Breaking: 1) The #COVID and Influenza #Syndemic in Quebec is ratcheting up, with the province on Tuesday reporting 22 more #pandemic hospitalizations for a total of 1,959, while SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks ticked up by four to 406. 
2) A day after Quebec recorded a nearly 59% spike in flu infections in a week, mostly among children, the Health Ministry observed that 3,785 health workers were absent due to #COVID. Their absence is putting more pressure on hospitals during this unprecedented #syndemic.
3) #Syndemic. Get used to this new term, defined as an "aggregation of two or more concurrent or sequential epidemics or disease clusters in a population with biological interactions, which exacerbate the prognosis and burden of disease."
4) A #syndemic can give rise to co-infections, in this case, of #COVID and influenza, something that had already been observed anecdotally in Quebec and confirmed in scientific research abroad. It therefore behooves authorities here to start tracking such co-infections.
5) Back to COVID: Although the total number of active outbreaks climbed to 406, the most severe ones in long-term care declined by two to 22 in a week. This suggests outbreaks may be erupting in hospitals, but if that's the case, authorities aren't making public that information.
6) Quebec's chief public health officer, Dr. Luc Boileau, warned December will be a "difficult month," given the co-circulation of COVID, the flu and other respiratory viruses. But he did not mention the risk of co-infection, a syndemic or possible immune-system dysregulation.
7) Indeed, Boileau appeared to send a mixed message Monday, warning of a difficult December but also suggesting the epidemic of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), has peaked, when in fact, the latest stats do not show that's the case. He also joked about wearing a mask in public.
8) Sadly, during the #pandemic and now the #syndemic, authorities have sent conflicting messages to the public, which have been interpreted by many as minimizing this unprecedented health crisis in which 17,409 Quebecers have died from #COVID, another 19 declared just on Tuesday.
9) It was PM Justin Trudeau's turn on Monday, drawing an inaccurate link between the surge in flu with Canadians having been "so diligent about being safe over the past couple of years wearing masks." He, too, has declined reinstating a mask mandate now.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1599894749770809346
10) And so, with a surging #syndemic of #COVID and influenza (at least in Quebec) and a political reluctance to reinstate public health protections, it is up to each individual to take precautions. Please, mask up, as I do, and go get your booster. End of thread.
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