Nick Tsergas
@nicktsergas
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Health News Editor at @CanHealthwatch . Registered Nurse. Tweets are representative of my opinions only, but maybe yours too.
Hamilton, Ontario
Joined February 2017
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A paralyzed man chose MAiD after being left on a stretcher for four days without proper care.
This is a dire wake-up call—when it's easier to opt for assisted death than it is to receive basic care, we've failed.
Quadriplegic Quebec man chooses assisted dying after 4-day ER stay leaves horrific bedsore
@Rachel_Wattsmtl
— Canada's hub for health news 🍁
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Without media shining sunlight on this deal, it would have gone ahead.
Support journalism.
Manulife to cover specialty drugs at any pharmacy after backlash over Loblaw deal
@SammyHudes
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@canadianpress
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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This is good advice that the public needs to hear.
The two-dose vaccine schedule for measles wasn't introduced until 1996.
Anyone born before '96 who hasn't had measles should check their immune status—you might think you're immune, but not be.
Check you're fully immunized against measles, Public Health Agency of Canada urges
@nicireland_news
|
@CanadianPress
–
@GovCanHealth
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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The data shows that COVID deaths among cancer patients younger than 50 were 64% higher during the peak of Omicron than they were in 2020.
This raises some pretty serious questions about the wisdom of relaxing public health measures at a time when these people needed protection…
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Something I've noticed lately.
When I advocate for health measures like improving air quality in schools and hospitals, I get hit with a wave of backlash. Nothing I can't handle, but... (1/4)
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Groundbreaking study shows exhaled SARS-CoV-2 can infect others in minutes. Just being in the same room with an infected person is enough.
Are we doing enough to protect ourselves?
Infectivity of exhaled SARS-CoV-2 aerosols is sufficient to transmit covid-19 within minutes
via
@Nature
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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The pushback is never actually about the specifics of what I'm saying.
It's as if these individuals are reacting to the broader narrative around COVID actually being bad for you, and as if they are personally offended by the very existence of public health itself. (2/4)
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They seem to see any advocacy for health measures, including better air quality, which we know makes us all healthier and compromises exactly no one's freedoms, as part of some larger nefarious agenda. (3/4)
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The Ontario government is quietly privatizing hospital services. 💸
Not only is this a costly endeavour, it's a threat to the healthcare we all rely on. Even if you're not using public healthcare now, you'll need it someday—and it might not be there.
New report analyzes Ford government’s privatization of surgeries and diagnostic procedures
via
@ccpa
@a_longhurst
@CUPEOntario
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Provinces outsourcing surgeries to private clinics should look closely at Quebec.
They've scaled up private surgeries for years, and waitlists have actually gotten worse.
The crux of the issue lies in the severe shortage of medical personnel, not the choice of surgical venue.
Quebec's wait lists for orthopedic surgery have doubled in four years
@Aaron_Derfel
|
@mtlgazette
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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Allegations against Shoppers for billing the Ontario government $60-$75 for often unnecessary MedsChecks.
Critics say the practice adds admin burden to family doctors' workload and misuses funds meant for comprehensive primary care.
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What do we do about it? The real challenge isn't just advocating for common-sense health measures. It's about framing these discussions in a way that sidesteps the ideological landmines. How? I don't know. (4/4)
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The Ford government is paying a private clinic more for OHIP surgeries than public hospitals. Much more... 💸
This challenges the narrative of 'efficiency' through privatization. Why not invest this extra funding directly into our public healthcare, where it is sorely needed?
Ontario government paying for-profit clinic up to 3.2 times more than hospitals for OHIP-covered surgeries
from
@CBCQueensPark
|
@CBCNews
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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New Brunswick's Chief Medical Officer just broke ranks with her counterparts across Canada, acknowledging that
#COVIDisAirborne
.
The timing is notable. Her comments came after both a resignation announcement the '60 Minutes' exposé. This has the feeling of a pivotal moment.
WATCH:
New Brunswick's Chief Medical Officer of Health acknowledges airborne spread of SARS-CoV-2
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Wab Kinew just flipped the script on how to win an election.
These weren't just talking points, but costed-out policies aimed at fixing healthcare:
- Reopen closed ERs
- 130+ new beds
- 4 new family medical centers
- Hire 300 nurses, 400 physicians
- Free birth control
Other premiers take note: The Manitoba election was won with bold and detailed health care promises
from
@picardonhealth
via
@globeandmail
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Measles cases soaring to 9 million globally, deaths up by 43%. 136,000 lives lost last year, mostly among kids, from a disease we can prevent.
Why are we still facing this in 2023?
World Health Organization warns of 'relentlessly increasing threat' of measles
from
@allisonbamford
|
@CTV
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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With the pandemic raging, and the apparent disintegration of public health mitigations, it's necessary to ask how we got here. This article from May 2021, a relic of the distant past, provides crucial background.
Here's a thread of my thoughts on it 🧵 1/
The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill (from May 2021)
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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In one week, Shoppers billed $1,423,900 in
#MedsChecks
in Ontario. During the same week, Shoppers pharmacies in the Vancouver area billed $27,210
When asked if they use billing targets, Shoppers' president said:
"We don't have targets or any other kind of element like that."
Shoppers Drug Mart says it doesn't have medication review targets, but records show it does
@nicolebrockbank
@angelinaaking
@LoriRWard
— Canada's hub for healthcare news 🍁
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Data from the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Netherlands, and Germany all point to the same conclusion.
Private equity ownership of health services is linked to worse patient outcomes and higher costs to taxpayers.
Protecting public healthcare from private investors
@DanyaalRaza
@karenpalmeryvr
— Canada's hub for health news 🍁
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In 30 minutes, you can build a Corsi-Rosenthal box that removes viruses from the air around you, including flu, RSV and COVID.
Rigorous EPA testing just showed that CR boxes remove 97% of infectious aerosols in 30 minutes.
Why aren't these in every school and office?
EPA Testing Shows the Power of DIY Air Filters to Trap Viruses
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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I don't always use a siren emoji but in this case.. 🚨
Infants exposed to COVID in the womb faced ~ 4x higher incidence of developmental delays vs those who weren't exposed. No one in the study cohort was vaccinated.
Remember the concern over Zika-linked birth defects?
Study shows infants exposed to COVID in utero at risk for developmental delay
via
@CIDRAP
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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COVID, flu, RSV just starting to hit hospitals hard 🏥
Fuelling the storm:
- low vaccine uptake
- few people masking, fewer wearing respirators
- critical understaffing
Pandemics don't end just because we want them to.
Brace for impact.
COVID outbreaks continuing as Ottawa heads for repeat of triple-demic
from
@egpayne
|
@OttawaCitizen
, img credit
@Billius27
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Study reveals shingles vaccine may slash dementia risk by nearly 20%!
Subsidizing this vaccine could be a key step in promoting the health of our population.
Causal evidence that herpes zoster vaccination prevents a proportion of dementia cases — Study preprint
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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The PBO report on single-payer pharmacare suggests it'll be a pretty big win for Canadians.
Costing the government around $13B per year—about a billion per province/territory—it'd save us $2.2B annually by 2027.
Canadians' out-of-pocket drug costs would fall by 47% to 100% 💊
Cost estimate of a single-payer universal drug plan
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Maybe today is a good day for a travel advisory
Florida defies CDC in measles outbreak, telling parents it's fine to send unvaccinated kids to school
@amymaxmen
|
@CBSNews
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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70% of Canadians voice a clear mandate: Prioritize public healthcare and limit private sector expansion.
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Ontario underspent on our healthcare by a whopping $1.7 billion last year, according to
@globeandmail
. 📉
Let that sink in a bit. Should we really be in a rush to "reform" our service models due to ER closures? Maybe instead we just invest appropriately in our public system.
Ontario underspent health budget by $1.7-billion in 2022-23, watchdog says
More health news at
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New research reveals a truth many won't want to hear:
⚠️ COVID infection imparts a 65% increased risk of developing hypertension in the long-term.
It's not just a cold. It's an insidious threat to our long-term health.
Global burden of new-onset hypertension associated with SARS-CoV-2
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Ambulances pile up, hospitals overflow, and patients are asked not to seek care.
Calls to recall the legislature are getting louder. Decisive action is needed, not statements.
We need our governments to transcend partisanship and resuscitate healthcare – will they?
Ford government under fire over ER wait times
@RichardCityNews
&
@mikejvisser
|
@CityNewsTO
🔗 Stay in the know with — Bookmark us for daily health updates 📌
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A dystopian scene is unfolding in Red Deer. Patients are crammed into makeshift treatment spaces, with tarps and duct tape dividing their fates.
Alberta currently boasts a $5 billion surplus, so money isn't the issue.
Red Deer ER uses tarps secured with duct tape to create more space for patients
via Susan Zielinski |
@RedDeerAdvocate
🔗 Canada's hub for healthcare news and insights: 🍁
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The 550% surge in hospital spending on agency nurses is a giant red flag 🚩
This is unsustainable and poses a serious risk to our healthcare system. We need to address what is driving nurses away and invest in solutions to retain them in the public system.
'Alarming trend': More nurses leaving public healthcare, Canada's nurses unions launch study
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🍁
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Retired nurse Stephanie Champ is advocating for free RSV vaccines for all seniors in Canada, not just those in long-term care.
At a price of $300, many can't afford it. Given the vaccine's 82% effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations, it's a no-brainer for public health.
Retired nurse pushing for new RSV vaccine to be free for all seniors in Canada
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Did 10,000 people in northern Ontario just lose their access to primary healthcare?
You bet.
Group Health Centre's decision to de-roster 10,000 patients due to a doctor shortage is alarming. Another indicator of the emergence of healthcare deserts in our rural communities.
Doctor shortage forces Sault Ste. Marie health group to drop 10,000 patients
@SooToday
🍁 : Canada's hub for health news
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ER wait times. They're worse than they've ever been, but why?
Ontario data shows a rising proportion of patients who are seriously ill—not minor cases coming to emerg—is placing strain on the system.
This isn't explained by immigration or population growth. What's behind this?
Ontario government document shows emergency department wait times are worse than they've ever been
@jessiecatherine
|
@Thetrilliumca
🔗 Stay informed with — Bookmark for daily health updates 📌
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Canadian nursing leaders are now urging governments to regulate private nursing agencies.
They say the agencies divert public funds and make it harder for public healthcare to retain staff, contributing to nationwide staffing shortages.
@CFNU
Canadian nurses’ unions urge politicians to crack down on for-profit nursing agencies
from
@kellygrant1
via
@globeandmail
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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In 2019 12% of parents were vaccine-hesitant, now that number is 33%.
We need a vaccination rate of 95% to prevent measles outbreaks and epidemics.
17% of parents say they are “really against” vaccinating their kids, a four-fold increase from 2019
@AngusReid
|
@angusreidorg
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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Pandemic parenting win! ✨
A new Canadian study shows preschoolers' cognitive development got a boost with parents at home more between March 2020—June 2022.
Canadian study suggests having parents at home in early pandemic helped some children develop their vocabulary
from
@mjflepage
|
@newscientist
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Imagine your hospital exec spending $470K on travel while infrastructure crumbles and staff are drowning. That's the LHSC story.
Makes one wonder. If such blatant misuse of funds can happen there, who's to say it's not a wider problem in Canadian hospitals?
London hospital CEO takes leave in wake of $470K travel controversy, ministry probe
from
@NormatLFPress
|
@LFPress
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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COVID-19 is not just a respiratory illness. ⚠️
Emerging research suggests that the virus could be speeding up the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Horrific stuff.
Preprint:
COVID might speed up neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🍁
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Years of underfunding led to Ontario's ER crisis, and now they're privatizing the fix? 🚩
This is a very expensive band-aid for a self-inflicted wound.
Ontario government announces new funding stream for private agency nurses to maintain staffing in rural ERs
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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10,435 people were in B.C. hospitals as of Tuesday night, the most ever.
B.C. hospital admissions break historical record as respiratory illness season nears peak
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The Canadian Covid Society has now formed, advocating for a comprehensive pandemic response beyond vaccines.
Promoting public understanding of airborne transmission and multi-layer protections, the CCS is sure to be a strong and enduring voice for science-based policy.
Introducing the Canadian Covid Society—because it is needed
by
@jvipondmd
@chris_m_h
@KashPrime
@RougeMatisse
&
@LadyScorcher
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Another wake up call. Is anyone listening?
Patient dies after waiting 33 hours in ER hallway, Winnipeg health officials investigating
from
@searlety
|
@WinnipegNews
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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COVID is just the flu.
A talking point we've all heard before. 😐
@zalaly
's new research in
@theLancet
addresses it head-on—and obliterates it.
Compared to flu, which mainly affects the lungs, COVID poses higher risks to all body systems, pointing to its multisystemic nature.
Long-term outcomes following hospital admission for COVID-19 versus seasonal influenza: a cohort study
from
@zalaly
, et al |
@TheLancetInfDis
🔗 Canada's hub for healthcare news and insights: 🍁
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Imagine your local hospital closing its ER, permanently. Or, doctors working around the clock, sometimes without pay.
These are realities in Ontario and Alberta.
Important updates today that we'll want to keep eyes on. 👀
❗️ Ontario hospitals near a fiscal breaking point, potentially leading to service cuts, especially in rural areas.
❗️ Alberta ER docs have been seeing patients without being paid, for nearly 2 years.
These updates and more:
🔗
☝️ 👆
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These two news stories juxtaposed do tell a tale.
‘Huge wake-up call’: Quarter of Ontario hospitals are in poor condition, documents reveal
from
@ColinDMello
&
@isaaccallan
via
@globalnews
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🍁
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A large outbreak of measles has broken out in England, apparently due to parents' reluctance to vaccinate their kids.
More than 50 children have been hospitalized in the last month.
Major Measles Outbreak Erupts In England As Vaccine Hesitancy Increases
🔒
@JoshuaPCohen1
|
@Forbes
🔗 Stay informed with — Bookmark for daily health updates 📌
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I don't blame
@KyroMaseh
one bit.
His story raises key questions.
Did any other province give Shoppers Drug Mart complete control over distributing vaccines to their competitors? Or is this just a Ontario thing?
If I'm being very kind.. it's an odd choice.
Independent pharmacist suspends delivery of COVID and flu shots, citing flawed vaccine rollout in Ontario
via
@CTV
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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For the first time ever, a tick carrying Lyme was just found in NWT.
This is a direct consequence of climate change driving tick habitats further north. Are we prepared for a near future that includes the spread of vector-borne diseases in previously unaffected regions?
Tick carrying Lyme disease bacteria found on dog in N.W.T.
🔗 Canada's hub for healthcare news and insights: 🍁
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Between 2022 and 2023, measles cases across Europe and Central Asia rose from 909 to over 30,000 as of this month.
In terms of red flags, that's about as big and wavy as they get.
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Shocking but unsurprising..
1 in 9 Canadians have grappled with long-COVID. That's 3.5 million people. Think about the impact on daily life and productivity.
Most common symptoms? Brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath. This is a silent crisis unfolding. We can't ignore it.
1 in 9 Canadian adults have experienced long-term COVID symptoms, StatsCan says
from
@nicireland_news
|
@CanadianPress
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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In the fight against misinformation, here's some real talk:
'Immunity debt' has no scientific backing. ⚠️
If we followed immunity debt to its logical conclusion, we'd be back to cholera in our drinking water and open sewers. It's a dangerous backward step for public health.
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Ontario's health system is bleeding money, paying exorbitant markups to staffing agencies.
💸 Hospitals pay up to $160/hr for agency nurses 💸
A staff nurse in the public system starts at $35.52/hr. Once they reach the highest level of seniority they top out at $61.60/hr.
How nursing staffing agencies are costing Ontario hospitals untold millions
from
@CBCQueensPark
|
@CBCNews
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Continued fallout from the
#MedsChecks
story. 👀
Shoppers is now on the receiving end of a class action from pharmacists alleging encroachment on their professional autonomy.
A Loblaws spokesperson said ‘this case has no merit whatsoever'
Shoppers Drug Mart faces proposed class action for alleged 'unethical corporate practices'
@nicolebrockbank
@angelinaaking
— Canada's hub for health news 🍁
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Last week, over 1,500 students and 150 school staff in York Region were notified that they might have been exposed to measles.
Health minister ‘deeply concerned’ about rise of measles cases in Canada
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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The findings show that COVID is not just an acute illness for children but has long-term health implications.
How should this change our approach to pediatric COVID management? Should we be thinking more about practical interventions in schools and daycares?
Comparative study shows that children faced a 78% higher risk of new-onset conditions after catching COVID
from
@C_DiChiara_MD
, et al
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🍁
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Already kickin' off in Western Canada
It would be foolish (again) to assume this Fall’s mass (re)infections will build some sort of winning wall of immunity for the winter when a new more evasive and transmissible variant like JN.1 is already primed to take over here.
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Measles in Philadelphia: 8 cases, all unvaccinated. Some ignoring quarantine instructions.
What happened to our sense of collective responsibility and how do we get it back?
Philadelphia measles outbreak has hospitals on alert after child was sent to daycare despite quarantine instructions
@ariabendix
|
@NBCNews
🔗 Stay in the know with — Bookmark us for daily health updates 📌
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With 15,000 B.C. healthcare workers calling in sick each week—up from 9,000 on average in the before times—the province is bringing back masking across healthcare settings next week. 😷
'Continuous' masking returning to B.C. hospitals, clinics, care homes
from
@PennyDaflos
via
@CTVVancouver
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🍁
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The erosion of public health achievements due to political maneuvering is tragic, especially when it results in harm to the most vulnerable—children.
"In this day and age, no child should ever die of a preventable infectious disease. That’s not freedom—it’s a perversity."
The return of measles is cause for concern, not disdain
🔒
@picardonhealth
|
@globeandmail
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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Patients in hallways for days, overwhelmed staff, no solutions in sight. This is more than a crisis, it's collapse.
Unrelenting chaos, chronic gridlock in ER misery for patients, health-care staff
from
@WFPCarolSanders
|
@WinnipegNews
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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This is concerning
Speaking with
@RichardCityNews
, Ontario's CMoH, Dr. Kieran Moore said masking is currently not warranted in most circumstances, contradicting guidance from Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada.
Interview:
🍁
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Are we becoming numb to the healthcare crisis?
A constant barrage of stories about staff shortages and overcrowded ERs might make us think it's 'just another news day' But it's not.
If we don't demand accountability and action from our decisionmakers, the future looks bleak.
We can't let stories of overcrowded ERs, burned out staff and doctor shortages lose their sting
@Iamlisamachado
|
@healthing_ca
🍁 Canada's hub for health news:
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I recall vividly when my wife gave birth during the big Omicron peak, the hospital insisted we exchange our fitted respirators for loose surgical masks—we didn't.
Such misguided measures have done more than just fail to prevent the spread of COVID—they've eroded trust. 4/
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This map showing ER closures across Ontario (from
@ghost_gurney
) paints a concerning picture of healthcare access in rural communities.
It's a valuable visual testament to the urgency of addressing health disparities in Canada.
Map of Ontario ER closures
from
@ghost_gurney
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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The new dental plan is historic—targeting 9 million Canadians without private insurance, focusing on seniors, kids, and people with disabilities.
It's the biggest healthcare expansion in decades and is going to improve the health of millions of people.
This is progress. 🦷
Federal dental insurance program to be phased in starting May 2024, government officials say
🔗 Canada's hub for healthcare news and insights: 🍁
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Second, clear communication that SARS-CoV-2 is not merely a respiratory virus with immediate symptoms that either kill you or pass, leaving you as you were prior to infection, but a vascular disease with a post-acute phase that carries serious long-term health consequences. 7/
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⚠️ Record-high cases of Group A strep across Canada. 6 child deaths in Ontario since October. This is alarming.
The sharp increase raises urgent questions: What's driving it? How are we responding to it? Are we?
Aggressive, often deadly form of strep hits record-high case numbers in Canada
@LaurenPelley
,
@CBCQueensPark
|
@CBC
🔗 Stay informed with — Bookmark for daily health updates 📌
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New NACI guidance seems to suggest a Spring 2024 vaccination campaign will exclude most of the public ⚠️
Eligible groups for an additional XBB vaccine:
- over 65
- residents of senior living facilities
- immunocompromised
@ChiefSciCan
, am I understanding this correctly?
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Big one this week.
If you’re following
#H5N1
it’s worth checking out.
I’ll be off next week because we’re having (another) kid.
Don’t miss me too much ;)
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A community-funded billboard alerts passers-by to the inconvenient reality of long COVID. With gaps in public awareness, grassroots groups are stepping in.
Will health officials communicate the full extent of COVID's risks? Or must concerned citizens bear this responsibility?
Arguing long COVID is being downplayed, an advocate has launched this St. John's billboard
from
@ELWhitten
|
@CBCNews
🔗 Canada's hub for healthcare news and insights: 🍁
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This story just keeps going
Pharmacists' College exploring legal options to address allegations of corporate pressure at pharmacies
@rhiannaschmunk
@CBCNews
@OCPInfo
— Canada's hub for health news 🍁
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New U.S. research reveals a troubling trend in hospitals owned by private equity. The numbers show a 25.4% increase in things like infections and falls—a significant spike in harm done to patients.
It's a sign of what can go wrong when the main goal is profit, not patient care.
Patients in U.S. private-equity-owned hospitals get more infections and fall more often, says new Harvard study
from
@gmorgenson
|
@NBCNews
🔗 Canada's hub for healthcare news and insights: 🍁
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There's a glaring oversight in contemporary public health standards: indoor air quality.
With airborne viruses and wildfire pollution certain to cause health issues for millions, why is there still no comprehensive plan or political will to
#CleartheAir
?
Why We’re Still Breathing Dirty Indoor Air
from
@apoorva_nyc
|
@nytimes
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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In Ontario, on average, 1326 patients are treated in hallways daily.
Premier Ford promised to end this, but instead we're witnessing the highest levels ever. The government's solution: a bill—currently being challenged—allowing seniors to be placed in LTC homes without consent.
Hallway health care: Ontario Health metrics put numbers to strained system
via
@jessiecatherine
|
@Thetrilliumca
🔗 Canada's hub for healthcare news and insights: 🍁
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Keep 'em coming 👏
This just seems so reasonable to have in place. Serious question as to why hospital masking policies were removed in the first place?
Would be nice to have them reinstated at
@HamHealthSci
,
@RobMacIsaac
Masking guidelines reinstated for Montreal hospital health-care workers
The most important health news, in one place, at
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What's compelling about Fae's arguments is that they demand consideration regardless of your stance on trans issues.
When the power to determine medical practice is given to politicians, could this open a door to bans on IVF, stem cells, abortion, etc?
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The proliferation of private Nurse Practitioner clinics charging for services in Ontario is testing the principles of the Canada Health Act.
The government's ambiguous stance on these clinics is cause for concern for advocates of public healthcare.
Are private-pay health care clinics legal?
The minister of health won't say
@jessiecatherine
@Thetrilliumca
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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Ontario's health staffing crisis is so dire that the Ford government has won a battle to keep the data under wraps.
The decision cites concerns that disclosure could lead to higher wages for nurses, more gouging by private agencies, and a grim economic outlook for the province.
Ford government wins battle to keep health-care staffing shortage figures secret
@isaaccallan
@ColinDMello
— Canada's hub for health news 🍁
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🚨 🚨 🚨
45% of hospital board members come from Finance and Big Business, while vital expertise in labour relations, and umm.. healthcare is glaringly absent. Who is steering the course of our hospitals and how did it get this way?
A very important read from
@terraloire
Hospital Boards Overrepresented By Finance Professionals – And Lack Key Expertise
from
@terraloire
via
@readthemaple
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🍁
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Measles, far from a mild illness, poses severe risks.
Beyond its immediate symptoms, it causes 'immune amnesia,' making people highly vulnerable to other diseases. It can also lead to fatal complications that are fatal in infants and young children.
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In Sudbury, a six-year-old girl had her health card rejected during an ER visit.
Her mother was told to pay $875 or leave—while her daughter suffered breathing difficulties.
Sudbury mom shares concerns after daughter's health card invalid at ER
@AlanaCTV
|
@CTVNews
–
@ONThealth
🍁 The most important health news, in one place.
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Measles isn't just a minor annoyance. It's a major health hazard.
Measles attacks the immune system, leading to years of heightened infection risks. During pregnancy, the stakes are even higher, ranging from miscarriage to birth defects.
This isn't folklore, it's fact.
🔒 Measles is not some harmless childhood infection
— Canada's hub for healthcare news 🍁
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BA.2.86 is not just any old variant; it's a wake-up call.
With 30+ mutations and a higher effective reproduction number, it's outpacing current XBB variants. Yet, vaccines and monoclonal antibodies are falling short. Why are we still underestimating this virus?
COVID BA.2.86 Variant (Pirola) Surpasses Dominant XBB Lineage in Immune Evasion and Reproductive Rate
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🍁
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Provinces now spend millions more per year on agency nurses, but what are we getting in return? 💸
Answer: The same nursing services we were getting when provinces invested appropriately in public healthcare, but with less quality, and at a higher cost.
Nurses are fleeing the health system to work for private staffing agencies. Who can blame them?
from
@picardonhealth
via
@globeandmail
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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In Florida, the number of strep cases is more than double what it was last year at this time.
Gee, wonder why 🙃
Strep throat cases in children beginning to rise across U.S.
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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A $470K travel tab in the Zoom era is... Questionable.
When healthcare workers see conspicuous consumption like this it has implications for retention.
It's demoralizing. It makes people want to leave, or to stop caring.
London, Ont hospital execs' $470K travel plans slammed as tone-deaf, too costly
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Potentially a big deal.
A class-action in Quebec regarding the handling of COVID in Long Term Care. If the plaintiffs win, it could compel institutions to practice better infection control and foster a more proactive approach to public health crises.
Quebec judge OK's class-action suit over COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care homes
@AntoniNerestant
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@CBCNews
🍁 : Canada's hub for health news
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Privatizing surgeries in Ontario risks worsening public hospital staffing shortages and wait times, creating a vicious cycle that undermines the public system's integrity.
Effectively, it starves our public hospitals and then punishes them when they fail.
What happens when privatizing surgical procedures drives up healthcare costs?
@DrGorfinkel
@a_longhurst
@TorontoStar
— Canada's hub for health news 🍁
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Completely unverified, but hearing through the grapevine that Novavax will be available here "by the end of December."
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If we are ever to steer ourselves out of this crisis, we must work to dismantle the flawed, unscientific dogmas that have hindered our response to it. First, an unequivocal acknowledgment that
#COVIDisAirborne
, which should shape our mitigation strategies going forward. 6/
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Under-the-radar story. Really important.
Ontario hospitals face severe financial strain, with some taking out high-interest loans. This is compounded by the need to pay retroactive wages due to unconstitutional wage-cap legislation.
So what's it mean? What's on the table? 🧵
Hospital officials are desperate about their financial uncertainty, opposition MPPs say
@egpayne
|
@OttawaCitizen
🔗 Stay informed with — Bookmark for daily health updates 📌
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Minden's ER closure is more than a local issue 🚨
Independent investigative work by
@mindenpaper
has only led to more questions. Alleging potential malfeasance, possible conflicts of interest, they are now calling on the Auditor General to step in.
Advocacy group wants Minden ER audit
The most important health news, in one place, at Canada Healthwatch 🔗 🍁
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Researchers are warning that Canada is on the road to a measles epidemic, with cases already doubling last year's total.
Vaccination rates as low as 30% in some areas could lead to widespread infection. Without swift action, the toll on population health could be disastrous.
Canada headed for major measles outbreak without vaccine boost, new modelling suggests
@LaurenPelley
@CBCHealth
@CarolineColijn
@GovCanHealth
— Canada's hub for health news 🍁
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This feels like January of 2020 all over again.
Will we do a travel restriction for outbound UK flights *after* measles is already rampant in the US and has a clear foothold here?
Seems like we're headed that way.
Potential measles exposure on flight to Pearson, at ONroute and clinic: Windsor, Ont. health unit
@jacqlebel980
|
@globalnews
🍁 : Canada's hub for health news
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