As a doctor, I know cutting health care for refugees hurts us all ⋆ The Breach
Targeting the most vulnerable is a slippery slope toward weakening public health for all
“The rich & powerful want us to believe there’s never enough to go around. This is a fallacy”
As a doctor, I know cutting health care for refugees hurts us all
via @yipengge.bsky.social #publichealth #healthequity
breachmedia.ca/as-a-doctor-...
05.02.2026 20:14 —
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Measles in an ICE facility is a public health failure
A marginalized population, a highly contagious disease, no systemic vaccination safeguards — no wonder there’s measles in an ICE detention facility.
#Measles in an ICE facility is a public health failure.
In my latest for @statnews.com, I argue this outbreak was avoidable and the result of policy choices that concentrate risk without basic prevention. V This is both a health and human rights failure.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/04/m...
04.02.2026 16:42 —
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BC warns of increase in drug poisonings, shifts in unregulated supply
Vancouver - The BC Centre for Disease Control’s (BCCDC) Harm Reduction and Substance Use Services Team is warning the public of a recent increase in drug poisonings across BC. Novel substances in the unregulated drug supply are putting people who use substances at greater risk province-wide.
Opioids like fentanyl are now often mixed with medetomidine, a potent sedative used primarily by veterinarians, that can cause low heart rate (bradycardia), changes to blood pressure and prolonged sedation. It can also potentially make people feel very sleepy or go unconscious, increasing the risk of drug poisoning. As a response, BCCDC has issued a province-wide drug alert
BC has experienced high and increasing paramedic-attended overdoses in recent months. At the same time, detections of medetomidine have increased in drug checking samples and law enforcement seizures. Medetomidine was detected in 38 per cent of opioid samples tested by the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) in November 2025.
Non-fatal drug poisoning can cause brain injury from lack of oxygen and other harms. Even though the BC Coroners Service data shows that deaths are not increasing, the increase in non-fatal drug poisoning is a cause for serious concern.
Responding to a drug poisoning
If you are responding to a drug poisoning or overdose event:
Call 9-1-1
A drug poisoning or overdose is a medical emergency.
Stay with the person and follow instructions from the 9-1-1 call-taker.
Follow the SAVE ME steps to respond to an opioid poisoning (overdose).
Check for breathing and give breaths if the person is not breathing normally.
Brain injury can happen within minutes without oxygen. Giving breaths provides oxygen until the person can breathe on their own.
Use naloxone
Naloxone only works on opioids but is safe to give even if the overdose is caused by other substances like medetomidine, which is a non-opioid depressant. Since medetomidine is usually found with opioids, giving naloxone can restore breathing and will not cause harm.
If at any time there is no pulse, start CPR with rescue breathing and compressions.
Use an automated external defibrillator (AED) if available.
Safer substance use
If you use substances, there are things you can do to be safer:
The safest option is to avoid unregulated opioids, as they may contain medetomidine. Ask a health care provider about opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and use drug checking services.
Don’t use alone. Visit an overdose prevention site or take turns with a buddy so there is someone who can respond in the event of an emergency.
If you do use alone, consider using the Connect app by Lifeguard. It prompts you to turn off an alarm and sends a notification to BCEHS dispatch if you don’t.
Carry naloxone and know how to use it.
Sign up for drug alerts by texting the word JOIN to 253787 (ALERTS).
The BC Centre for Disease Control is warning of an increase in drug poisonings across B.C. due to changes in drug supply.
My story from Dec on veterinary sedative medetomidine, detected in 38% opioid samples tested by BCCSU in Nov (gift link)
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/1ce6625...
26.01.2026 20:31 —
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How US policies are reshaping global health and humanitarian aid, one year later
We are witnessing the human costs of actions upending aid programs around the world
“Global health assistance should be guided by public health need — not political calculations, economic extraction, or ideological coercion”
How US policies are reshaping global health & #humanitarian aid, one year later
via @doctorswithoutborders.org
www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/how-u...
21.01.2026 04:44 —
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B.C. health authorities tried to allow purchase of regulated heroin without prescriptions, court hears
Effort to reduce toxic-drug deaths was ultimately derailed by political blowback
B.C. health authorities tried to allow purchase of regulated heroin without prescriptions, court hears
via @andreawoo.bsky.social @theglobeandmail.com #publichealth #healthequity #harmreduction #bcpoli #cdnpoli
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
20.01.2026 05:38 —
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The sudden rise of scabies: ‘I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy’
These microscopic mites, which burrow under your skin and cause ferocious itching, are incredibly hard to get rid of – and cases in the UK have soared. What is causing the outbreak, and is there anyth...
"The sudden rise of #scabies: ‘I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy’ - These microscopic mites, which burrow under your skin and cause ferocious itching, are incredibly hard to get rid of – and cases in the UK have soared. What is causing the outbreak, and is there anything we can do about it?"
18.01.2026 18:53 —
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Alberta to change the way it screens for cervical cancer
Alberta to change the way it screens for cervical cancer
#publichealth #HPV #cervicalcancer
www.cbc.ca/lite/story/9...
17.01.2026 17:34 —
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What has three years of #decriminalization of drug possession yielded in B.C.?
via @picardonhealth.bsky.social @theglobeandmail.com
#publichealth #healthequity #harmreduction #bcpoli
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
15.01.2026 00:28 —
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University of Manchester researchers tracked 25,000 teenagers over three school years.
Study of 25,000 teens says social media time does not increase teenagers' mental health problems https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jan/14/social-media-time-does-not-increase-teenagers-mental-health-problems-study
News and analysis ⇢ canadahealthwatch.ca/featured
14.01.2026 20:36 —
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A mining town scattered residents, and asbestos, to the wind
via @amandafollett.bsky.social @thetyee.ca #publichealth #occupationalhealth #healthequity #bcpoli
thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...
14.01.2026 18:59 —
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Gaza war leads to 41% fall in births prompting allegations of reproductive violence
Israel’s war in Gaza has caused high numbers of maternal and neonatal deaths, say two reports
Israel’s war in Gaza has led to a 41% fall in births in the territory, and high numbers of maternal deaths, miscarriages, newborn mortality and premature births, two reports into the impact of the conflict on pregnant women, babies and maternity care reveal.
Two reports by Physicians for Human Rights, in collaboration with the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel document how the war has led to high figures for maternal and neonatal mortality and forced births in dangerous conditions and systematically dismantled health services – consequences of “a deliberate intention of preventing births among Palestinians, meeting the legal criteria of the Genocide Convention,” researchers said. Continue reading...
Gaza war leads to 41% fall in births prompting allegations of reproductive violence
14.01.2026 15:36 —
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