February 4, 2021 Allergy/Immunology Lancet posts Oxford Vaccine Group preprint study on how the timing of the booster dose of its Oxford-AZ vaccine affects the immune response and efficacy for people 18-55 years of age.
January 26, 2021 Geriatrics Vaccine shortage has led to Ontario’s plan to delay health care provider’s second dose for some and redirect them to long-term care residents so that by Feb. 5 all will have had at least one dose.
January 25, 2021 Biomedical Engineering Two positive steps forward for treatment and testing of coronavirus.
January 21, 2021 Clinical Research Israeli real-world Pfizer vaccine study reports infection rates dropped by 33% in treatment group of 200K people >60 y.o vs 200K controls after 21 days, less than predicted by proponents of delaying 2nd dose. Stay on schedule until proven otherwise.
January 18, 2021 Apps and diagnosis Study reports that Apple watches require further evaluation to determine their ability to predict COVID-19 infection due to small study size, self-reported data, and a small number of infections within the group.
January 12, 2021 Health Policy Should you wear a mask while you are outside? Infectious disease and public health specialists have outlined some guidelines.
January 8, 2021 Infectious Disease A post hoc ergo propter hoc moment: Quebec City care home outbreak after COVID-19 vaccination was not because vaccine did not work; it did not have enough time to do so. It also did not cause the outbreak; you cannot get Covid-19 from the vaccine.
January 7, 2021 Infectious Disease Can a person vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the virus? If so, it underscores the importance of achieving herd immunity through vaccination and continuing to employ accepted public health measures.
January 6, 2021 Health Policy Pregnant or breastfeeding women should have access to COVID vaccines. Especially if they work in a high-risk environment or have underlying health conditions that further increase their risk of complications if they become infected with the virus.
December 31, 2020 Health Policy Air travellers to Canada will need a negative test for Covid-19 three days before arrival. Why are land border crossings not included? Why only one test when false negatives can occur at the three-day mark? Details needed to understand policy rationale.