Recently returned from representing the @CanCovSoc with @RougeMatisse and Marie-Michelle Bellon at the 2nd Annual Long COVID Symposium in Edmonton, hosted by @LongCOVIDWebCA.
Thrilled to see so many caring docs and researchers in masks, many in respirator masks.
1/5 One thing I learned is that there is a load of resources out there for people (patients, docs, others) to learn about long COVID (aka Post-Covid Condition). I thought I'd share four.
The first, of course, is @LongCOVIDWebCA.

2/longcovidweb.ca

Time for a thread. Now that we are "post-pandemic" what is the impact of this "endemic" disease on people and society, from a strictly mortality perspective?
(quotation marks intentional)
Let's take a look at the Alberta data. 1/ Our respiratory "season" closes this wk. Currently deaths are at 715, up 10 from prev wk. With an av of about 10/wk recently, and a lag in reporting, I suspect we'll end up at at least 730 for the 12 month period.
Is that a lot? should we care?
source:
2/ alberta.ca/stats/dashboar…

I think we need to talk about the Infection Prevention and Control- Canada organization (IPAC-Canada). @IPACCanada, who has their annual conference starting Sunday. 1/ Who is IPAC? this is from their "about us" page. 2/
ipac-canada.org/missionvisionv…

Here's yesterday's @AHS_media acute care outbreak release.

I'd like to draw attention to three in particular.
1/4

Although not stated, this is undoubtably the PLC NICU outbreak.

So those 2 patients? are premature babies.

and I've heard reports that the unit was indeed maskless when the transmission occurred (that's been rectified, for now).
2/4

It's out! The @WHO's new wordsmithing report on airborne transmission. I'm going to do a little dissection on the good and the bad, who wins and who loses. 1/
cdn.who.int/media/docs/def…
the TLDR is: "through the air" is the old "droplet" and "airborne" transmission modalities combined. "inhalation" is the new "airborne". "direct deposition" is the new "droplet" 2/

Apparently many in the Canadian ID community on this platform are weighing in that paxlovid should no longer be recommended to high-risk (elderly, immunocompromised) outpatients with confirmed covid.
I think we should take a look at the evidence they've presented.
(a thread)
1/

https://twitter.com/TheSGEM/status/1760696149592207733

So far there has been no evidence presented, none, except for the blogpost posted in the first tweet.
No peer reviewed science. At all.
And a reminder that there are still >500 inpts in Alberta with covid, and 10-20 patients dying each week (all likely high risk patients).
2/

Another emissions cap story from the @calgaryherald
a short dissection

“I would say (the cap) is singularly unhelpful in advancing decarbonization investment of any kind, including the Pathways project."

Sounds like blackmail,actually. 1/

calgaryherald.com/opinion/column… At least @ChrisVarcoe mentioned the climate crisis concerns this time.
"The oil and gas industry is the largest emitting sector in Canada. The Liberal government has introduced a series of policies as concerns around climate change mount" 2/

How many ways does this article anger me?
Let me count the ways...

#debunktionjunktion

(although, honestly, fighting @calgaryherald on climate issues is rather pointless, in the past @ChrisVarcoe has often been better than this)
Thread
calgaryherald.com/opinion/column… 1) I realize I'm like a broken record. But having an article, on a climate issue, without mentioning the word "climate" once, is not cool. Of course people don't want to do hard things, unless they know why they need to do it. (see search in upper left corner)

People have been wondering why I have been posting on the COVID lableak theory recently.
It's increasingly clear that the WIV in Wuhan was the source of the pandemic, and that copious efforts to covering this fact up have come from the US, China, and elsewhere. 1/ It's also evident that a vocal group of virologists are trying to thwart any efforts to regulate Gain of Function viral research. Research which is incredibly dangerous to all of humanity, as the risks greatly outweigh any possible perceived benefits.
2/ journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jv…

A very short thread summarizing the studies on Paxlovid in COVID.
Since it seems to be getting some very bad press these days.
And, in my mind, is widely underprescribed for those at high risk. 1/ Study 1: 89% RRR (6% ARR or NNT of 17) in bad outcomes (hospitalization/death). zero deaths in the active arm, vs. 13 in the control arm. nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

A short thread on the mysterious world of new energy thinktanks supporting the fossil fuel industry, popping up around Canada recently.
#debunktionjunktion
1/ Prompted by this article I read this am in @globeandmail.
Containing the phrase "the newly formed think tank called Energy Futures Initiative" spouting off a pro-natural gas narrative.
2/
theglobeandmail.com/business/artic…

a short thread on respiratory protection for HCWs:

Not long ago I worked at a hospital I don't normally work at. It has a mask mandate. Many of the HCWs weren't masking. I was confused. 1/ So I asked a smart, considerate unmasked colleague. Why, if there is a mask mandate, would you not wear a mask? 2/

A short thread on the contents of this article:
"Kids cared for in hallways as viral illness overflows ER at McMaster Children’s Hospital" 1/4
thestar.com/news/gta/kids-… I think, unfortunately, that article is the death knell for immunity debt. This our second year of RSV being above normal levels. The "debt" should have been paid by now. there is no immunity debt, only dysfunction. 2/

10 Things that would have been different/better had we embraced airborne transmission from the beginning, instead of contact/droplet.

A thread à la @1goodtern style (ternstyle?). 1/ 1) Fewer hospital outbreaks, causing fewer patient deaths.

Here's your Alberta Covid Acute Care outbreak analysis for Tuesday Sept 12th covering the last week.

Since it is the last real data telling people how dangerous it is out there in the community. And in our hospitals. 1/ Here's the raw data as per the outbreak release. Source:
I'll break down the numbers in the following tweets. 2/ albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/pp…

random observation: twice, in discussions with learned colleagues, talking about the weather, and the climate, there has been acknowledgment that our very society is threatened. that it all could collapse. Not in the far future... in the very near future.... 1/ This has been accompanied with a nervous chuckle. But nothing more.
No... we should try and stop this.
No... what should we do?
No... and therefore I shall pledge to...
2/

Here's your AB COVID # analysis for Wed June 14th covering the days of June 6th- June 12th. 1/ cases/d
Tues June 6th 22 down from 39
Wed 8 down from 30
Thurs 24 up from 23
Fri 4 down from 28
Sat 29 up from 22
Sun 10 down from 21
Mon 16 down from 18
2/

shared with me today>
How Language Shapes Change: Perspectives on the Most and Least Effective Communication Strategies and Tactics during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Some key excerpts from the executive summary follows:
cancovid.ca/wp-content/upl…
1/ “Just trust us” is not considered an effective communication strategy.
2/8

Sharing my slides from @IPACCanada's conference today on greening PPE. 1/5 2/5

Here's your AB COVID # analysis for Wed May 3rd covering the days of Apr 25th-May 1st.
1/ Cases/d
Tues Apr 25th 52 a 21.2% decr from 66
Wed 51 a 29.2% decr from 72
Thurs 46 a 19.3% decr from 57
Fri 59 a 25.5% incr from 47
Sat 36 a 25% decr from 48
Sun 32 a 33.3% decr from 48
Mon 46 a 6.1% decr from 49
2/

There's a common myth being passed around that longCOVID is rare, that it only affects medically infirm people, that it can't happen to me. Here's a short thread on the famous people (politicians, atheletes, entertainers) that are dealing with #longCOVID
v.2
1/ Soccer/Football Player Lionel Messi 2/
cnn.com/2022/05/30/foo…