Harrison Boss PhD

💉🧪🩺🛟😷

COVID-19 is “Airborne AIDS”: provocative oversimplification, emerging science, or something in between? COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is often compared to other pandemics for its societal and global health impact, with some commentators drawing parallels to HIV/AIDS due to the immune dysfunction caused ...

I'm on record as not liking the "airborne AIDS" metaphor for various reasons, but I'm also on record that I think SARS-CoV-2 very well may cause immunity theft.

www.ajpmfocus.org/article/S277...

Okay- not covid, compassion, or politics related...

Meet Zephyr

This will be us travelling from Alberta to BC to be able to safely get a covid shot (for free) at a pharmacy

Sigh.

And to everyone who’s still masking in public space: THANK YOU! 👏🏻

Wearing a mask is simple, but sometimes doing so can feel difficult. If you’re still protecting yourself and others, give yourselves a pat on the back! 💙

#MaskUp #MasksWork #StillMasking

Don't believe me, where is our access to PCR testing? Gone.

Where are our free RATs? Gone.

Where is our wastewater testing? Disappearing.

Where is our accurate reporting of cases outside hospitals, heck - in hospitals? Gone.

Where is the outrage from the infectious disease experts?

US pediatric group breaks with federal policy, recommends COVID vaccines for young children The American Academy of Pediatrics on Tuesday recommended that all young children get vaccinated against COVID-19, differing from federal policy that no longer recommends routine vaccination for healthy children.

If they don't, it's against pretty much all scientific evidence.

The CDC (*cough RFKjr+co*) started not recommending for kids south of the border.

Fortunately, some groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics have made recommendations that are counter to this

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

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PSA: There’s a difference between wearing a mask or respirator & wearing a gaiter or face covering to disguise identity. It’s important to discern & communicate this nuance because if you don’t, you might encourage elected officials to ban masks for everyone, which would be a public health disaster.

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This image shows gauges with the Jun 28-Jul 11, 2025 COVID Forecast scores for Canada, the provinces, & territories. From left to right: Canada: 4.8 - MODERATE Alberta: 5.0 - MODERATE British Columbia: 4.4 - MODERATE Manitoba: 4.2 - MODERATE New Brunswick: 4.2 - MODERATE Newfoundland and Labrador: 4.3 - MODERATE North: 4.5 - MODERATE Nova Scotia: 4.5 - MODERATE Ontario: 5.2 - HIGH Prince Edward Island: 4.4 - MODERATE Quebec: 4.8 - MODERATE Saskatchewan: 4.3 - MODERATE A text box reads: "The COVID Forecast is calculated from 3 equally weighted categories: 1) Current infections and spread; 2) Healthcare system impact; 3) Mortality. Within each category there is one sub-category for trends over the most recent week (Trends) and one sub-category for current parameter values relative to a specified baseline (Current values). Trends and current values are weighted equally when determining the final score for a category. All Forecast input data and sources are available here (https://datastudio.google.com/embed/u/0/reporting/42b886cf-d661-488e-b7d8-5c5836b55ab6/page/p_2yqs028mwc). Past Forecast scores are available in the table below. Forecast scores are grouped into 4 ranges: MODERATE (1 to <5, white), HIGH (6 to <10, yellow), VERY HIGH (10 to <15, orange), SEVERE (>15 red)."

Canadian COVID Forecast: Jun 28-Jul 11, 2025

SEVERE: none
VERY HIGH: none
HIGH: ON
MODERATE: CAN, AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, North, NS, PEI, QC, SK

About 1 in 120 people in Canada are CURRENTLY infected.

3 tables showing total expected hospitalizations since Dec 2/21 by province (error range -/+ 10%), total expected ICU admissions since Dec 2/21 by province (error range -/+ 10%), and total expected deaths since Dec 2/21 by province (error range -/+ 10%) Tables available at: https://covid19resources.ca/covid-hazard-index Page 19 (Reported deaths, ICU, hospitalizations by age)

Graph showing Estimated new daily infections resulting in daily life activity-limiting symptoms lasting >3 months, by province, since Dec 2021. (5 week rolling averages) Graph available at: https://covid19resources.ca/covid-hazard-index Page 13 (Long COVID)

Infections in Canada this week are expected to result in 1,100 hospitalizations, 230 deaths (people who die at least 1 year earlier than they would without COVID) and 8,400 new long COVID cases serious enough to limit daily life activities.

Enough to make you wonder if they are on your side - no?

A big NO to behaviours that make life harder (and more unsafe) for everyone. A big YES to listening to COVID-conscious, disability, and other vulnerable communities.

"N95 masking is outside of our policy"

THEN GO GET IT AND BRING IT INSIDE

Lower risk of dementia with AS01-adjuvanted vaccination against shingles and respiratory syncytial virus infections - npj Vaccines npj Vaccines - Lower risk of dementia with AS01-adjuvanted vaccination against shingles and respiratory syncytial virus infections

Not just shingles vaccine, but also RSV vaccine reduces the risk of dementia, which highlights the benefit of revving up the immune system in older individuals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Screenshot of a post from twitter which reads Brent A. Williams, MD @BrentAWilliams2 Follow I am so tired of not being able to hear what my dialysis patients are trying to tell me (and also not being able to see their faces) because of some moronic idea that they still should be wearing these stupid surgical masks. Enough already.

Imagine being a doctor who treats patients who’ve been given the gift of a new kidney, & thinking it’s ok to shame them for masking?

This is why we’re unsafe. It’s why we scream about eugenics.

Protecting yourself is not “moronic” and it’s unforgivable that doctors think it’s ok to infect patients

Please read and share! Action is needed.

Today I wish to thank Dr. Theresa Tam, who is stepping down as Canada's chief public health officer. She maintained her grace despite facing overwhelming pandemic pressures, provincial resistance, repeated disinformation, and ongoing attacks, including conspiracy theories and racist slurs.

Are you an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student at a Canadian university? Researchers at Western University are exploring the extent to which university students in Canada adhere to the Government of Canada’s (2024) individual public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; students' reasons for adhering or not adhering to these recommendations; and what would help students feel motivated to adopt recommendations. If you are interested in participating, please click here for the Letter of Information. https://uwo.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3yZdK5N0kqDtq7k

If you know or work with any university students (undergrad/grad/professional) at a Canadian university, please share this study invite with them.

We're exploring uni students' adherence to the Gov' of Canada’s (2024) individual public health measures to reduce COVID-19.
@maxwellsmith.bsky.social

A deep thank you to Dr. Moriarty and team for her hard work on this. Undoubtedly this sort of modelling can have setbacks and technical difficulties. These forecasts are a major benefit to Canadians.

Trump administration eliminates specialized LGBTQ+ support in suicide hotline.
Fact: "LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide"

This will directly lead to fewer hotline calls, more mishandled calls, and more LGBTQ+ suicides.
www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/ar...

I tried to get it. It's 48k for the year. 24k per shot. My insurance declined it but I'm going to try again. It's wild how capitalism keeps access to life changing medicine out of the hands if those who could really use it.

Eight US states seek to outlaw chemtrails – even though they aren’t real States introduce chemtrail-coded legislation as conspiracy theories take root in some US chambers

We're not getting out of the current mess without somehow removing people from the polluted information space. Too many of our leaders have lost any connection with reality.

Further - this same plan removes pharmacies from an option to receive your vaccination. The last thing we need to be doing is restricting accessibility to health protections.

Louder for the people in the back: "It has been a public health failure that the public does not realize how much organ damage #COVID infection can cause to things that aren’t your lungs (or throat or nose or taste buds)."

The image below is based on data collected from 80,071 kids and teens:

Many of us the covid-conscious and disability community have spent enormous amounts of time and effort advocating for ourselves, and setting up avenues for us to more safely live our lives. Once again - the government just making this most difficult for us.

As someone who studies compassion in healthcare... this aint it. Lack of reasonable access to these vaccines puts people at higher risk to acute outcomes, and long covid.

As someone who is in a covid-conscious household, this makes access so much more difficult.

Even setting aside the cost aside - this makes our community life so much more difficult. Local pharmacies are among the only places we have found to safely get our vaccines (N95s, outdoors etc.).

Many of us the covid-conscious and disability community have spent enormous amounts of time and effort advocating for ourselves, and setting up avenues for us to more safely live our lives. Once again - the government just making this most difficult for us.

As someone who studies compassion in healthcare... this is not compassionate in the slightest. Lack of reasonable access to these vaccines puts people at higher risk to acute outcomes, and long covid.