As resistance to antimicrobial drugs rises, understanding the mechanisms at play could help doctors treat patients Researchers are investigating how disease-causing fungi become resistant to antifungal drugs to help prevent potentially devastating consequences of the growing resistance harmful microbes are developing to drugs. “Antimicrobial drugs are fundamental for us to live healthy lives,” says Daniel…
The stigma attached to being a Covid long-hauler has the potential to negatively impact patient outcomes High levels of stigma experienced by some COVID long-haulers are associated with more intense symptoms, reduced physical function and loss of employment due to disability, according to newly published research from a Lancet medical journal. Specialists working in Edmonton’s…
Once caught up in mass hysteria, we don’t even realize we are not seeing things clearly Mass hysteria is the spontaneous manifestation of a particular behaviour by many people. There are numerous historical examples: Middle Age nuns at a convent in France spontaneously began to meow like cats; at another convent, nuns began biting one…
Getting benefits directly and immediately from the CRA website is the way of the future When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the federal government responded by doing something it hadn’t done at scale in a long time – deliver cash transfers in entirely new ways. As the feds doled out relief funds, more government support went…
Chinese people risking beatings and jail to protest continued lockdowns Anti-lockdown protests are now taking place across China – the Chinese equivalent of our Truckers’ Convoy. The protests are a reaction to the brutal policies that literally lock people in their apartments when even one infection is detected. As in Canada, when truckers became convinced…
Fortunately, most provincial governments and the feds are pushing back against the idea Several recent polls have indicated that a majority of Canadians wouldn’t be opposed to returning to mandatory face masking in public places. A Nanos Research survey conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 4 found that 52 per cent of Canadian respondents would…
It would hardly have been a stretch for Amy Kaler to write a cogent social analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a sociologist, Kaler has a background in population health and the sociology of infectious diseases. As the pandemic advanced relentlessly in the early days of 2020, she received enough requests for media commentary that…
Mask mandates have reduced children’s immunity to common viruses Hospitals are experiencing an influx of young children with serious respiratory illnesses. Out of concern for their well-being, some health professionals are pushing to bring back mask mandates for schools. In other words, students would be required, once again, to wear masks while in school buildings.…
More family time can foster resilience in children affected by the disruptions The survey results were considered a loud and clear “cry for help” from high school students suffering from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than a third reported poor mental health, and about 44…
People who claim “to follow the science” have a habit of not following the science themselves
Following a question at her first press conference as Alberta premier, Danielle Smith expressed sympathies for unvaccinated Canadians who were persecuted by the COVID-19 regime. Smith mentioned that these Canadians “have been the most discriminated against group that I have witnessed in my lifetime.” It was an “extraordinary period” whose prejudicial practices she found “unacceptable.”…