The Next Pandemic: Covid/Masking/Lockdown Lessons

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.

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Evaluation of science advice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

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?

The global pandemic has deepened an epidemic of loneliness in America. This report from Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explores who is lonely, the many causes of loneliness, and ways to alleviate it.

Researchers surveyed more than 1,500 adults in Brazil about their personalities and how well they adhered to Covid-19 prevention measures. Their findings point to a few psychological reasons why some people don't wear face masks, maintain social distance and practice hand hygiene.

One simulation of an uncontrolled disease outbreak concluded with riots and the National Guard on the streets.

A wildfire is a better metaphor for this pandemic. We should get used to this and accept that complete normality is a long way off.

Coronavirus cases are continuing to soar across the United States as the death toll tops 112,000. The Washington Post reports COVID-19 hospitalizations are increasing in at least nine states following the reopening of businesses. Texas, North and South Carolina, California, Oregon, Arkansas, Mississippi, Utah and Arizona are all seeing a surge in patients needing medical attention. Texas has seen two consecutive days of record coronavirus hospitalizations. On Tuesday, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, Anthony Fauci, described the coronavirus as his “worst nightmare” and said the pandemic is not close to over yet. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has revised its projected U.S. death toll upward, predicting 145,000 deaths by early August.

This attempt to discredit a central piece of protective gear used around the globe fails to account for several fundamental scientific principles.

This page will be updated as new projects and groups are announced. To have your group or mutual aid project listed, email us at: info [at] itsgoingdown [dot] org Indigenous Mutual Aid: Indigenous...

*Niito'taaatatsiyopa! Kamusta! Tialli! Hola! This is a working document that lists useful links and other docs that can be shared far and wide. (hyperlinks and urls included for easier sharing) The infodrop contains some of the most useful comprehensive mutual aid resources, Indigenous perspec...

With a longtime vaccine skeptic serving as the country’s top health official, the movement is likely to make further inroads.

A new modeling study offers a stark look at caseloads in the next two decades if current trends hold. Can the nation’s healthcare system handle the strain?