The first @CochraneCanada CAN-PCC Prevention Guideline recommendation is out:
*We suggest masking for asymptomatic adults in community settings be used for the prevention of COVID-19 infection to prevent COVID-19 condition.* (Cond Rec, Low Cert Evidence)
Here's what we found. No surprise, masks work. Their effectiveness at prevention of COVID-19 infection and therefore Post COVID Condition increase at higher risks of transmission. With 100 people infected per 1000, masks could prevent *17 cases per 1,000*.
An additional *12 cases per 1,000* could be prevented with use of a respirator style masks vs medical/surgical mask.
The panel judged the undesirable effects (harms) of mask use as trivial.
The panel judged that mask use would probably increase health equity.
The panel, in what is innovative in @GRADE_WG guidelines, also considered planetary health impacts of different kinds of masks.
We also modelled that if all Canadians (population 41 million) used a reuseable elastomeric mask instead of disposable respirator for 120 days of mask use per year significant reductions in CO2e (produced from @NRC_CNRC Greenhouse Gas Equiv Calc): ? oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/stat…
There's a lot of nuance and rich information to unpack in this work by a wonderful panel, but masks work to prevent COVID-19.
You can learn more about the guidelines and the many recommendations yet to come here:
Recs on masking in LTC, out-of-hospital clinical settings, and pediatrics will be coming soon. Other prevention recs on interventions for primary and secondary prevention being worked on urgently by the panel.
Lots more great work to from this project & the other guideline panels
You may have questions about this as a conditional recommendation.
In @GRADE_WG
-Strong Rec: virtually all people should follow;
-Conditional Rec: may be more individual/nuanced based on individual values & preferences;
You can learn more here
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The mpox situation is concerning, but the identification of a case in Europe doesn’t change the concern we’ve had in public health tracking this global pandemic for two years.
We’ve been tracking clade 1 in particular for a number of months. Public health is paying close attention. canada.ca/content/dam/ph…
I’ll do a deeper dive soon, but my concerns with mpox are not immediate cases in 🇨🇦 and I would agree with @WHO that this is unlikely to be the ‘new COVID’. bbc.com/news/articles/…
However, what the situation and last week’s declaration of a PHEIC should highlight is: 1) our health is global: inequities in countries including DRC should not be overlooked; 2) we still haven’t ‘learned from COVID’ by reviewing the response and ensuring we implement lessons learned to strengthen public health.
Please have a read.
A great detailed article delving deep into prescribed alternatives to toxic street drugs (aka safer supply).
I had a chance to visit the program & hear the results of their evaluation this week, the work from the NPLC & @kathyhardill is impressive & lifesaving
This eval adds to a growing literature on safer supply as an effective harm reduction intervention and counters misguided narratives that this is “just keeping people alive” (although that also sounds like a good thing from my medical perspective) - 86% ppl used less/no fentanyl
Is this intervention a silver bullet for the drug poisoning crisis?
No.
But nothing is.
Which is why we need escalation in a continuum of responses, prevention, harm reduction, & treatment. These aren’t alternate approaches but complementary.
Scientific thinking on airborne transmission of #COVID19 has heightened the importance of improving & assuring optimal indoor air quality, which also comes with other health benefits. @Nature asks if countries will clean it up, and we advocate they must! nature.com/articles/d4158…
@Ptbohealth Board of Health recently resolved to advocate to all levels of government to make investments and use all possible strategies to improve IAQ:
🇨🇦: make investments to fund IAQ improvements
Did you know Canada is the ONLY country in the world that has universal health care, but🚫access to covered contraception⁉️
Contraception is a gender health equity issue & 1:5 have insufficient drug coverage. #InternationalWomensDay@Ptbohealthactioncanadashr.org/resources/poli…
BC recently announced that contraception would be free for everyone, and all provinces in 🇨🇦, including @ONThealth should follow suit. cbc.ca/news/canada/br…
Unfair access to menstrual products means an inability to afford tampons, pads & liners fuels stigma & shame while creating health risks for people who struggle to afford them. @ONThealth has recently made important progress but gaps remain. news.ontario.ca/en/release/100…
The immune system is a fascinating, complicated thing. Here's a story to show, but spoiler alert. You don't owe it any debts and preventing infection is always better than it learning "the hard way" through acquired immunity from infection.
When I was on a 6 mo mission @MSF, the project where I was based was in the middle of a jungle. We had no reliable electricity, just intermittent generators therefore refrigeration.
Combined with poor food prep safety meant the food made me sick. I had repeat gastro infections my whole time there. Violent explosive gastro. We're talking often both ends. Every month or more often. One time typhoid, others unknown viral and bacterial adversaries.
I feel the concern healthcare providers, especially those helping kids are feeling right now. I feel it both as a previous ER physician and a father of two little kids. I can feel the fear of health care providers right now.
I’ve also worked in healthcare in other countries where I had to triage for inadequate care; I’ve had children die on me, because their health system failed them. It’s not something you ever fully recover from, and it’s something we must do everything in our power to avoid here.
That means taking prevention of current infections seriously. Now. It means getting our kids, but all of us up-to-date & protected by vaccines (COVID+Flu). It means masking up at school, work, and out in the community, anywhere we can spread. It means staying home when sick!