Aaron Derfel Profile picture
Sep 11 12 tweets 5 min read
1) It’s been nearly four months since Quebec lifted the #pandemic mask mandate in most public spaces and about two weeks since most schools have reopened. What impact, if any, has the end of the mask requirement had on #COVID19 hospitalizations and deaths?
2) For a few weeks after the mask mandate was lifted in mid-May, #COVID hospitalizations continued dropping in Quebec. But with the arrival of the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants in June, #COVID hospitalizations started to tick up, as you can glimpse from the chart below.
3) COVID hospitalizations peaked in the 7th wave in Quebec on July 27 and have been falling steadily since. However, the number of pandemic hospitalizations remains about 10 times higher than for the corresponding period last year. Please compare below.
4) Quebec is also declaring far more #COVID deaths at this time of the year than for the corresponding period in 2021. For the week of Aug. 28 this year, Quebec declared 39 pandemic deaths, compared with eight for the week of Aug. 29 last year. Please take a look below.
5) Quebec was in the grip of the Delta variant last August and 78% of the population above the age of 12 had received a 2nd dose of the vaccine. By comparison, on the same date this year, only 20% of the same age group has received a second booster against BA.4 and BA.5.
6) Thus, booster vaccine coverage to counter the offshoots of Omicron — BA.4 and BA.5 — appears to be less than optimal at the moment. At the same time, the mask mandate is gone for the most part and schools have reopened. Is this likely a recipe for an 8th wave this fall?
7) Since Quebec stopped screening the population for #COVID months ago, the only reliable indicator is wastewater analysis. The chart below shows much higher concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 virus in Montreal's wastewater in July than in mid-August. But levels remain relatively high.
8) We’ll probably have to wait a few more weeks to get the latest wastewater analysis of the #coronavirus to determine the impact of school reopenings on viral transmission — without a mask mandate. I wouldn’t be surprised if concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 rise in the wastewater.
9) Which brings us the latest #COVID19 projections for the coming months unveiled by Quebec’s public health institute on Aug. 10. Surprisingly and disappointingly, those projections attracted very little news coverage at the time.
10) The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) and other researchers warned that “our work suggests that the arrival of new variants or a loss of immunity against BA.4-BA.5 could cause a significant upsurge in cases and hospitalizations.”
11) Note those forecasts are based on the possibility of new viral variants other than BA.4 and BA.5. A Sept. 8 update by the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention found that BA.2.75, dubbed Centaurus, has been detected, but is not classified as a variant of concern.
12) It would therefore be prudent, in the absence of the mask mandate and poor ventilation in many classrooms, for Quebecers to seek a booster dose, preferably the new bivalent one protecting against Omicron that has just become available. End of thread. portal3.clicsante.ca

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More from @Aaron_Derfel

Sep 12
1) In his latest brilliant article on #COVID, Pulitizer-prize-winning writer @eddyong209 focuses on lingering brain fog. At one point, he alludes to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. That got me to thinking: What other international protocols are named after #MTL?
2) Before proceeding with my modest list, recall that visionary former U.S. president Donald Trump trotted out the Montreal Cognitive Assessment back in July 2020 to show he was of sound mind.
3) In citing the Trump example, I’m not throwing shade at the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, only using it to underscore this protocol’s international renown. So without further ado, here are some other important #MTL agreements:
Read 13 tweets
Sep 9
BREAKING: 1) Despite the promotions of women in key positions at the McGill University Health Centre, sexism nonetheless persists in Quebec's largest hospital center, a landmark report has found. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) The MUHC report focuses primarily on systemic racism following the choking death of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white police officer in 2020. But the researchers also found that sexism remains a problem at the hospital network, too. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
3) The revelations of sexism in the MUHC report coincide with the public reckoning in an entirely different field that followed the controversial departure of respected journalist and TV anchor @LisaLaFlamme_ at @CTVNews.
Read 8 tweets
Sep 9
1) Depuis que j'ai dévoilé l'histoire du rapport sur le racisme systémique au Centre universitaire de santé McGill, d'autres sources m'ont contacté au sujet de la discrimination dans le secteur médical. Vous pouvez me rejoindre à aderfel@postmedia.com. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) De toute évidence, le racisme systémique n’est pas seulement le profilage racial par la police. Comme le révèle le rapport du CUSM, elle persiste également dans le secteur de la santé. Sans doute existe-t-il aussi dans le système d'éducation.
3) Mes textes dans la @mtlgazette ont suscité des commentaires négatifs de la part des trolls. Ce qui est également remarquable, c'est le grand nombre d'étudiants universitaires et de professeurs qui ont retweeté mes enfilades sur Twitter à ce sujet. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
Read 5 tweets
Sep 9
1) Since breaking the story on the landmark report on systemic racism at the McGill University Health Centre, I've received more tips from sources about discrimination in the medical sector. I urge others to contact me at aderfel@postmedia.com. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) This reckoning appears to be long overdue. Systemic racism is not only about racial profiling by police. As the MUHC report reveals, it persists in the health sector, too. No doubt it exists in the educational system as well.
3) My reporting on this, in both the @mtlgazette and on Twitter, has elicited some trolling and denials of systemic racism. What’s also noteworthy is the great number of academics from across the country who have retweeted my threads on this subject. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
Read 5 tweets
Sep 8
1) Researchers working on a landmark report on systemic racism at the McGill University Health Centre ran into an attempt at interference with their data collection by a senior manager. Please click on my story below in the @mtlgazette. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) The authors of the report on systemic racism at the MUHC say the attempted interference might “have compromised the integrity and confidentiality of the study. However, this was prevented.” Still, this reveals the unease with which some in the MUHC reacted to this initiative.
3) Ultimately, the report documents systemic racism in Quebec’s largest hospital network, including routine discrimination against Black staff and patients, Indigenous peoples, those of Asian origin and hijab-wearing Muslims, among others.
Read 7 tweets
Sep 7
1) Systemic racism has been a long-standing problem in Quebec's largest hospital network — with staff and patients routinely discriminated against, according to a new report. Please click on my story below in the @mtlgazette. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) Thanks to several sources, I was able to obtain a nearly-completed draft of the report concerning the McGill University Health Centre, a bilingual institution comprising five hospitals.
3) The report is likely the first in Canada to examine systemic racism in a large hospital network. Among the revelations, 55.7% of respondents to the MUHC survey said they were somewhat to extremely concerned about racism.
Read 8 tweets

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