Ontario issues stay-at-home order except for essentials
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Past vaccine disasters show why rushing a coronavirus vaccine now would be 'colossally stupid'
Past vaccine disasters show why rushing a coronavirus vaccine now would be 'colossally stupid' | CNN
Vaccine experts are warning the federal government against rushing out a coronavirus vaccine before testing has shown it's both safe and effective. Decades of history show why they're right.
You can't win an argument with points because you don't have the parts bub, so take your sadness and jam it
LOSER
make like the now suddenly none existent flue dood, haha
oh btw, here is some science for the intelligent reader :
Global Bombshell: University of Texas Research Team Warns Coronavirus Vaccines Cause Massive Heart Attacks, Strokes, Blood Clots
Immunization with SARS Coronavirus Vaccines Leads to Pulmonary Immunopathology on Challenge with the SARS Virus
Last edited:
World’s Most-Vaccinated Nation Activates Curbs as Cases Rise
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/poli...ated-nation-reintroduces-curbs-as-cases-surge
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated more of its population against the coronavirus than any other country, has closed schools and canceled sporting activities for two weeks as infections surge.
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/poli...ated-nation-reintroduces-curbs-as-cases-surge
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/poli...ated-nation-reintroduces-curbs-as-cases-surge
Copyright © BloombergQuint
don't look sleepy you'll PEE your panties again
lol typhoid marionette
Heh, betcha you failed at DR gates common core math too, HaHa. Say, are ya still using a free antivirus because gates knows FK all about virus ?
tell the truth!
Has anyone in the MSM even bothered in trying to link the Covid vaccine to the people that are getting sick or are dying after they have taken the Covid vaccine jab yet? Many doctors, scientists and other alternative medicine people and other anti-vaccine websites have said that there will be millions being seriously injured or die in the next year from those that took this Covid experimental gene therapy vaccine. Nobody seems to be dying these days from the Covid vaccine at all. They are all dying from some complications that those people had after they took the vaccine and the vaccine had nothing to do with their illness or death. There can be no doubt about it that our dear comrade political leaders are all trying to kill us off. Just my opinion of course.
WARMINGTON: These cops don't believe in arresting people for being on the street
15 active officers and four retirees taking the government and their police forces to court
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Publishing date:May 04, 2021 • 21 hours ago • 3 minute read • 70 Comments
York Region Const. Chris Vandebos and Toronto Polilce Sgt. Julie Evans in front of the Charter of Rights in Toronto on May 3, 2021.
York Regional Police Const. Chris Vandenbos and Toronto Police Sgt. Julie Evans in front of the Charter of Rights in Toronto on May 3, 2021. PHOTO BY JOE WARMINGTON /Toronto Sun
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These are cops policing a pandemic who are just not comfortable ticketing a woman on a sidewalk for expressing her free speech.
These are cops who don’t believe people in any house of worship should be arrested. These are cops deeply offended seeing a video of a 12-year-old boy on a scooter being pushed to the ground at a closed-down skate park.
And these cops have put their careers on the line to protect people’s basic rights.
Meet Sgt. Julie Evans and Sgt. Greg Boltyansky of Toronto Police and York Regional Police Const. Christopher Vandenbos — three officers “loyal to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” who are among 15 active police officers and four retirees taking the government and their police forces to court over being forced to participate in “unconstitutional” and “martial law” like lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and enforcement. The initiative stems from Police on Guard For Thee, which has hundreds of active and retired police officers advocating for the rights of Canadians.
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“There are outright violations of people’s rights,” said Evans, a 20-year decorated detective. “It’s criminalizing human behaviour of people who are not criminals.”
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But suddenly people expressing their freedoms at rallies, or wanting to play basketball, are in regular confrontations with police. These cops don’t think these interactions are necessary.
“Going out and living their lives, to me, should not involve police going out and criminalizing that,” said 17-year veteran Vandenbos.
A social media video of a York police officer threatening to ticket a crying woman who has lost her business is hard to watch.
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“It’s not what we signed up for,” said Evans. “Imagine watching daily your colleagues do that and try and put that same uniform on.”
These cops say they want to help people like her. Not fight her.
As a police officer for two decades, Boltyansky served foreign tours in Afghanistan and Ukraine but says it’s the stress now that is worse. “Right now I feel broken,” he said.
Our society is broken. The mental stress levels have never been higher.
It’s heartbreaking because these officers are good people with great careers. I’d rather find a way for them to continue those instead of being out of sorts with equally as exceptional superiors who have their own pressures to bear.
But these officers deserve to be heard. Their point of view is important. They are not unstable or wearing “tin foil” hats, as some suggest. It’s the opposite. They are people setting a high standard who you want wearing that uniform.
“I take great pride in the oath that I took to the Constitution, Charter and the Queen,” said Vandenbos. “In serving as a police officer, forgetting that Constitution and oath to the Charter, basically nullifies what it is I sought to do as a police officer, which is to protect the people and not criminalize human behaviour.”
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Evans and Boltyansky have had it happen to them. Off duty, both were busted in the parking lot of the Church of God in Aylmer last month and after a heated conversation with local police, were handed $880 tickets.
The lawyer for the officers, Rocco Galati, said there will be more to say when it goes to court but I can say there are components to the story so compelling that these officers should never have ever been approached — much the same as Anne Klausner in Richmond Hill, whose fitness sector business is out of business thanks to COVID-19 measures.
Police at the Church of God in Aylmer.
MANDEL: Shameful police lawsuit against COVID-19 restrictions
Toronto Police Chief James Ramer speaks outside headquarters on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020.
WARMINGTON: Toronto's top cop vows it's health and safety enforcement not a police state
Independent MP Derek Sloan speaks at an anti-lockdown protest Monday at Tecumseh Park.
KINSELLA: Why are so many people lashing out against lockdowns?
“We were just in the parking lot after coming out of a church,” said Evans. “We did nothing wrong.”
Toronto Police say its Professional Standards Unit is investigating. The pandemic has created some bizarre priorities for the system.
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Constitutional expert Galati said it’s an honour to represent these fine officers.
“The one thing they have in common is their integrity … They are standing up because of their commitment to the rule of law and the oath that they took to clarify their duties under these COVID regulations and to clarify what they can and can’t do.”
Added Galati: “They have serious concerns that they are being asked to do completely illegal and unconstitutional things.”
These cops won’t do that.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
WARMINGTON: These cops don't believe in arresting people for being on the street
15 active officers and four retirees taking the government and their police forces to courttorontosun.com
This is why I always keep saying. that our dear comrade welfare recipient political leaders do not give a dam about we the sheeple. Our dear comrade leaders have now become dictators and the enemy of we the people. The lying and fake media are no better. Pretty much 98% of our treasonous politicians needs to be arrested, charged and jailed for their crimes against Canadians and crimes against humanity. They have failed we the people.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is now only just a piece of rag paper to wipe our arse's with. The communist manifesto is now our new Charter of Wrongs and Anti-Freedoms. Communist Covidism has done this all to we the sheeple. We deserved it to because we as sheeple never bothered to think that our comrade leaders would or could ever become and start acting like dictators here in Canada. Canada has now become a police state communist country. Believe it or not.
You can't win an argument with points because you don't have the parts bub, so take your sadness and jam it
LOSER
make like the now suddenly none existent flue dood, haha
oh btw, here is some science for the intelligent reader :
Global Bombshell: University of Texas Research Team Warns Coronavirus Vaccines Cause Massive Heart Attacks, Strokes, Blood Clots
Immunization with SARS Coronavirus Vaccines Leads to Pulmonary Immunopathology on Challenge with the SARS Virus
We both have to wonder as to how this sleepy guy ever got so far in his useless life with so little in his head. Sleepy sure looks to me like he has always been two bricks short of a full load. Sleepy head is truly an amazing miracle to survive this long in life. Maybe it is time for sleepy head to go get an IQ test. Just saying.
Covid 1984 is part of one big globalist elite deep state conspiracy. One of the biggest conspiracies ever created by a bunch of non human and alien like globalist creatures that ever existed. We are all now living in a Covidism 1984 globalist created conspiracy. Event 201 told us that. Look Event 201 up. It will explain it all to you, sleepy head.
Johnson & Johnson Funding Fact Checkers
Lawmaker questions financial ties between fact checker and Johnson and Johnson
Can fact checkers remain impartial when they're funded by a foundation that owns significant J&J stock?
Lawmaker questions financial ties between fact checker and Johnson and Johnson
Can fact checkers remain impartial when they're funded by a foundation that owns significant J&J stock?
reclaimthenet.org
Study: Single Pfizer dose only 30% effective against U.K. variant so spacing is riskier
The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine
Author of the articleostmedia News
Publishing date:May 06, 2021 • 12 hours ago • 2 minute read • 37 Comments
A new study has found that spacing out doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a lot riskier against a variant that is running rampant than administering both jabs quicker.
A new study has found that spacing out doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a lot riskier against a variant that is running rampant than administering both jabs quicker. PHOTO BY STEPHANE MAHE /Reuters
Article content
A new study has found spacing out doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a lot riskier against variants running rampant than administering both jabs quicker.
The study of close to 40,000 people in Qatar found that the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine was only 30% effective at preventing infection (either symptomatic or asymptomatic) by the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the U.K. variant.
How experts make plant-based foods taste like meat
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The single shot was found to be 54.5% effective at preventing more serious results (“severe, critical or fatal”) according to the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.
The study found those who have received two jabs of the vaccine had 87% protection against infection — increasing to 90% two weeks after the second dose — against the B.1.1.7 variant, which is extensively found in Ontario.
Both doses were also found to be 100% effective against severe symptoms or death.
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The study suggests moving up second doses of the Pfizer vaccine would be beneficial.
There have been indications that Ontario might speed up second doses of vaccines, including those of Pfizer, with more vaccines becoming online.
Pfizer released a statement on March 23 saying its Phase 3 study for the vaccine was designed to evaluate its safety and efficacy after a two-dose schedule separated by 21 days.
“The safety and efficacy of the vaccine has not been evaluated on different dosing schedules as the majority of trial participants received the second dose within the window specified in the study design,” said the release.
“Data from the Phase 3 study demonstrated that, although protection from the vaccine appears to begin as early as 12 days after the first dose, two doses of the vaccine are required to provide the maximum protection against the disease, a vaccine efficacy of 95%. There are no data from this study to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days.”
The Qatar study found even more dismal results when it comes to the B.1.351 South Africa variant.
It found that one shot was only 17% effective at preventing infection by that variant and 0% effective at preventing hospitalization or death.
pfizer.ca
torontosun.com
The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine
Author of the article
ostmedia NewsPublishing date:May 06, 2021 • 12 hours ago • 2 minute read • 37 Comments
A new study has found that spacing out doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a lot riskier against a variant that is running rampant than administering both jabs quicker.
A new study has found that spacing out doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a lot riskier against a variant that is running rampant than administering both jabs quicker. PHOTO BY STEPHANE MAHE /Reuters
Article content
A new study has found spacing out doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a lot riskier against variants running rampant than administering both jabs quicker.
The study of close to 40,000 people in Qatar found that the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine was only 30% effective at preventing infection (either symptomatic or asymptomatic) by the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the U.K. variant.
How experts make plant-based foods taste like meat
Trackerdslogo
The single shot was found to be 54.5% effective at preventing more serious results (“severe, critical or fatal”) according to the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.
The study found those who have received two jabs of the vaccine had 87% protection against infection — increasing to 90% two weeks after the second dose — against the B.1.1.7 variant, which is extensively found in Ontario.
Both doses were also found to be 100% effective against severe symptoms or death.
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This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The study suggests moving up second doses of the Pfizer vaccine would be beneficial.
There have been indications that Ontario might speed up second doses of vaccines, including those of Pfizer, with more vaccines becoming online.
Pfizer released a statement on March 23 saying its Phase 3 study for the vaccine was designed to evaluate its safety and efficacy after a two-dose schedule separated by 21 days.
“The safety and efficacy of the vaccine has not been evaluated on different dosing schedules as the majority of trial participants received the second dose within the window specified in the study design,” said the release.
“Data from the Phase 3 study demonstrated that, although protection from the vaccine appears to begin as early as 12 days after the first dose, two doses of the vaccine are required to provide the maximum protection against the disease, a vaccine efficacy of 95%. There are no data from this study to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days.”
The Qatar study found even more dismal results when it comes to the B.1.351 South Africa variant.
It found that one shot was only 17% effective at preventing infection by that variant and 0% effective at preventing hospitalization or death.
Statement: Pfizer position on dosing intervals of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
We recognize that recommendations on alternative dosing intervals reside with health authorities and may include recommendations due to public health principles. However, as a biopharmaceutical company working in a highly regulated industry, our position is supported by the label and indication...
Study: Single Pfizer dose only 30% effective against U.K. variant so spacing is riskier
The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine
LEVY: Bucky the Barber taking a real haircut from lockdowns
Author of the article:Sue-Ann Levy
Publishing date:May 06, 2021 • 8 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Shawn Lewis of Custom Cuts Barbershop on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
Shawn Lewis of Custom Cuts Barbershop on Thursday, May 6, 2021. PHOTO BY VERONICA HENRI /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network
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Shawn Lewis, aka Bucky the Barber, has been locked down as much as he’s been permitted to open over the last year.
The latest provincial lockdown has shut his two Custom Cutz shops in Pickering and Whitby since March.
“We’re trying our best (to keep alive),” he told me this week, noting his government benefits have been pending since January and rent subsidies have been sporadic.
He said he has bills like crazy.
“It’s been super difficult for our business … to lock us down 100% and expect us to pay any bills is crazy,” said Lewis, who was playfully nicknamed “Bucky” after Buck O’Hare the superhero rabbit because of the space between his two front teeth.
He said the constant lockdowns have cut his sales by 80%.
Even when he’s been open, he said people are reluctant to come back because they’re “nervous.”
Lewis said he’s thankful he had savings to access. Trouble is, it was money he’d saved up for a house for his wife and four kids.
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“We don’t have the money for the house anymore,” he said.
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A Switch Health COVID test.
LEVY: Is Switch Health switched on right?
The Amazon Fulfillment warehouse on Heritage Rd in Brampton on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
COVID outbreaks close 32 businesses in Toronto, Peel
He employs 11 people in both salons and he’s worried some of them are finding a different career that won’t lock them down ever again.
Lewis feels all of his colleagues in the service industries — salons, tattoo parlors, spas and nail salons –have been targeted “unfairly” even though there’s little proof their industry is spreading the virus.
“Because we complied, we’re losing everything we had,” he said, noting before COVID he was just starting to reap the benefits of his shops after 13 years.
Lewis has no idea what’s going to happen when they are finally allowed to reopen, but he anticipates it will take a while to rebuild.
He really hopes the industry bounces back because so many people have invested years of their lives.
Lewis said he would be “devastated” if he lost his shops.
Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said as of Thursday, GTA barbershops and hair salons have been locked down 257 days since the pandemic began.
They have been now closed for 165 consecutive days and counting, he said.
He said if he was forced to make a bet on it, Ontario businesses won’t be permitted to reopen on May 20.
“It seems like opening businesses is concern number 5,000 for the Ford government,” Kelly said. “The lockdowns in the GTA are the longest in North America … there’s no way COVID in the GTA is the worst in North America.”
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He added that the lockdowns haven’t been working — a point with which I agree. If they had worked, there would be no COVID left in Ontario, he said.
Kelly said every hour that the lockdown continues more CFIB members make the call to pack it in.
He said there’s a “practical limit” to how many business expenses can be put on one’s personal credit card or how much one is willing to sacrifice one’s house because it was used as “collateral” for a business loan.
“They don’t have the staying power,” Kelly said. “They’ve already been holding things together with tape and glue.”
He said the province has been MIA on rolling out rapid testing for Bucky’s hair salon and other service industries — which would allow them to test their staff three times a week while remaining open with all the other safety precautions in place.
The majority of business owners they’ve surveyed say there needs to be a “heartbeat of activity” to keep them alive — meaning easing the restrictions to a certain extent.
Kelly said many of the public health measures are there to send a message to the public that COVID must be taken seriously — not because the business is “inherently risky.”
The CFIB predicts 75,000 or 1 in 5 small businesses will be forced to shut down in Ontario before this is all over, he said.
SLevy@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Sue-Ann Levy
Publishing date:May 06, 2021 • 8 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Shawn Lewis of Custom Cuts Barbershop on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
Shawn Lewis of Custom Cuts Barbershop on Thursday, May 6, 2021. PHOTO BY VERONICA HENRI /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network
Article content
Shawn Lewis, aka Bucky the Barber, has been locked down as much as he’s been permitted to open over the last year.
The latest provincial lockdown has shut his two Custom Cutz shops in Pickering and Whitby since March.
“We’re trying our best (to keep alive),” he told me this week, noting his government benefits have been pending since January and rent subsidies have been sporadic.
He said he has bills like crazy.
“It’s been super difficult for our business … to lock us down 100% and expect us to pay any bills is crazy,” said Lewis, who was playfully nicknamed “Bucky” after Buck O’Hare the superhero rabbit because of the space between his two front teeth.
He said the constant lockdowns have cut his sales by 80%.
Even when he’s been open, he said people are reluctant to come back because they’re “nervous.”
Lewis said he’s thankful he had savings to access. Trouble is, it was money he’d saved up for a house for his wife and four kids.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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Article content
“We don’t have the money for the house anymore,” he said.
A Switch Health COVID test.
LEVY: Is Switch Health switched on right?
The Amazon Fulfillment warehouse on Heritage Rd in Brampton on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
COVID outbreaks close 32 businesses in Toronto, Peel
He employs 11 people in both salons and he’s worried some of them are finding a different career that won’t lock them down ever again.
Lewis feels all of his colleagues in the service industries — salons, tattoo parlors, spas and nail salons –have been targeted “unfairly” even though there’s little proof their industry is spreading the virus.
“Because we complied, we’re losing everything we had,” he said, noting before COVID he was just starting to reap the benefits of his shops after 13 years.
Lewis has no idea what’s going to happen when they are finally allowed to reopen, but he anticipates it will take a while to rebuild.
He really hopes the industry bounces back because so many people have invested years of their lives.
Lewis said he would be “devastated” if he lost his shops.
Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said as of Thursday, GTA barbershops and hair salons have been locked down 257 days since the pandemic began.
They have been now closed for 165 consecutive days and counting, he said.
He said if he was forced to make a bet on it, Ontario businesses won’t be permitted to reopen on May 20.
“It seems like opening businesses is concern number 5,000 for the Ford government,” Kelly said. “The lockdowns in the GTA are the longest in North America … there’s no way COVID in the GTA is the worst in North America.”
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He added that the lockdowns haven’t been working — a point with which I agree. If they had worked, there would be no COVID left in Ontario, he said.
Kelly said every hour that the lockdown continues more CFIB members make the call to pack it in.
He said there’s a “practical limit” to how many business expenses can be put on one’s personal credit card or how much one is willing to sacrifice one’s house because it was used as “collateral” for a business loan.
“They don’t have the staying power,” Kelly said. “They’ve already been holding things together with tape and glue.”
He said the province has been MIA on rolling out rapid testing for Bucky’s hair salon and other service industries — which would allow them to test their staff three times a week while remaining open with all the other safety precautions in place.
The majority of business owners they’ve surveyed say there needs to be a “heartbeat of activity” to keep them alive — meaning easing the restrictions to a certain extent.
Kelly said many of the public health measures are there to send a message to the public that COVID must be taken seriously — not because the business is “inherently risky.”
The CFIB predicts 75,000 or 1 in 5 small businesses will be forced to shut down in Ontario before this is all over, he said.
SLevy@postmedia.com
LEVY: Bucky the Barber taking a real haircut from lockdowns
Shawn Lewis, aka Bucky the Barber, has been locked down as much as he's been permitted to open over the last year.
LILLEY: Variants arriving shows Canada must tighten border restrictions
5,159 people with COVID arrived in Canada via air travel between Feb. 22 and April 29, But how many are entering the country via our land borders?
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Publishing date:May 06, 2021 • 7 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Article content
It’s still just a variant of interest, not one of concern yet, but health officials in Ottawa and London have sounded the alarm about recent cases of the B1.617 variant showing up in their communities.
That’s the double variant first discovered in India in March and first reported in Canada in April.
In Ottawa, medical officer Dr. Vera Etches reported three cases of this variant on Wednesday with all three cases related to international travel – two of the cases stayed in the nation’s capital while the third has made their way to the GTA. The case in London was also related to international travel.
“It was not acquired in Canada, nor in the Middlesex-London Health Unit,” associate medical officer of health Alex Summers said.
So much for the claims that the border is not an issue.
In total, there have been 38 identified of the B1.617 variant cases registered with Public Health Ontario. Of those, 37 have been linked to international travel and one is still being investigated. Given the lax quarantine rules existing in Canada though, it’s only a matter of time before there is community spread of this variant.
That’s what happened in December with the B.1.1.7 variant that was first discovered in the U.K. It came into Canada via travel and then, despite our quarantine rules, began spreading in the community. That variant now accounts for roughly 90% of all COVID cases in Ontario.
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The new double-mutant variant will also spread this way, as will other variants, unless we fix the current system.
According to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, about 27% of people who test positive for COVID after arriving in Canada via aircraft, do so on the test they conduct at home on day 8 or 10. That means those people are at home, most often with family members or roommates who are still going to work or otherwise heading out into the community.
This is how we get community spread — it’s how it happened in December and how it will happen now.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
The arrivals lineup in Terminal One at Pearson International Airport February 22, 2021.
LILLEY: Thousands of COVID-infected travellers enter Canada
A passenger is covered head to toe at the International Arrivals area at Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, January 26, 2021.
Nearly every India-Toronto flight this month had COVID-positive passengers
The arrivals lineup in Terminal One at Pearson International Airport on Feb. 22, 2021.
Man nabbed with suspected fake COVID document at Pearson airport
While most people think quarantine means some kind of isolation, that’s not true. It’s also not true that only Canadian citizens are allowed into the country. The list of exemptions is long and the idea that the Trudeau Liberals have banned non-essential travel is ridiculous. Yes, travel is down significantly, but it is not shut down and it is still contributing to new cases and new variants.
Last week we found out that between Feb. 22 and April 29, 5,159 people who arrived in Canada via air travel had tested positive for COVID-19. That is just at the four airports in Canada taking international flights. We don’t know about the land border because the Public Health Agency of Canada won’t release the data.
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Despite putting in a request and following up every single day since then, the bureaucrats at PHAC have refused to provide any information on how many people have tested positive at the land border. They either don’t the information, which they absolutely should, or won’t release it because it will be embarrassing for the government.
Neither of those is a good answer.
With more than 192,000 people crossing into the land border in a single week in April, we need to be concerned. If land crossers have the same positivity rates as air travellers – 1.5% to 2.26% – they we are importing between 2,800 and 4,300 new cases per week.
If we have any hope of getting ahead of COVID before another variant takes hold, then the Trudeau government needs to tighten up who can enter Canada and toughen up the quarantine rules. This needs to happen at least until we can get enough people vaccinated.
It’s that or prepare now for the fourth wave.
blilley@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
5,159 people with COVID arrived in Canada via air travel between Feb. 22 and April 29, But how many are entering the country via our land borders?
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Publishing date:May 06, 2021 • 7 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Article content
It’s still just a variant of interest, not one of concern yet, but health officials in Ottawa and London have sounded the alarm about recent cases of the B1.617 variant showing up in their communities.
That’s the double variant first discovered in India in March and first reported in Canada in April.
In Ottawa, medical officer Dr. Vera Etches reported three cases of this variant on Wednesday with all three cases related to international travel – two of the cases stayed in the nation’s capital while the third has made their way to the GTA. The case in London was also related to international travel.
“It was not acquired in Canada, nor in the Middlesex-London Health Unit,” associate medical officer of health Alex Summers said.
So much for the claims that the border is not an issue.
In total, there have been 38 identified of the B1.617 variant cases registered with Public Health Ontario. Of those, 37 have been linked to international travel and one is still being investigated. Given the lax quarantine rules existing in Canada though, it’s only a matter of time before there is community spread of this variant.
That’s what happened in December with the B.1.1.7 variant that was first discovered in the U.K. It came into Canada via travel and then, despite our quarantine rules, began spreading in the community. That variant now accounts for roughly 90% of all COVID cases in Ontario.
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The new double-mutant variant will also spread this way, as will other variants, unless we fix the current system.
According to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, about 27% of people who test positive for COVID after arriving in Canada via aircraft, do so on the test they conduct at home on day 8 or 10. That means those people are at home, most often with family members or roommates who are still going to work or otherwise heading out into the community.
This is how we get community spread — it’s how it happened in December and how it will happen now.
The arrivals lineup in Terminal One at Pearson International Airport February 22, 2021.
LILLEY: Thousands of COVID-infected travellers enter Canada
A passenger is covered head to toe at the International Arrivals area at Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, January 26, 2021.
Nearly every India-Toronto flight this month had COVID-positive passengers
The arrivals lineup in Terminal One at Pearson International Airport on Feb. 22, 2021.
Man nabbed with suspected fake COVID document at Pearson airport
While most people think quarantine means some kind of isolation, that’s not true. It’s also not true that only Canadian citizens are allowed into the country. The list of exemptions is long and the idea that the Trudeau Liberals have banned non-essential travel is ridiculous. Yes, travel is down significantly, but it is not shut down and it is still contributing to new cases and new variants.
Last week we found out that between Feb. 22 and April 29, 5,159 people who arrived in Canada via air travel had tested positive for COVID-19. That is just at the four airports in Canada taking international flights. We don’t know about the land border because the Public Health Agency of Canada won’t release the data.
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Despite putting in a request and following up every single day since then, the bureaucrats at PHAC have refused to provide any information on how many people have tested positive at the land border. They either don’t the information, which they absolutely should, or won’t release it because it will be embarrassing for the government.
Neither of those is a good answer.
With more than 192,000 people crossing into the land border in a single week in April, we need to be concerned. If land crossers have the same positivity rates as air travellers – 1.5% to 2.26% – they we are importing between 2,800 and 4,300 new cases per week.
If we have any hope of getting ahead of COVID before another variant takes hold, then the Trudeau government needs to tighten up who can enter Canada and toughen up the quarantine rules. This needs to happen at least until we can get enough people vaccinated.
It’s that or prepare now for the fourth wave.
blilley@postmedia.com
LILLEY: Variants arriving shows Canada must tighten border restrictions
Health officials in Ottawa and London have sounded the alarm about recent cases of the B1.617 variant showing up in their communities.
WARMINGTON: Nearly 25,000 have died of COVID -- 50 after vaccination
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Publishing date:May 08, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 5 minute read • 159 Comments
Lisa Stonehouse, 52, of Edmonton, seen in this undated photo with her 19-year-old daughter Jordan, died as a result of suffering blood clots on Monday, May 3, 2021. Her death is believed to be linked to receiving an AstraZeeneca vaccine mean to protect her from contracting COVID-19.
Lisa Stonehouse, 52, of Edmonton, seen in this undated photo with her 19-year-old daughter Jordan, died as a result of suffering blood clots on Monday, May 3, 2021. Her death is believed to be linked to receiving an AstraZeeneca vaccine mean to protect her from contracting COVID-19. PHOTO BY WILF LOWENBERG /GOFUNDME
Article content
EDITOR’S NOTE: This column has been updated with the latest numbers from Health Canada since it was originally posted.
It’s almost at 25,000 Canadians who have been counted as dying with COVID-19 and 50 who have been recorded as dying after receiving their vaccine.
You read it right. Both numbers are too high.
It is true 13,420,198 people in Canada are recorded to have received at least one shot of one of the vaccines. But did you know the number of people who have been reported to have died in Canada after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine? I didn’t until I checked a Government of Canada website that keeps track of those numbers.
It says the number is now 50 — up from the 40 it had reported last Friday.
One statistic also not widely known is there have been 4,548 “adverse” reactions to a COVID-19 vaccine out of the almost 13.5 doses recorded to be given. Statistically it’s low but if you put more than 4,000 people in one room, that’s a lot of people. Of those 4,548 according to Health Canada, 3,800 are said to be not “serious” in nature while 748 are considered “serious.”
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Dig deeper to the bottom of the “reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada” summary and charts on the Health Canada website and you will find the reference to the 50 unnamed people who died. It states: “Up to and including April 30, 2021, a total of 50 reports identified deaths that occurred after the administration of a vaccine.”
However, it also states “following medical case review using the WHO-UMC causality assessment categories, it has been determined that 22 of these deaths are unlikely linked to a COVID-19 vaccine” and “25 are still under investigation.”
It doesn’t explain what then caused the death. It is worth noting one thing people notice during this pandemic is how many deaths, no matter the reason, are counted in the COVID-19 numbers while in this case they have determined almost half are “unlikely” connected to the vaccine.
The update also states as of April 30 “there were eight confirmed reports of Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia following vaccination with COVISHIELD/AstraZeneca in Canada.” Those eight cases included three females (54 to 72 years old) and five males (34 to 71 years old) — and “one individual died.”
It doesn’t indicate if that one individual was Lisa Stonehouse, of Edmonton, who at 52 died as a result of blood clots. But we know she died.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the sudden passing of Jordan’s beautiful mother Lisa Stonehouse,” family friend Wilf Lowenberg wrote on a GoFundMe set up for her family. “Lisa had the sweetest and most kind-hearted demeanor. Her laugh was infectious. Her life was taken far too soon. Lisa passed away due to complications from the Astra Zeneca vaccine. The matter is still being investigated.”
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The government site that keeps track of these reports notes the percentage of adverse reactions when compared to the large number of people vaccinated.
“Of the 4,548 individual reports (0.034% of all doses administered), 748 were considered serious (0.006% of all doses administered).”
It also says “all reports of adverse events following immunization received by Health Canada and (the) Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) are included in this report, regardless of whether they have been linked to the vaccines … because we need to look at all the data available to us so we can detect any early signals of an issue.”
Hopefully they do, and they try to ensure there are no other cases like Lisa’s. In favour of vaccines or not, what is most important is the actual truth of cases comes out for all to see and assess, so that pharmaceutical and medical communities can address any issues.
This reporting system is worth monitoring to keep track of both the successful and not so successful cases in this unprecedented time of mass vaccination. The statistics show so far it’s been mostly success.
But Lisa Stonehouse or any of the 50 dead are not statistics to their families.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
Questions and Answers in a email interview by Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington with Tammy Jarbeau: Senior Media Relations Advisor, Communications and Public Affairs Branch Serving Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
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Q: Are the vaccines recorded just from COVID-related inoculations or does it include other ones like for the flu or shingles?
A: “For the online weekly adverse event following immunization (AEFI) report at https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/, only AEFIs following COVID-19 vaccination are included. The vaccine safety surveillance program at Public Health Agency of Canada does monitor AEFIs for all marketed vaccine products in Canada, however this report pertains only to COVID-19 vaccine AEFIs.
Q: With the 11.5 million figure (now 13,420,198) … would you mind sending me the breakdown please?
A: Details on the doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered, including vaccine trade name, can be found on the COVID-19 vaccine coverage page: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccination-coverage/.
Q: Also it reports 600+ (now 748) cases of people having trouble after the vaccine — what does that means and what the condition is etc.?
A: The definition of a serious AEFI vaccination can be found in the definition section of the weekly online report (https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/). An adverse event is any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization. It isn’t necessarily causally related to the usage of the vaccine. The adverse event may be any:
– unfavourable or unintended sign (for example: skin rash)
– abnormal laboratory finding
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– symptom or
– disease
An event is considered serious if it:
– results in death
– is life-threatening (an event/reaction in which the patient was at real, rather than hypothetical, risk of death at the time of the event/reaction)
– requires in-patient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization
– results in persistent or significant disability/incapacity, or
– results in a congenital anomaly/birth defect
Q: It references 40 deaths post vaccine but says that 21 (now 22) of them are not COVID vaccine-related. Can you explain this please? Were autopsies conducted? What was responsible for the 21 deaths?How was it determined that it was not related to Covid vaccines?
A: A detailed medical review is done on all serious adverse events following immunization, including deaths. Medical reviews include all information available on the patient including medical history, concomitant health conditions and medications, and other relevant information. (Autopsies are not typically done unless the death is sudden, unexpected or suspicious. However, if an autopsy was done that information would be included in the medical review). Based on the results of at least two medical reviews using WHO-UMC causality assessment categories (https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/quality_safety/safety_efficacy/WHOcausality_assessment.pdf), a determination is made on the likelihood that the death is or is not linked (due) to the COVID vaccine.
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Q: Who reports this information — is it through hospitals, doctors or can the public also do it?
Adverse events following immunization are reported by public health officials within each province and territory. Most of these reports are generated by nurses, physicians or pharmacists who provide immunizations or who care for individuals with AEFIs. The public health authority within each province or territory then submits their reports to the Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS) for national roll-up (https://www.canada.ca/en/public-hea...immunization-surveillance-system-caefiss.html).
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Publishing date:May 08, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 5 minute read • 159 Comments
Lisa Stonehouse, 52, of Edmonton, seen in this undated photo with her 19-year-old daughter Jordan, died as a result of suffering blood clots on Monday, May 3, 2021. Her death is believed to be linked to receiving an AstraZeeneca vaccine mean to protect her from contracting COVID-19.
Lisa Stonehouse, 52, of Edmonton, seen in this undated photo with her 19-year-old daughter Jordan, died as a result of suffering blood clots on Monday, May 3, 2021. Her death is believed to be linked to receiving an AstraZeeneca vaccine mean to protect her from contracting COVID-19. PHOTO BY WILF LOWENBERG /GOFUNDME
Article content
EDITOR’S NOTE: This column has been updated with the latest numbers from Health Canada since it was originally posted.
It’s almost at 25,000 Canadians who have been counted as dying with COVID-19 and 50 who have been recorded as dying after receiving their vaccine.
You read it right. Both numbers are too high.
It is true 13,420,198 people in Canada are recorded to have received at least one shot of one of the vaccines. But did you know the number of people who have been reported to have died in Canada after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine? I didn’t until I checked a Government of Canada website that keeps track of those numbers.
It says the number is now 50 — up from the 40 it had reported last Friday.
One statistic also not widely known is there have been 4,548 “adverse” reactions to a COVID-19 vaccine out of the almost 13.5 doses recorded to be given. Statistically it’s low but if you put more than 4,000 people in one room, that’s a lot of people. Of those 4,548 according to Health Canada, 3,800 are said to be not “serious” in nature while 748 are considered “serious.”
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Dig deeper to the bottom of the “reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada” summary and charts on the Health Canada website and you will find the reference to the 50 unnamed people who died. It states: “Up to and including April 30, 2021, a total of 50 reports identified deaths that occurred after the administration of a vaccine.”
However, it also states “following medical case review using the WHO-UMC causality assessment categories, it has been determined that 22 of these deaths are unlikely linked to a COVID-19 vaccine” and “25 are still under investigation.”
It doesn’t explain what then caused the death. It is worth noting one thing people notice during this pandemic is how many deaths, no matter the reason, are counted in the COVID-19 numbers while in this case they have determined almost half are “unlikely” connected to the vaccine.
The update also states as of April 30 “there were eight confirmed reports of Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia following vaccination with COVISHIELD/AstraZeneca in Canada.” Those eight cases included three females (54 to 72 years old) and five males (34 to 71 years old) — and “one individual died.”
It doesn’t indicate if that one individual was Lisa Stonehouse, of Edmonton, who at 52 died as a result of blood clots. But we know she died.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the sudden passing of Jordan’s beautiful mother Lisa Stonehouse,” family friend Wilf Lowenberg wrote on a GoFundMe set up for her family. “Lisa had the sweetest and most kind-hearted demeanor. Her laugh was infectious. Her life was taken far too soon. Lisa passed away due to complications from the Astra Zeneca vaccine. The matter is still being investigated.”
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The government site that keeps track of these reports notes the percentage of adverse reactions when compared to the large number of people vaccinated.
“Of the 4,548 individual reports (0.034% of all doses administered), 748 were considered serious (0.006% of all doses administered).”
It also says “all reports of adverse events following immunization received by Health Canada and (the) Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) are included in this report, regardless of whether they have been linked to the vaccines … because we need to look at all the data available to us so we can detect any early signals of an issue.”
Hopefully they do, and they try to ensure there are no other cases like Lisa’s. In favour of vaccines or not, what is most important is the actual truth of cases comes out for all to see and assess, so that pharmaceutical and medical communities can address any issues.
This reporting system is worth monitoring to keep track of both the successful and not so successful cases in this unprecedented time of mass vaccination. The statistics show so far it’s been mostly success.
But Lisa Stonehouse or any of the 50 dead are not statistics to their families.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
Questions and Answers in a email interview by Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington with Tammy Jarbeau: Senior Media Relations Advisor, Communications and Public Affairs Branch Serving Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
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Q: Are the vaccines recorded just from COVID-related inoculations or does it include other ones like for the flu or shingles?
A: “For the online weekly adverse event following immunization (AEFI) report at https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/, only AEFIs following COVID-19 vaccination are included. The vaccine safety surveillance program at Public Health Agency of Canada does monitor AEFIs for all marketed vaccine products in Canada, however this report pertains only to COVID-19 vaccine AEFIs.
Q: With the 11.5 million figure (now 13,420,198) … would you mind sending me the breakdown please?
A: Details on the doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered, including vaccine trade name, can be found on the COVID-19 vaccine coverage page: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccination-coverage/.
Q: Also it reports 600+ (now 748) cases of people having trouble after the vaccine — what does that means and what the condition is etc.?
A: The definition of a serious AEFI vaccination can be found in the definition section of the weekly online report (https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/). An adverse event is any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization. It isn’t necessarily causally related to the usage of the vaccine. The adverse event may be any:
– unfavourable or unintended sign (for example: skin rash)
– abnormal laboratory finding
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
– symptom or
– disease
An event is considered serious if it:
– results in death
– is life-threatening (an event/reaction in which the patient was at real, rather than hypothetical, risk of death at the time of the event/reaction)
– requires in-patient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization
– results in persistent or significant disability/incapacity, or
– results in a congenital anomaly/birth defect
Q: It references 40 deaths post vaccine but says that 21 (now 22) of them are not COVID vaccine-related. Can you explain this please? Were autopsies conducted? What was responsible for the 21 deaths?How was it determined that it was not related to Covid vaccines?
A: A detailed medical review is done on all serious adverse events following immunization, including deaths. Medical reviews include all information available on the patient including medical history, concomitant health conditions and medications, and other relevant information. (Autopsies are not typically done unless the death is sudden, unexpected or suspicious. However, if an autopsy was done that information would be included in the medical review). Based on the results of at least two medical reviews using WHO-UMC causality assessment categories (https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/quality_safety/safety_efficacy/WHOcausality_assessment.pdf), a determination is made on the likelihood that the death is or is not linked (due) to the COVID vaccine.
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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Article content
Q: Who reports this information — is it through hospitals, doctors or can the public also do it?
Adverse events following immunization are reported by public health officials within each province and territory. Most of these reports are generated by nurses, physicians or pharmacists who provide immunizations or who care for individuals with AEFIs. The public health authority within each province or territory then submits their reports to the Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS) for national roll-up (https://www.canada.ca/en/public-hea...immunization-surveillance-system-caefiss.html).
WARMINGTON: Nearly 25,000 have died of COVID -- 50 after vaccination
EDITOR’S NOTE: This column has been updated with the latest numbers from Health Canada since it was originally posted.
THIRD WAVE CRASH: Ontario lost 153,000 jobs last month
Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:May 07, 2021 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read • 65 Comments
Unemployed due to COVID-19.
Unemployed due to COVID-19. PHOTO BY STOCK ART /Getty Images
Article content
Ontario lost 153,000 jobs in April after imposing tough new lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19.
The Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (LFS) reported that the province was down 134,000 full-time jobs and 18,700 part-time positions from March.
Ontario’s unemployment rate grew to 9% last month from 7.5% in March.
Across Canada, there were 204,000 fewer employees in April with almost all job losses in the private sector, Stats Canada found.
Stats Canada says Ontario saw a decline in 153,000 private sector positions last month, and also a decrease of 47,000 public sector positions, offset by an increase in 47,000 self-employed workers.
The Doug Ford government brought in a new stay-at-home order in mid-April along with stronger public health measures and travel restrictions in response to spiking cases and overwhelmed hospitals.
Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said the third wave of the pandemic, driven by new variants, has created an unprecedented challenge for people and businesses across Ontario.
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The provincial budget provides billions of dollars to roll out a vaccine program and to protect the economy, he said.
“We are not through the pandemic crisis and last month’s numbers remind us how important it is to stay focused on our plan to protect the health of Ontarians and their jobs,” Fedeli said in a statement. “But we can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
The three industries most impacted by lockdowns — retail; accommodation and food services; and information, culture and recreation — have seen their job numbers rise and fall with the easing and tightening of public health measures, Stats Canada says.
These three industries employ just under one-third of all private sector employees in the country.
“In April, the unemployment rate increased among both Southeast Asian Canadians (+4.1 percentage points to 13.6%) and Filipino Canadians (+1.4 percentage points to 6.3%), two groups where the proportion of workers employed in accommodation and food services is above the national average,” the LFS says. “The number of people working in accommodation and food services fell 59,000 (-6.4%) in April, largely as a result of losses in Ontario and British Columbia, where bans on indoor dining were re-introduced in late March and early April.”
The country saw 20,000 active businesses disappear in a year.
Long-term unemployment has increased since February 2020 in all major demographic groups, including core-aged (25-54) men and women and those aged 55 and older, the LFS says.
Job numbers in industries like real estate, insurance and finance have grown from pre-pandemic levels.
aartuso@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:May 07, 2021 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read • 65 Comments
Unemployed due to COVID-19.
Unemployed due to COVID-19. PHOTO BY STOCK ART /Getty Images
Article content
Ontario lost 153,000 jobs in April after imposing tough new lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19.
The Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (LFS) reported that the province was down 134,000 full-time jobs and 18,700 part-time positions from March.
Ontario’s unemployment rate grew to 9% last month from 7.5% in March.
Across Canada, there were 204,000 fewer employees in April with almost all job losses in the private sector, Stats Canada found.
Stats Canada says Ontario saw a decline in 153,000 private sector positions last month, and also a decrease of 47,000 public sector positions, offset by an increase in 47,000 self-employed workers.
The Doug Ford government brought in a new stay-at-home order in mid-April along with stronger public health measures and travel restrictions in response to spiking cases and overwhelmed hospitals.
Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said the third wave of the pandemic, driven by new variants, has created an unprecedented challenge for people and businesses across Ontario.
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The provincial budget provides billions of dollars to roll out a vaccine program and to protect the economy, he said.
“We are not through the pandemic crisis and last month’s numbers remind us how important it is to stay focused on our plan to protect the health of Ontarians and their jobs,” Fedeli said in a statement. “But we can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
The three industries most impacted by lockdowns — retail; accommodation and food services; and information, culture and recreation — have seen their job numbers rise and fall with the easing and tightening of public health measures, Stats Canada says.
These three industries employ just under one-third of all private sector employees in the country.
“In April, the unemployment rate increased among both Southeast Asian Canadians (+4.1 percentage points to 13.6%) and Filipino Canadians (+1.4 percentage points to 6.3%), two groups where the proportion of workers employed in accommodation and food services is above the national average,” the LFS says. “The number of people working in accommodation and food services fell 59,000 (-6.4%) in April, largely as a result of losses in Ontario and British Columbia, where bans on indoor dining were re-introduced in late March and early April.”
The country saw 20,000 active businesses disappear in a year.
Long-term unemployment has increased since February 2020 in all major demographic groups, including core-aged (25-54) men and women and those aged 55 and older, the LFS says.
Job numbers in industries like real estate, insurance and finance have grown from pre-pandemic levels.
aartuso@postmedia.com
THIRD WAVE CRASH: Ontario lost 153,000 jobs last month
Ontario lost 153,000 jobs in April after imposing tough new lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19.
'A PURE SOUL': Family mourns London 18-year-old lost to COVID-19
The London teenager whose death from COVID-19 has sent shockwaves across the community was otherwise healthy and had no underlying medical conditions, his family tells The London Free Press.
Author of the article:Calvi Leon • The London Free Press
Publishing date:May 08, 2021 • 4 hours ago • 3 minute read
Owen Brandies is pictured with his family dog, Ronni.
Owen Brandies is pictured with his family dog, Ronni. PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO
Article content
The London teenager whose death from COVID-19 has sent shockwaves across the community was otherwise healthy and had no underlying medical conditions, his family told The London Free Press.
The death of 18-year-old Owen Brandies – whose sister is remembering him as “the purest soul” – is the youngest COVID fatality yet in this region, and part of an alarming third-wave uptick in people falling rapidly ill at home and dying before they could be treated.
“It was a very, very quick decline,” Brandice Arquette, his 29-year-old sister, said in an interview Friday.
“We didn’t know that he had COVID. He wasn’t feeling the best, but his symptoms were not aligning really with COVID. We thought maybe it was just a common cold.”
Brandies lived with his mom and stepdad. He started feeling ill last weekend but Arquette said the symptoms were not serious until his health quickly turned on Tuesday. He was raced to hospital by ambulance, where he died within 90 minutes.
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Arquette said her mom was also feeling unwell, but the family didn’t consider the virus a possible cause of the illnesses because the children’s stepdad, a maintenance worker, had just tested negative for COVID-19 after coming in contact with someone who had the virus.
“Other than that, we don’t know. We don’t have any answers,” she said.
Brandies, who was out of high school, was a six-foot-three gentle giant who “showed nothing but love” to his family, his sister said.
“Owen is the purest soul,” she said. “He loved his family so much. At the drop of a hat, it didn’t matter what he was doing . . . he was there.”
Brandies’ death is the youngest yet linked to COVID-19 in the London region, and one of the youngest in Ontario. Public-health officials have acknowledged a death among teens is exceedingly rare.
While the oldest and most vulnerable to hospitalization and death were largely spared the worst of the third wave through aggressive vaccination campaigns from January to March, cases and deaths among younger adults who are unprotected by the shots are looming large, Middlesex-London Health Unit associate medical officer of health Alex Summers said Friday.
“Every death is a tragedy,” Summers said of the London teen whose death was announced Thursday.
“As we sit here, well over a year into this, it’s going to take a lot of time to fully reflect on how significant, severe and horrifying this whole thing has been.”
Over 14 months of persistent public health messaging about proper hand-washing, physical distancing, mask use and vaccines, Summers worries one core message is getting lost in the third wave.
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“One message that has been a constant is, if you’re sick, get tested and stay at home. That get tested part is really, really important, not just for us to try and make sure we stop more people from getting sick, but so that people can get the care they need and know what’s going on,” he said.
Arquette, stunned by her younger brother’s sudden death, said their family has always followed the pandemic rules, even if the virus’s threat never felt immediate. “I was one of those people who didn’t realize the effect that COVID could have until it took my brother away from me.”
With files from Free Press health reporter Jennifer Bieman
REMEMBERED: COVID-19 VICTIMS
Belmont: Martin Haalstra, 44
Blenheim: Bernice Fiala, 80
Burford: Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55
Corunna: Peter Cassel, 78
Dutton Dunwich: Don (Breezy) Campbell, 90
Dutton Dunwich: Jesse Lunn, 89
London:Brian Beattie, 57
London: Sandy Carson, 66
London:Maria, 63
Londoneter Grantham, 91
London: Ron Holliday, 60
London: Armando Miolla, 84
London: Thomas Charles Roberts, 89
London: Ken Tanswell, Bea Tanswell, both 96
London:Amelia Wehlau
London: Owen Brandies, 18
Petrolia: Lynda Agocs, 69
Sarnia:Roma Forgues, 87
Sarnia: Charlotte Jones, 88
Sarnia: Helen Bertha Murray, 93
Sarnia: Ada Shaw, 89
St. Marys: Craig MacDonald, 64
Stratford:Annie Bertens, 95
Stratford: Lloyd Schmidt, 99
Stratford: Giuseppe (Joe) Vaisanisi, 86
Strathroy:Martin Postma, 74
lfpress.com
Blenheim: Bernice Fiala, 80
Burford: Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55
Corunna: Peter Cassel, 78
Dutton Dunwich: Don (Breezy) Campbell, 90
Dutton Dunwich: Jesse Lunn, 89
London:Brian Beattie, 57
London: Sandy Carson, 66
London:Maria, 63
London:Peter Grantham, 91
London: Ron Holliday, 60
London: Armando Miolla, 84
London: Thomas Charles Roberts, 89
London: Ken Tanswell, Bea Tanswell, both 96
London:Amelia Wehlau
London: Owen Brandies, 18
Petrolia: Lynda Agocs, 69
Sarnia:Roma Forgues, 87
Sarnia: Charlotte Jones, 88
Sarnia: Helen Bertha Murray, 93
Sarnia: Ada Shaw, 89
St. Marys: Craig MacDonald, 64
Stratford:Annie Bertens, 95
Stratford: Lloyd Schmidt, 99
Stratford: Giuseppe (Joe) Vaisanisi, 86
Strathroy:Martin Postma, 74
torontosun.com
The London teenager whose death from COVID-19 has sent shockwaves across the community was otherwise healthy and had no underlying medical conditions, his family tells The London Free Press.
Author of the article:Calvi Leon • The London Free Press
Publishing date:May 08, 2021 • 4 hours ago • 3 minute read
Owen Brandies is pictured with his family dog, Ronni.
Owen Brandies is pictured with his family dog, Ronni. PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO
Article content
The London teenager whose death from COVID-19 has sent shockwaves across the community was otherwise healthy and had no underlying medical conditions, his family told The London Free Press.
The death of 18-year-old Owen Brandies – whose sister is remembering him as “the purest soul” – is the youngest COVID fatality yet in this region, and part of an alarming third-wave uptick in people falling rapidly ill at home and dying before they could be treated.
“It was a very, very quick decline,” Brandice Arquette, his 29-year-old sister, said in an interview Friday.
“We didn’t know that he had COVID. He wasn’t feeling the best, but his symptoms were not aligning really with COVID. We thought maybe it was just a common cold.”
Brandies lived with his mom and stepdad. He started feeling ill last weekend but Arquette said the symptoms were not serious until his health quickly turned on Tuesday. He was raced to hospital by ambulance, where he died within 90 minutes.
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Arquette said her mom was also feeling unwell, but the family didn’t consider the virus a possible cause of the illnesses because the children’s stepdad, a maintenance worker, had just tested negative for COVID-19 after coming in contact with someone who had the virus.
“Other than that, we don’t know. We don’t have any answers,” she said.
Brandies, who was out of high school, was a six-foot-three gentle giant who “showed nothing but love” to his family, his sister said.
“Owen is the purest soul,” she said. “He loved his family so much. At the drop of a hat, it didn’t matter what he was doing . . . he was there.”
Brandies’ death is the youngest yet linked to COVID-19 in the London region, and one of the youngest in Ontario. Public-health officials have acknowledged a death among teens is exceedingly rare.
While the oldest and most vulnerable to hospitalization and death were largely spared the worst of the third wave through aggressive vaccination campaigns from January to March, cases and deaths among younger adults who are unprotected by the shots are looming large, Middlesex-London Health Unit associate medical officer of health Alex Summers said Friday.
“Every death is a tragedy,” Summers said of the London teen whose death was announced Thursday.
“As we sit here, well over a year into this, it’s going to take a lot of time to fully reflect on how significant, severe and horrifying this whole thing has been.”
Over 14 months of persistent public health messaging about proper hand-washing, physical distancing, mask use and vaccines, Summers worries one core message is getting lost in the third wave.
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“One message that has been a constant is, if you’re sick, get tested and stay at home. That get tested part is really, really important, not just for us to try and make sure we stop more people from getting sick, but so that people can get the care they need and know what’s going on,” he said.
Arquette, stunned by her younger brother’s sudden death, said their family has always followed the pandemic rules, even if the virus’s threat never felt immediate. “I was one of those people who didn’t realize the effect that COVID could have until it took my brother away from me.”
With files from Free Press health reporter Jennifer Bieman
REMEMBERED: COVID-19 VICTIMS
Belmont: Martin Haalstra, 44
Blenheim: Bernice Fiala, 80
Burford: Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55
Corunna: Peter Cassel, 78
Dutton Dunwich: Don (Breezy) Campbell, 90
Dutton Dunwich: Jesse Lunn, 89
London:Brian Beattie, 57
London: Sandy Carson, 66
London:Maria, 63
London
eter Grantham, 91London: Ron Holliday, 60
London: Armando Miolla, 84
London: Thomas Charles Roberts, 89
London: Ken Tanswell, Bea Tanswell, both 96
London:Amelia Wehlau
London: Owen Brandies, 18
Petrolia: Lynda Agocs, 69
Sarnia:Roma Forgues, 87
Sarnia: Charlotte Jones, 88
Sarnia: Helen Bertha Murray, 93
Sarnia: Ada Shaw, 89
St. Marys: Craig MacDonald, 64
Stratford:Annie Bertens, 95
Stratford: Lloyd Schmidt, 99
Stratford: Giuseppe (Joe) Vaisanisi, 86
Strathroy:Martin Postma, 74
SIMS: Teen's death a painful reminder – we're still in thick of COVID fight
Life should just be beginning when you’re 18.
REMEMBERED: COVID-19 VICTIMS
Belmont: Martin Haalstra, 44Blenheim: Bernice Fiala, 80
Burford: Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55
Corunna: Peter Cassel, 78
Dutton Dunwich: Don (Breezy) Campbell, 90
Dutton Dunwich: Jesse Lunn, 89
London:Brian Beattie, 57
London: Sandy Carson, 66
London:Maria, 63
London:Peter Grantham, 91
London: Ron Holliday, 60
London: Armando Miolla, 84
London: Thomas Charles Roberts, 89
London: Ken Tanswell, Bea Tanswell, both 96
London:Amelia Wehlau
London: Owen Brandies, 18
Petrolia: Lynda Agocs, 69
Sarnia:Roma Forgues, 87
Sarnia: Charlotte Jones, 88
Sarnia: Helen Bertha Murray, 93
Sarnia: Ada Shaw, 89
St. Marys: Craig MacDonald, 64
Stratford:Annie Bertens, 95
Stratford: Lloyd Schmidt, 99
Stratford: Giuseppe (Joe) Vaisanisi, 86
Strathroy:Martin Postma, 74
'The purest soul': Family mourns London teenager lost to COVID-19
The London teenager whose death from COVID-19 has sent shockwaves across the community was otherwise healthy and had no underlying medical conditions, his…
Ontario, not Ottawa, responsible for halting international students: Feds
Ontario government more interested in attacking, rather than working with, federal government: Trudeau
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:May 07, 2021 • 22 hours ago • 2 minute read • 15 Comments
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference to update Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference to update Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021. PHOTO BY SEAN KILPATRICK /The Canadian Press
Article content
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Queen’s Park of being unwilling to work with them on COVID-19 border concerns, a federal government spokesperson told the Sun the power to hit the pause button on international students lies with the provinces, not the federal government.
On Friday, Trudeau accused Ontario’s government of being more concerned with levelling political attacks than accepting his assistance to address concerns over international students — one of the exceptions to Canada’s ban on foreign nationals implemented last year in the early days of the pandemic.
“As I said last week when I sat here, (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford asked me to restrict international students, there’s been about 30,000 international students come into Ontario over the past months because they were approved by the Ontario government,” Trudeau said.
“It’s been a week since we’ve received that request directly from the Premier, but they haven’t followed up on it except with personal attacks, which doesn’t make sense and quite frankly won’t help Ontarians,” he said.
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International arrivals at Toronto's Pearson airport.
LILLEY: India shuts down, we keep taking flights
An official records body temperature of voters queueing up at a polling station to cast their ballot during the 5th phase of West Bengal's state legislative assembly elections in Mohorgon Tea estate on the outskirts of Siliguri on April 17, 2021.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MUTANT: Indian researchers identify new strain of mutated B.1.617
This week, Ontario commenced a campaign-style ad campaign accusing the Trudeau Liberals and their lax border policies for allowing foreign variants of COVID-19 to enter Canada.
Trudeau’s implication that the Ontario government is responsible for the province’s influx of international students parallels comments made to the Sun this week by Kelly Ouimet, spokesperson for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, in response to inquiries about the Prime Minister’s commitment on April 30 to help Ontario address its concerns.
“Provinces do have jurisdiction on who can travel into the province, as we have seen in Atlantic Canada,” Ouimet said. “Our government remains here to help in any way we can and we will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to fight COVID-19.”
Ouimet didn’t reply to requests to clarify or expand on her answer.
Students travelling to Canada for full-time study are among those exempted from last year’s ban on foreign nationals due to the pandemic.
Late last month, Canada banned passenger flights from COVID-ravaged India and Pakistan to stem the flood of planes landing in Canada full of infected passengers — amounting to 62 flights in April alone.
IRCC data lists Canada as the world’s third most popular destination for international students, accepting over 642,000 in 2019 — with nearly 220,000 coming from India.
Ontario accepts the most international students of all provinces, nearly 307,000 in 2019.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume
torontosun.com
Ontario government more interested in attacking, rather than working with, federal government: Trudeau
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:May 07, 2021 • 22 hours ago • 2 minute read • 15 Comments
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference to update Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference to update Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021. PHOTO BY SEAN KILPATRICK /The Canadian Press
Article content
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Queen’s Park of being unwilling to work with them on COVID-19 border concerns, a federal government spokesperson told the Sun the power to hit the pause button on international students lies with the provinces, not the federal government.
On Friday, Trudeau accused Ontario’s government of being more concerned with levelling political attacks than accepting his assistance to address concerns over international students — one of the exceptions to Canada’s ban on foreign nationals implemented last year in the early days of the pandemic.
“As I said last week when I sat here, (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford asked me to restrict international students, there’s been about 30,000 international students come into Ontario over the past months because they were approved by the Ontario government,” Trudeau said.
“It’s been a week since we’ve received that request directly from the Premier, but they haven’t followed up on it except with personal attacks, which doesn’t make sense and quite frankly won’t help Ontarians,” he said.
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Article content
International arrivals at Toronto's Pearson airport.
LILLEY: India shuts down, we keep taking flights
An official records body temperature of voters queueing up at a polling station to cast their ballot during the 5th phase of West Bengal's state legislative assembly elections in Mohorgon Tea estate on the outskirts of Siliguri on April 17, 2021.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MUTANT: Indian researchers identify new strain of mutated B.1.617
This week, Ontario commenced a campaign-style ad campaign accusing the Trudeau Liberals and their lax border policies for allowing foreign variants of COVID-19 to enter Canada.
Trudeau’s implication that the Ontario government is responsible for the province’s influx of international students parallels comments made to the Sun this week by Kelly Ouimet, spokesperson for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, in response to inquiries about the Prime Minister’s commitment on April 30 to help Ontario address its concerns.
“Provinces do have jurisdiction on who can travel into the province, as we have seen in Atlantic Canada,” Ouimet said. “Our government remains here to help in any way we can and we will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to fight COVID-19.”
Ouimet didn’t reply to requests to clarify or expand on her answer.
Students travelling to Canada for full-time study are among those exempted from last year’s ban on foreign nationals due to the pandemic.
Late last month, Canada banned passenger flights from COVID-ravaged India and Pakistan to stem the flood of planes landing in Canada full of infected passengers — amounting to 62 flights in April alone.
IRCC data lists Canada as the world’s third most popular destination for international students, accepting over 642,000 in 2019 — with nearly 220,000 coming from India.
Ontario accepts the most international students of all provinces, nearly 307,000 in 2019.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume
Ontario, not Ottawa, responsible for halting international students: Feds
Ontario government more interested in attacking, rather than working with, federal government: Trudeau
ICU nurses forced to wait four months for second jab: RNAO
Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:May 07, 2021 • 22 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on Dec. 14, 2020.
A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on Dec. 14, 2020. PHOTO BY CARLOS OSORIO /POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Article content
Nurses caring for patients deathly ill with COVID-19 are being forced to wait four months for their own second dose of a vaccine, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) says.
RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun said the organization is calling on Premier Doug Ford and his government to kick off National Nursing week Monday with a second round of doses for nurses in hospital intensive care and other critical care units, emergency departments, operating rooms and similar settings.
“You’re here sending these nurses, these RNs, to the frontlines of care knowingly with COVID-positive patients, the sickest of the sick,” Grinspun said Friday.
Ontario extended the interval between the required two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to four months due to supply shortages. Exceptions to that four-month interval were made in some cases, like for long-term care (LTC) residents and staff and transplant recipients.
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A health-care worker from Humber River hospital's mobile vaccination team administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at The Church of Pentecost Canada in Toronto May 4, 2021.
Ontario expands rapid antigen tests for businesses as daily case count underreported
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.
COVID numbers lower, but golf courses can't open yet: Elliott
Grinspun said nurses who work in high-risk areas deserve to be fully vaccinated too, especially now that the vaccine program is moving on to other priority groups.
A Ministry of Health statement says the four-month interval is based on a recommendation from the National Advisory Committee for Immunization (NACI) .
“We appreciate the tireless work of our health care heroes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement says. “It’s important to remember that a single dose provides significant protection against COVID-19 … Extending the interval between doses for up to four months in Ontario, with limited exceptions, has allowed Ontario to accelerate its vaccine rollout and maximize the number of people receiving strong level of protection in the shortest possible time.”
The province has now vaccinated more than 40% of Ontario adults with at least a single dose of AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna.
Ontario administered 144,724 doses just Thursday, almost 5.9 million doses in total so far, and 387,484 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses.
Grinspun said a four-month interval is reasonable for people who work from home or can limit their potential exposure to COVID-19.
But even with personal protection equipment (PPE), nurses face a heightened risk, she said.
“It just makes no sense,” Grinspun said. “Just give them the vaccines.”
aartuso@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:May 07, 2021 • 22 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on Dec. 14, 2020.
A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on Dec. 14, 2020. PHOTO BY CARLOS OSORIO /POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Article content
Nurses caring for patients deathly ill with COVID-19 are being forced to wait four months for their own second dose of a vaccine, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) says.
RNAO CEO Doris Grinspun said the organization is calling on Premier Doug Ford and his government to kick off National Nursing week Monday with a second round of doses for nurses in hospital intensive care and other critical care units, emergency departments, operating rooms and similar settings.
“You’re here sending these nurses, these RNs, to the frontlines of care knowingly with COVID-positive patients, the sickest of the sick,” Grinspun said Friday.
Ontario extended the interval between the required two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to four months due to supply shortages. Exceptions to that four-month interval were made in some cases, like for long-term care (LTC) residents and staff and transplant recipients.
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A health-care worker from Humber River hospital's mobile vaccination team administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at The Church of Pentecost Canada in Toronto May 4, 2021.
Ontario expands rapid antigen tests for businesses as daily case count underreported
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.
COVID numbers lower, but golf courses can't open yet: Elliott
Grinspun said nurses who work in high-risk areas deserve to be fully vaccinated too, especially now that the vaccine program is moving on to other priority groups.
A Ministry of Health statement says the four-month interval is based on a recommendation from the National Advisory Committee for Immunization (NACI) .
“We appreciate the tireless work of our health care heroes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement says. “It’s important to remember that a single dose provides significant protection against COVID-19 … Extending the interval between doses for up to four months in Ontario, with limited exceptions, has allowed Ontario to accelerate its vaccine rollout and maximize the number of people receiving strong level of protection in the shortest possible time.”
The province has now vaccinated more than 40% of Ontario adults with at least a single dose of AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna.
Ontario administered 144,724 doses just Thursday, almost 5.9 million doses in total so far, and 387,484 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses.
Grinspun said a four-month interval is reasonable for people who work from home or can limit their potential exposure to COVID-19.
But even with personal protection equipment (PPE), nurses face a heightened risk, she said.
“It just makes no sense,” Grinspun said. “Just give them the vaccines.”
aartuso@postmedia.com
ICU nurses forced to wait four months for second jab: RNAO
Nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 must wait four months for their second vaccine, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario says.
Nurses struggling with pandemic stress, workload: Poll
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Shawn Jeffords
Publishing date:May 09, 2021 • 8 hours ago • 4 minute read • 18 Comments
Angela Bedard, a nurse re-assigned to the Intensive Care Unit, stands in a doorway after helping to intubate a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Humber River Hospital's ICU, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on April 28, 2021.
Angela Bedard, a nurse re-assigned to the Intensive Care Unit, stands in a doorway after helping to intubate a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Humber River Hospital's ICU, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on April 28, 2021. PHOTO BY COLE BURSTON /AFP via Getty Images
Article content
Pam Parks says she has a routine to pick herself up before she starts every one of her 12-hour hospital shifts these days.
The registered practical nurse drives the five minutes to work at an Oshawa, Ont., hospital with her car radio turned up and sings along in a bid to lift her spirits.
She tries to take her mind, ever so briefly, off the stress, uncertainty and large workload that awaits her in the emergency room that day, as the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic rages.
Even after 33 years in the profession, Parks said the pandemic has opened her eyes to the fragility of our health care system and the distress both she and her fellow nurses feel.
“I get into the parking lot and sit, and regroup,” she said, acknowledging that some days its hard to go into work.
“I hope that today will be a better day than it was yesterday,” she said she tells herself. “I hope for a better day for everyone.”
Parks is not alone in her struggles to cope according to a new survey conducted by Oraclepoll Research for the Canadian Union of Public Employees and a separate survey conducted by the Service Employees International Union.
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Both polls are being released by the unions Sunday.
The Oraclepoll of 2,600 registered practical nurses that belong to CUPE across the province shows that more than half of those surveyed said they were coping “poorly” or “extremely poorly” at work over the past year of the pandemic.
Just over 80 per cent reported that their workload had “increased a lot”, and 86 per cent said they believe the potential for medical errors has increased over the past 12 months.
Over 90 per cent are worried about bringing COVID-19 home to their families, and 70 per cent reported facing increased violence from patients and their families.
It has all led 30 per cent of the workers surveyed to consider leaving the profession, the poll shows.
A study of over 550 registered practical nurses conducted by the Service Employees International Union reflects similar levels of burn out.
The internal research by the union finds that 94 per cent of RPNs experience working short regularly, and 72 per cent believe staffing insufficient.
Parks said the pandemic is having a profound effect on morale, and she’s seeing it play out every shift.
Nurses who were already working short in many instances are now taking on additional duties to help connect families barred from hospitals because of COVID-19 restrictions, she said.
“We, as nurses, we’re not only now looking after patients health care, but we’re also their support service,” Parks said. “We’re holding their hands and watching some who are at their last stage of life, trying to make sure they’re not alone.”
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Ashley MacRae, an RPN at hospital in Thunder Bay, Ont., said the survey results ring true to her.
“When you’re giving everything you can, and it’s not enough anymore, it’s exhausting,” she said. “I just feel like when I talk to my co-workers, they’re burned out, they’re done.”
MacRae said registered practical nurses are making less than their registered nurse colleagues, and with the extreme workload and stress, many are looking for other jobs.
She also worries that trauma experienced by RPNs during the pandemic will be felt for years, as they struggle with their mental health.
“A lot of the nurses I don’t think will ever recover from seeing all of the loss and having to move on to the next loss and having to move on to the next patient and having to continue going on,” she said.
The president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions said the government must address the rising stress on nurses, offer them further mental health supports and increase wages to help with workforce retention.
Michael Hurley said RPNs are working at understaffed facilities, extended shifts, are subject to redeployment, mandatory overtime and most have not had a vacation since the start of the pandemic.
“How long can you expect people to be strong? How long can you expect them to be able to stand up to this?” he said. “They are trying to make sure that people get the care they need during COVID. All of this adds up to enormous pressure on individuals.”
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Article content
Jackie Walker, with SEIU, said that union is asking the province and hospitals who employ RPNs to offer them more support.
“A really meaningful intervention needs to be taken by our provincial government and by employers to support RPNs financially, with their emotional and mental health,” she said.
Last spring, Premier Doug Ford announced a pandemic pay premium as a way of recognizing the sacrifices essential workers make as they fight the spread of COVID-19. It included a $4 hourly raise over a four month period and a monthly bonus of $250 if they work more than 100 hours in a month.
Registered practical nurses were included in that program, along with 350,000 workers who were eligible for the pay premium.
A statement from a spokeswoman for the health minister pointed to previously announced government supports, including the pandemic pay bump and recruitment efforts, and said the province is working with hospitals on mental health supports for workers.
“Our government values the contributions of Ontario’s nurses, who provide patients with timely, safe and equitable access to high quality care,” Alexandra Hilkene said.
Oraclepoll Research says its telephone survey was conducted from March 29 to April 3, and has a margin of error of 1.6 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Shawn Jeffords
Publishing date:May 09, 2021 • 8 hours ago • 4 minute read • 18 Comments
Angela Bedard, a nurse re-assigned to the Intensive Care Unit, stands in a doorway after helping to intubate a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Humber River Hospital's ICU, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on April 28, 2021.
Angela Bedard, a nurse re-assigned to the Intensive Care Unit, stands in a doorway after helping to intubate a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Humber River Hospital's ICU, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on April 28, 2021. PHOTO BY COLE BURSTON /AFP via Getty Images
Article content
Pam Parks says she has a routine to pick herself up before she starts every one of her 12-hour hospital shifts these days.
The registered practical nurse drives the five minutes to work at an Oshawa, Ont., hospital with her car radio turned up and sings along in a bid to lift her spirits.
She tries to take her mind, ever so briefly, off the stress, uncertainty and large workload that awaits her in the emergency room that day, as the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic rages.
Even after 33 years in the profession, Parks said the pandemic has opened her eyes to the fragility of our health care system and the distress both she and her fellow nurses feel.
“I get into the parking lot and sit, and regroup,” she said, acknowledging that some days its hard to go into work.
“I hope that today will be a better day than it was yesterday,” she said she tells herself. “I hope for a better day for everyone.”
Parks is not alone in her struggles to cope according to a new survey conducted by Oraclepoll Research for the Canadian Union of Public Employees and a separate survey conducted by the Service Employees International Union.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Both polls are being released by the unions Sunday.
The Oraclepoll of 2,600 registered practical nurses that belong to CUPE across the province shows that more than half of those surveyed said they were coping “poorly” or “extremely poorly” at work over the past year of the pandemic.
Just over 80 per cent reported that their workload had “increased a lot”, and 86 per cent said they believe the potential for medical errors has increased over the past 12 months.
Over 90 per cent are worried about bringing COVID-19 home to their families, and 70 per cent reported facing increased violence from patients and their families.
It has all led 30 per cent of the workers surveyed to consider leaving the profession, the poll shows.
A study of over 550 registered practical nurses conducted by the Service Employees International Union reflects similar levels of burn out.
The internal research by the union finds that 94 per cent of RPNs experience working short regularly, and 72 per cent believe staffing insufficient.
Parks said the pandemic is having a profound effect on morale, and she’s seeing it play out every shift.
Nurses who were already working short in many instances are now taking on additional duties to help connect families barred from hospitals because of COVID-19 restrictions, she said.
“We, as nurses, we’re not only now looking after patients health care, but we’re also their support service,” Parks said. “We’re holding their hands and watching some who are at their last stage of life, trying to make sure they’re not alone.”
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Ashley MacRae, an RPN at hospital in Thunder Bay, Ont., said the survey results ring true to her.
“When you’re giving everything you can, and it’s not enough anymore, it’s exhausting,” she said. “I just feel like when I talk to my co-workers, they’re burned out, they’re done.”
MacRae said registered practical nurses are making less than their registered nurse colleagues, and with the extreme workload and stress, many are looking for other jobs.
She also worries that trauma experienced by RPNs during the pandemic will be felt for years, as they struggle with their mental health.
“A lot of the nurses I don’t think will ever recover from seeing all of the loss and having to move on to the next loss and having to move on to the next patient and having to continue going on,” she said.
The president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions said the government must address the rising stress on nurses, offer them further mental health supports and increase wages to help with workforce retention.
Michael Hurley said RPNs are working at understaffed facilities, extended shifts, are subject to redeployment, mandatory overtime and most have not had a vacation since the start of the pandemic.
“How long can you expect people to be strong? How long can you expect them to be able to stand up to this?” he said. “They are trying to make sure that people get the care they need during COVID. All of this adds up to enormous pressure on individuals.”
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Jackie Walker, with SEIU, said that union is asking the province and hospitals who employ RPNs to offer them more support.
“A really meaningful intervention needs to be taken by our provincial government and by employers to support RPNs financially, with their emotional and mental health,” she said.
Last spring, Premier Doug Ford announced a pandemic pay premium as a way of recognizing the sacrifices essential workers make as they fight the spread of COVID-19. It included a $4 hourly raise over a four month period and a monthly bonus of $250 if they work more than 100 hours in a month.
Registered practical nurses were included in that program, along with 350,000 workers who were eligible for the pay premium.
A statement from a spokeswoman for the health minister pointed to previously announced government supports, including the pandemic pay bump and recruitment efforts, and said the province is working with hospitals on mental health supports for workers.
“Our government values the contributions of Ontario’s nurses, who provide patients with timely, safe and equitable access to high quality care,” Alexandra Hilkene said.
Oraclepoll Research says its telephone survey was conducted from March 29 to April 3, and has a margin of error of 1.6 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Nurses struggling with pandemic stress, workload: Poll
Pam Parks says she has a routine to pick herself up before she starts every one of her 12-hour hospital shifts these days.
Report: Chinese Military Discussed Weaponizing Coronavirus Five Years Ago before Outbreak — While Dr. Fauci Was Funding Their Wuhan Facilities
In April 2021, Joe Hoft at The Gateway Pundit reported that new evidence suggests that China’s military may have been aware of the COVID-19 virus back in November of 2019.Last week news broke in The Australian that Chinese scientists were weaponizing coronavirus for five years before the outbreak last year in Wuhan, China.
Dr. Tony Fauci was funding the Wuhan testing facilities during this time.
Report: Chinese Military Discussed Weaponizing Coronavirus Five Years Ago before Outbreak -- While Dr. Fauci Was Funding Their Wuhan Facilities | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft
Back in September 2020, Col.
www.thegatewaypundit.com
fkers, eh?
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