Health numbers, licenses and caution: the new Alberta ID cards and the quiet repeal/split of FOIP into ATIA and POPA. On paper, it looks like administrative housekeeping. There is more to it than that in terms of data epidemiology - it's a concern. Let's break it down. 👇 1/10

Thought of the day. If you use AI/LLMs to explore ideas, collect information or create: If it doesn’t apologize to you at least once for missing an aspect that you point out, you are possibly doing it wrong. Frictionless answers can promote intellectual laziness.

PSA on online health thoughts (I’ve been studying the infodemic since I became an unplanned science communicator in the pandemic. Things have changed.) Seeing this paid ad a lot: hot topic, already 455K views, partisan organization. Let’s talk online surveys in 2026: 1/5

1) Some med content for you! I was interested by the the US National Poison Center Data reported in today's @CDCgov MMWR on Kratom exposure poison centre calls. (at tinyurl.com/4m63saz8) TL;DR: "Natural" doesn't mean "Risk-Free." 🧵 #PublicHealth #MMWR

PSA In Alberta you now need to sign up to get public health advisories for your area. It is not clear to me if there will be regular media-social media public health announcements outside this process. See link: www.alberta.ca/publi...

TL;DR: Alberta would need 11 hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary to be resourced to the Canadian average. 1/6 🏥 Why is Alberta’s healthcare system under such strain? It’s not "management"—it’s a numbers problem 40 years in the making. Let’s look at the data. 🧵 #AbLeg #CdnHealth

This should be interesting! An example of outside-the-box community outreach: I've never been in a panel that chatted through and debated vaccine controversies over a beer before! This Friday - still some tickets available.

Edmontonians, visitors, U of A peeps- drop by Univ of AB Hospital Snell Hall for the Department of Medicine Community Health Fair anytime from 10:30 till 2:30 (the last session starts at 2) - with lunch provided as long as it lasts- you’ll be fed, entertained and educated!

Personal reflection: when it feels like there’s a LOT of concerning things going on, it was therapeutic to join a vast crowd of Albertans at the Legislature (so many kids!) to support our teachers and public education. 1/4

Honestly if in years past you told me that in 2025 we’d be getting measles exposures notifications on the regular I’d not have believed you. U of A notification.

1. In case you are in Alberta and missed the details, COVID fall vaccination eligibility in Alberta is restricted vs other provinces. One key difference is not covering based on age >65. Congregate care, medical and immunologic eligibility criteria. Medical: 1/6

I imagine many know this already but holy heck, what a massive Microsoft SharePoint security breach - with no patch yet. Just in case- an FYI. Check w/ your IT folk if it affects you.

In the wake of RFK Jr.’s ACIP shake-up, the medical community is taking matters into its own hands. Dr. Michael Osterholm’s new Vaccine Integrity Project at CIDRAP aims to fill the void with science-based, nonpartisan guidance. #VaccineIntegrity #PublicHealth

The #ACIP meeting can only be described as the battle between science and anti-science. Greatest respect to the CDC scientists who are presenting the data in the face of a torrent of outright disinformation from several new members of ACIP who clearly have an antivaxx anti science agenda.

Why it matters: ACIP votes are legally binding for Medicaid and Medicare. If this new ACIP says no to a vaccine, millions could lose access. 3/

PLEASE SHARE 🧪‼️ Vaccination schedules on the CDC website have already started changing under RFK Jr. Scientific American has published a guide to the EVIDENCE-BASED vaccine recommendations in place BEFORE ACIP members were removed by the administration. www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-...

Secretary Kennedy replaced CDC’s vaccine advisors based on false claims of conflicts of interest, and yet one of his new ACIP appointees reported more conflicts than all the 17 fired members combined. Striking.

Yeah, raw milk remains bad for you. Clear risk and no proven benefit. (Imaging licking a cows udder- and all of the manure win the environment. Those are the bacteria you are getting exposed to.) doh.wa.gov/you-and-y....

Whoa now. Alberta COVID vaccine planning news release (shorturl.at/U15nE) has some major shockers. First- it IS $$$ and it IS newly provincial dollars (like all other vaccines). NACI provided guidance (shorturl.at/r0fWf) in Jan as provinces bought supply ~March.

I wouldn’t want to be Meta this morning. They’ve made more than just the news business in the country furious. Incredible reporting from @alexposadzki.bsky.social & Kathryn Blaze Baum www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Dangerous habits- HCW edition! In healthcare, instant messaging in electronic medical records is not considered timely/adequate communication. It’s like texting and hoping someone sees it versus phoning and having them pick up. if it’s urgent, or if you haven’t heard back, call!

Shoutout to the Canadian Medical Association for this injection of common sense. Health professionals should strive to provide the best current evidence-based care possible without having to break a law. For any diagnosis. Full Stop. https://rb.gy/y75bef

Going great… Basically, southern Alberta = measles exposure risk. Are they still trying to contact trace? Info here: www.albertahealthser... Make sure you/ yours are up to date on vaccines: 10-20% of cases hospitalized usually. At best It’s nasty.

Measles: forgetting history and being doomed to repeat it? Measles is a highly contagious, whole-body viral infection. Before immunization (1970s) it killed at least 2.6 million/yr, and left many kids with lifelong disabilities (deafness, developmental delay)

MEASLES -Oh, Canada. Quebec outbreak over Alberta: 29 new cases announced today (total 118) - 17 cases in adults >18, about 10% hospitalized. Ontario alone has had 925 cases as of April 16. Wowza. COMPARE: the worse full year since 1998 was 2011 with 752 cases.

ourworldindata.org/g... Healthcare discussions can get pretty theoretical - and increasingly political. But data is just information - that can point to possibly fixable problems. Access to care and factors affecting maternal care worth looking at.

MEASLES...really? Yep. Let's go over some basics and vaccination recommendations. Measles is a HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS respiratory disease caused by a virus. It's also known as rubeola. It spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. 1/10

Sadly very important tweetorial from @drsteventchen.bsky.social re: measles #IDsky #DermSky #MedSky 👇🏼

This could get buried in all of the (mostly depressing) news out there but it’s really terrific. Outpatient prescription coverage has been the biggest gap in Canadian healthcare. And it’s great that HRT is added as well, medically that’s a very sound priority.

As Hamlet said- Something is rotten in the state of Denmark- wait, no- I think Denmark is fine. It’s Alberta. Provincial politics with very un Canadian playbooks. Constrain boards and CEOs trying to be fiscally responsible to taxpayers- so you can reward your friends. While privatizing healthcare.

Albertans deserved an honest post-pandemic review. Instead, they got a report littered with contrarian, anti-science talking points that have been debunked, by @bradenmannsyyc.bsky.social @antibioticdoc.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... @theglobeandmail.com #COVID19 #infodemic

In science and health policy news this week: Real versus Satire? Unfortunately, mostly real. I am pondering some evidence based posts on evidence bases…

When a cough can kill: pertussis (vaccine preventable!) I've seen increasing pertussis #- like a 2702% rise in Brazil (about 6000 versus 200 cases) 2023-24 in Brazil, with 27 deaths, mostly in babies. There is likely more case finding-testing in people with care access

I took my dog to the vet (he’s older but very rarely ill) - for a limp but came out with maybe hypothyroidism and elevated liver enzymes. So labs visit only costs 360. Animal lab values can be harder to interpret too so not sure it helped. 1/10

Non infection post. This just made appreciate my book wall and look suspiciously at my computer. Go hug a book. “We have absolutely no idea how durable cloud storage is but I know archival paper lasts three centuries and we should think long and hard before abandoning it.”

My ID -tropical doc peeps. Malaria!! I have myself usually stopped malarone prophylaxis the day after leaving malaria areas bc it’s a causal prophylactic- also interesting data on 2X/week : anyone still studying regimens? It’s expensive stuff. #IDSky

Gak. Well, I didn't realize this. In this era of truly remarkable weight loss mediations (...not for everyone, need a full assessment for suitability, not all tolerate them- but remarkable), people are swallowing dissolvable (in 4 -6 months) balloons to lose weight.

Congo DR “Disease X”- if you’ve been paying attention you logically may be a bit alarmed. The fearmongering crowd is activated online, scary headlines…AND we still don’t know what it is. There are practical explanations, and it may turn out to be a non mysterious outbreak. 1/5

RSV, influenza and COVID update, as we enter December 2024: The numbers here are Alberta/Canada but match other places with fall-winter influenza (COVID is more variable and unpredictable still)

“Walking pneumonia “ - due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection--is having a moment: saw reports from Europe last fall of high rates, now it seems to be pretty rampant across at least parts of North America: no official Canadian numbers but my lab friends … 1/5

Infectious diseases related “things you might want to know” posts starting up again. Right now, I’m getting into H5N1 Avian flu: Should you worry? Yes- Or be wary, anyway. Panic? No… Pay attention? Yes. (It also affects the price of eggs.) 1/6

This is a new twist for better antibiotic use. Incentivize not overtreating. Not to a degree that would tempt under treatment, but ? promoted spending the extra time with patients explaining the diagnostic process and thinking behind not using antibiotics,

Lots of points being made about is this place an echo chamber, cut off from reality - well, 1) it’s cut off (from the time being) of barrages of abuse from very sadly real, paid, and bot accounts, 2) it’s gaining more “official” organizations and media accounts. 1/

This is a lovely tribute

Today’s class session in my introductory public health class is going to be entirely devoted to an overview of how vaccines work and how they are researched and regulated. I believe it is my responsibility as a public health professor to share this information and be available to discuss questions.

In truth, Doc McStuffins is pretty awesome though.

Study: Doc McStuffins More Evidence-Based Than Dr. Oz gomerblog.com/2015/02/evid...

I don’t think it will all fit in there.

EVERYONE HAS CHLAMYDIA. It’s also possible that I have a biased sample at the moment. But, just a reminder use condoms, get tested frequently as the symptoms may not be obvious, and this infection can cause infertility.

When people’s lives have forced them to have only the barest minimum, taking their possessions away- to sweep their existence out of society’s view- is just so very brutal and dehumanizing.