by the end of the school year, according to the territory’s Department of Education.
Comments closedTopic: SwedenView all posts for the topic: Sweden
Column: Did Sweden beat the pandemic by refusing to lock down? No, its record is disastrous
Throughout much of the pandemic, Sweden has stood out for its ostensibly successful effort to beat COVID-19 while avoiding the harsh lockdowns and social distancing rules imposed on residents of other developed nations.
Swedish residents were able to enjoy themselves at bars and restaurants, their schools remained open, and somehow their economy thrived and they remained healthy. So say their fans, especially on the anti-lockdown right.
A new study by European scientific researchers buries all those claims in the ground. Published in Nature, the study paints a devastating picture of Swedish policies and their effects.
Comments closedTopic: diabetesView all posts for the topic: diabetes
Diabetes risk rises after COVID, massive study finds
People who get COVID-19 have a greater risk of developing diabetes up to a year later, even after a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared with those who never had the disease, a massive study of almost 200,000 people shows.
Comments closedTopic: zero COVIDView all posts for the topic: zero COVID
The ‘zero-Covid’ approach got bad press, but it worked – and it could work again
The places that chose to pursue elimination suffered less overall. Unfortunately, few had the determination to do so.
Comments closedTopic: heart diseaseView all posts for the topic: heart disease
Even Mild COVID Can Increase the Risk of Heart Problems
Overall, the risk of any heart complication over the course of one year was 63 percent higher in people who had gotten COVID compared with those in the contemporary control group. At the end of a year, there were 45 additional cardiovascular events—such as stroke or heart failure—per 1,000 people among those who tested positive for COVID.
Comments closedTopic: brain shrinkageView all posts for the topic: brain shrinkage
Covid can shrink brain and damage its tissue, finds research
The first major study to compare brain scans of people before and after they catch Covid has revealed shrinkage and tissue damage in regions linked to smell and mental capacities months after subjects tested positive.
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Les jeunes ne sont pas épargnés par la COVID de longue durée
“But the void in my brain is still there. I’m young and I feel like I have a brain that’s gone off the rails.”
Comments closedTopic: long COVIDView all posts for the topic: long COVID
Faire le deuil de sa vie d’avant à cause de la « COVID longue »
Comments closedIt’s really debilitating. It’s like my battery is still at 5% at all times and it empties quickly.
Topic: convoy occupationView all posts for the topic: convoy occupation
Anti-vaccine protest in Canada spurs outrage
In a scene at odds with Canadians’ reputation for niceness and rule-following, thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital over the weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill.
Some urinated and parked on the National War Memorial. One danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A number carried signs and flags with swastikas.
In the aftermath of Canada’s biggest pandemic protest to date, the demonstrators have found little sympathy in a country where more than 80% are vaccinated. Many people were outraged by some of the crude behavior.
Comments closedTopic: human rightsView all posts for the topic: human rights
Human rights complaint filed against B.C. health-care authority over N95 respirator ban
A class complaint has been filed at the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against a regional health-care authority over their policy prohibiting hospital patients and visitors from using N95 respirators.
The complaint was filed by Vancouver resident Lena Patsa on Wednesday against Fraser Health, the province’s largest health-care authority by population.
Comments closedTopic: ManitobaView all posts for the topic: Manitoba
High schoolers walk out to protest lax COVID policies
High school students across Manitoba walked out of class last Monday to demand improved COVID-19 safety measures as in-person learning resumes.
Organized by the group MB Students for COVID Safety, the walkout’s demands included the option to return to remote learning if students wish and increased funding for safety measures for those who prefer in-person learning.
Comments closedTopic: N95 respiratorsView all posts for the topic: N95 respirators
Burnaby mask maker that says B.C. isn’t following science donates 100K N95 respirators to teachers
Burnaby mask company Vitacore is being thanked by the union that represents B.C. teachers for donating 100,000 respirators to its members.
Comments closedIf you’re still wearing a cloth or surgical mask when you’re out and about, it’s time to rethink your face covering.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to update its mask advice this week to best reflect the available options and the different levels of protection they provide, a CDC official told CNN Tuesday.
Comments closedTopic: N95 respiratorsView all posts for the topic: N95 respirators
The N95 Is the Mask We All Should Be Wearing. Here’s Why
Properly worn, it’s vastly superior against Omicron. Say it loud and ramp up its availability.
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