This is the last week of November. December begins on Friday, and then winter arrives three weeks after. You’re probably thinking about Christmas, but you should probably also be thinking about cold and flu season. We’re about to hit our peak with the flu, especially with all that holiday socializing coming soon, so do you have your flu shot? It’s okay if you don’t because this is the perfect time to get it! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #399 – It’s Not Too Late to Get Your Flu Shot”
This month’s Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health meeting coincided with one of the worst days of air pollution seen in quite some time. Summer health issues were the focus of part of the meeting, how to cope with smoke from wildfires and what to do if you’ve bitten by ticks. In terms of Public Health business, the focus was on how the agency is adapting to new technology, and yes, that means maybe chatting with an A.I. Here’s the recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Board of Health Hears That Smoke is Bad and the Robots Are Coming”
June’s Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health meeting will be data driven. Not that the decisions of the board are not usually data driven, but data will be the focus on this month’s meeting in terms of how Public Health is using it to improve their programs, not to mention the literal maintenance and dissemination of that data. We’re also got injuries, healthy babies and public health’s annual community report. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Board of Health Meeting for June 7, 2023”
This month’s meeting of the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health seemed to be mostly about looking ahead. While there are still issues around COVID-19, there was a lot of discussion around other public health matters like young people and making sure they’ve gotten all their other vaccination shots, plus also some initial conversation about planning for the future of public health beyond COVID. Continue reading “RECAP: Board of Health Looks to the Future, Including Catch-Up Jabs for Kids”
The Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health will welcome February with their monthly meeting, and it will be a very interesting agenda that will look at the programs that might have suffered from all the emphasis on COVID-19 in the last few years, and the immediate plans and priorities for the public health unit in the next 12 months. Infectious diseases is going to be a pretty big topic, but this won’t be the COVID-19 show. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Board of Health Meeting for February 1, 2023”
The inevitable announcement of the first case of monkeypox in our public health coverage area should come with the declaimer that residents should not panic since this disease doesn’t spread anywhere close to as easily as the recent virus that caused a global pandemic. But having said that, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has identified a local case of monkeypox, and anyone with skin-to-skin contact with such a patient should be aware. Continue reading “First Case of Monkeypox Found Locally”
Monkeypox has officially landed. It had been suspected in the Montreal area along with other locations in the U.S. and Europe, but late Thursday night, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed that there are definitely two cases of the virus in the region. Although this virus is only fatal in a very small portion of cases, the idea that this could be another public health crisis on the coat tails of a global pandemic has people concerned. Continue reading “Public Health Canada Confirms Monkeypox in Canada”
During his usual Thursday press briefing, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore tried to offer assurances about the re-opening of schools next week and the potential re-opening of the provincial economy the week after. Meanwhile, teachers and public health units still have concerns about what’s coming, and whether teachers and parents have everything they need when the bell rings on Monday morning. Continue reading “Moore Gets Questioned About the Future As Schools Have Concerns”
Less than 24 hours after announcing that the first two cases of the Omicron variant here in Ontario, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore took to the media studio at Queen’s Park to talk about it. Since the announcement of the discovery of Omicron last week, the uncertainty has prompted a nearly thousand point dip in the Dow Jones, and a new round of travel restrictions, but Moore wants us all to stay cool. Continue reading “After 2 Cases Found, Moore Says Ontario is Ready for Omicron”
On Tuesday, many communities around the world marked International Overdose Awareness Day, a chance to campaign to end drug overdoses, and remember without stigma the people who have died as well as the family they all left behind. In Guelph, a few hundred people gathered in St. George’s Square at lunch hour to remember another pandemic that has only gotten worse since COVID-19 hit our shores last year. Continue reading “Less Stigma, More Support the Message on Overdose Awareness Day”
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