Lessons: Masking, Lockdowns & The Next Pandemic

In last week’s newsletter on vaccine mandates, I implored you all to think. Many of you rose to the occasion with insightful feedback.

A new study has been published that evaluates the benefits of VMVP by estimating the benefits of vaccination and exclusion of unvaccinated people from different settings.

The comments come as an increasing number of governments are considering, or planning to introduce, compulsory vaccinations.

Some argue COVID-19 vaccine mandates are human rights violations. Not really, say experts. Find out what's going on around the world on vaccine mandates.

Countries without face mask mandates experienced significantly higher COVID-19 deaths per million than countries that enacted mask mandates, investigators report in a new study.

We extend previous studies on the impact of masks on COVID-19 outcomes by investigating an unprecedented breadth and depth of health outcomes, geographical resolutions, types of mask mandates, early versus later waves and controlling for other ...

Mask mandates were linked to slower uptick in COVID-19 deaths in a study analyzing data on 44 countries with a combined population of nearly 1 billion

Notes taken whilst preparing a paper on mask efficacy from Nov to Jan 2022. My previous paper on this was written in April 2020 and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science

Provinces across the country are starting to lift their restrictions and this is how some of the hardest hit ones are faring.

In response to a poll by Research Co., 37 per cent of Canadians reported they were infected themselves, or someone in their household was infected after restrictions lifted.

Purpose To improve understanding of the barriers and enablers to implementing gender and intersectional analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Methods We conducted a policy document analysis (n = 70) of equity-focused policies of the Canadian government published between March 2020 and August 2023. This analysis was complemented with 16 semi-structured key informant interviews with federal policy actors and leadership of civil society organizations. Results Pandemic policy documents demonstrated multiple commitments to address pandemic related inequities, with key informants describing collaborative approaches to implementing these policies, but also limits in terms of the urgent and diffused nature of pandemic response. Implementation gaps related to accessible information, health services and vaccinations were noted and attributed to a reliance on civil society actors who lacked sufficient and sustainable resources, and the behaviors of priority populations whose capacity to comply was limited by the same inequities the policies sought to address. Conclusion The Canadian federal government made concerted efforts to address the needs of a range of priority populations and equity issue areas within its pandemic response, with mixed results. Having a pre-established framework to guide implementation and related relationships overcame some of the urgency challenges related with pandemic response. However, implementation gaps reflected preexisting inequities shaped by broader economic, social and political systems which were infrequently addressed in pandemic policies. There is a need for greater understanding of policy implementation gaps during emergency and crisis response.

The pandemic created dangerous cracks in public confidence in science, governments and public health.

Tania Bubela and colleagues examine how fragmented responsibilities and accountability for public health data hindered Canada’s pandemic response Canada’s public health system was reformed after its 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which was the worst outside of Asia with 438 cases and 44 deaths.1 Ensuing national and provincial inquiries led to the creation of the national Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to coordinate Canada’s preparation for and response to public health threats.2 Subnational public health agencies were also created or strengthened to function as regional centres for disease control.1 These actions should have put Canada in a good position to respond to the covid-19 pandemic.34 Despite these reforms, Canada experienced serious failures during the covid-19 pandemic. Memories faded rapidly after SARS, and if history is not to repeat itself, government and health system leaders must strengthen the country’s public health and healthcare systems in preparation for the next threat. Health authorities as well as all Canadians need to reflect on the crises of the past three years—what went well and why; what caused pandemic response failures, and what were their consequences? Here, in the first of a series of articles examining Canada’s response and setting out suggestions for a national inquiry, we examine the limitations of the country’s decentralised structure for public health decision making and missed lessons from the 2003 SARS-CoV-1 outbreak, particularly with regard to data infrastructure.5 Other articles in the series examine how research and data failed to inform public health responses tailored to community and population needs,6 the predictable failures in long term care,7 and Canada’s role in global vaccine inequity.8 Canada’s cumulative confirmed covid-19 death rate, as of June 2023, was 1372 per million population, exceeding the global average of 855 per million …

Now is the time to learn from the COVID-19 response through an action-oriented independent inquiry focused on accountability. Reforms to data generation, access and use are essential.

As the masks come off at my daughter’s school — and around the country — I’m worried about COVID’s next move.

A new network medicine study finds that melatonin usage may prevent COVID-19 infection, though large-scale trials are needed. Researcher Feixiong Cheng, PhD, discusses his team’s findings.

The provincial government encourages you to get vaccinated. But are they going to force a choice on that? No, they are not. Are they going to try? Not much.

Results from EGC affiliate Mushfiq Mobarak and coauthors’ recent paper clearly demonstrate that mask usage reduces Covid-19, highlighting how masks should continue to play a vital role in fighting the pandemic.

Now we have definitive proof that masks really are effective.

The neglected middle child of mental health can dull your motivation and focus — and it may be the dominant emotion of 2021.

The economy is plummeting, and millions of Americans need to get back to work. But experts say some arguments for reopening the economy now are short-sighted or flawed.

The revelations in journalist Bob Woodward’s new book about what U.S. President Donald Trump knew about the threat posed by COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic have prompted new questions about the Canadian government’s response to the virus, given how much intelligence is shared between the two countries.

Calgary physician organizer Dr. Amy Tan explains how to clean your mask, which kind to choose and why wearing one is absolutely vital.

Most people believe human rights are broadly based and it's illegal to discriminate between categories of employees. Not true

Six good reasons to rethink vaccine certificates

In the heated debate over vaccine mandates, science and logic have often been lost amid politics and fear.

It took pressure from 239 scientists for the WHO to even admit the new coronavirus may spread via aerosols, but in Japan, they're focusing on solutions.

Facts, data and analytics about biomedical matters

Country failed to collect and share data, masking issues and inequalities, according to editorial in British Medical Journal

It’s cheap, widely available and might help us fend off the virus. So should we all be dosing up on the sunshine nutrient?