By the way - labour negotiations have nothing to do with whether legislature is in or not.
So discussions COULD start tomorrow if the premier allowed them to.
4/4
@antibioticdoc.bsky.social
๐จ๐ฆ Infectious Diseases doctor and professor at the University of Alberta- incurably curious, explainโ endorse, representing my own opinions.
By the way - labour negotiations have nothing to do with whether legislature is in or not.
So discussions COULD start tomorrow if the premier allowed them to.
4/4
It really felt like everyone was willing to keep showing up for as long as it takes. Hopefully once our democratically elected government gets the ample feedback that is rolling in it wonโt be longโฆ
3/4
Civilized and organized, citizens of all ages showed up to show we believe teachers and students deserve reasonable teaching and learning conditions.
2/4
Personal reflection: when it feels like thereโs a LOT of concerning things going on, it was therapeutic to join a vast crowd of Albertans at the Legislature (so many kids!) to support our teachers and public education.
1/4
Honestly if in years past you told me that in 2025 weโd be getting measles exposures notifications on the regular Iโd not have believed you. U of A notification.
07.09.2025 05:59 โ ๐ 16 ๐ 3 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0(Sigh. To those who believe I am evil for promoting vaccination - Iโm sorry youโve been sucked into that unfortunate worldview, but I am sharing a personal + professional, science based interpretation and am being civil about it.
Abuse and threats say more about you than me.
6/6
5. All to say people should remember vaccination updates and prioritize their health this fall.
Life is busy and stressful enough without getting sick, caring for sick family members, rampant illness and abseentism at work/school, and wayyy overfull hospitals.
5/6
4. Millions of lives saved by vaccinesโฆbut a time of great societal stress also amplified outrageous disinformation from grifters and conspiracists, in spite of excellent safety data (there is no doubt vaccine is better than COVID infection.) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...
4/6
3. COVID can be severe directly AND, like influenza, is associated with higher rates of major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke) in younger people too. Vaccines make a big difference in reducing risk of illness, death and community impact.
share.google/pvqLKjf...
3/6
2. Access with be more complex- not in pharmacies. Pre sign up period ends before they are available I think?
(If in doubt about coverage conditions and affotdability Iโd sign up anyway. )
bookvaccine.alberta....
Immunologic conditions for eligibility include:
2/6
1.
In case you are in Alberta and missed the details, COVID fall vaccination eligibility in Alberta is restricted vs other provinces. One key difference is not covering based on age >65. Congregate care, medical and immunologic eligibility criteria. Medical:
1/6
I imagine many know this already but holy heck, what a massive Microsoft SharePoint security breach - with no patch yet.
Just in case- an FYI.
Check w/ your IT folk if it affects you.
In the wake of RFK Jr.โs ACIP shake-up, the medical community is taking matters into its own hands.
Dr. Michael Osterholmโs new Vaccine Integrity Project at CIDRAP aims to fill the void with science-based, nonpartisan guidance. #VaccineIntegrity #PublicHealth
The #ACIP meeting can only be described as the battle between science and anti-science. Greatest respect to the CDC scientists who are presenting the data in the face of a torrent of outright disinformation from several new members of ACIP who clearly have an antivaxx anti science agenda.
25.06.2025 17:45 โ ๐ 260 ๐ 58 ๐ฌ 5 ๐ 1Why it matters: ACIP votes are legally binding for Medicaid and Medicare. If this new ACIP says no to a vaccine, millions could lose access. 3/
25.06.2025 20:52 โ ๐ 72 ๐ 18 ๐ฌ 3 ๐ 3PLEASE SHARE ๐งชโผ๏ธ
Vaccination schedules on the CDC website have already started changing under RFK Jr.
Scientific American has published a guide to the EVIDENCE-BASED vaccine recommendations in place BEFORE ACIP members were removed by the administration.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-...
Secretary Kennedy replaced CDCโs vaccine advisors based on false claims of conflicts of interest, and yet one of his new ACIP appointees reported more conflicts than all the 17 fired members combined. Striking.
24.06.2025 16:22 โ ๐ 1178 ๐ 385 ๐ฌ 19 ๐ 9Yeah, raw milk remains bad for you. Clear risk and no proven benefit. (Imaging licking a cows udder- and all of the manure win the environment. Those are the bacteria you are getting exposed to.)
doh.wa.gov/you-and-y....
And-Public health clinics only?
?Covid and influenza shots in one trip won't be possible
Whole system was pharmacy based- 25X more >65y got vaccine in pharmacy than clinic
Will they boost public health capacity -resources for this???
The vaccines has- and still saves lives.
AB COVID vaccine-
People on AISH, homeless, immunocompromised will have to PREBOOK ONLINE for their covered shot- logistical nightmare, reduces access
Health care workers- not mentioned??
-This is an occupational risk and immunizing HCW is recommended to protect patients
Now, most >65y olds in community will pay ?>100$ for COVID vaccine
>65:
1/2 of the hosp, 2/3 of the ICU adm, and 3/4 of the deaths in the pandemic
2024-2025 Alberta data: >60years: hosp 2432, ICU 108, deaths 249
COVID vaccine recommended by NACI
Median income 36K in Canada
One note re :"wastage": AB had 10% lower vaccine uptake than BC but I'm not sure how many people were aware it was recommended. The campaign didn't use the word "COVID".
This gov't vaccine campaigns have been found lacking: shorturl.at/H0Dwa, shorturl.at/BrULe
Whoa now.
Alberta COVID vaccine planning news release (shorturl.at/U15nE) has some major shockers.
First- it IS $$$ and it IS newly provincial dollars (like all other vaccines). NACI provided guidance (shorturl.at/r0fWf) in Jan as provinces bought supply ~March.
I wouldnโt want to be Meta this morning. Theyโve made more than just the news business in the country furious. Incredible reporting from @alexposadzki.bsky.social & Kathryn Blaze Baum www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
14.06.2025 13:36 โ ๐ 8 ๐ 5 ๐ฌ 1 ๐ 1Dangerous habits- HCW edition! In healthcare, instant messaging in electronic medical records is not considered timely/adequate communication. Itโs like texting and hoping someone sees it versus phoning and having them pick up. if itโs urgent, or if you havenโt heard back, call!
02.06.2025 14:48 โ ๐ 4 ๐ 1 ๐ฌ 0 ๐ 0Shoutout to the Canadian Medical Association for this injection of common sense.
Health professionals should strive to provide the best current evidence-based care possible without having to break a law.
For any diagnosis.
Full Stop.
https://rb.gy/y75bef
Going greatโฆ
Basically, southern Alberta = measles exposure risk. Are they still trying to contact trace?
Info here: www.albertahealthser...
Make sure you/ yours are up to date on vaccines: 10-20% of cases hospitalized usually. At best Itโs nasty.
So the "good old days" were pretty hard on kids. In the 1800s about 1 in 3 children died before age 5, mostly from infections, many vaccine preventable.
Here is an example of a families' keepsake memory.
Postmortem daguerrotypes of kids were NOT rare.
Vaccines prevent this.
In the 1800s-early 1900s, schools and institutions were opened for "Deaf, Dumb, and Blind" (then termed) kids. Measles was a big cause of acquired hearing loss- post encephalitis or ear infection.
Bacterial meningitis was another big cause (also vaccine preventable).
But... it's just a kid rash illness ?!?
Yes - and no.
About 996/1000 healthy kids fully recover after illness, with 1-3 dying, 1 with encephalitis, AND 100-200 would have complications of bacterial pneumonia or ear infection. There are still >100,000 measles deaths annually.