COVID is bad. Influenza is bad. Layered protections are good. Saying ‘no’ to high risk invites is logical. Holidays can be hard when living in reality. You matter, your health matters, your boundaries matter. Wishing you comfort, peace, love, and joy during the holidays and always.

Masking helps protect you and others! Wear masks in addition to taking other steps like vaccination and good indoor ventilation in order to avoid the spread of viruses. (Part 2/2)

You may have seen masks mentioned a lot lately, especially as the spread of multiple viruses is currently high, so it’s important to know the facts in order to protect yourself and others. Learn more and stay safe this respiratory virus season and beyond! (Part 1/2)

From the infect 'em and study 'em files Children who started K in 2025 in BC were born in Jan to Dec 2020. I'm guessing min 5 COVID infections each? Sure, lack of 1° care and assessment waits don't help. But ... #bced #bcpoli news.ubc.ca/2025/11/decl...

Thanks GlobalTV Canada! 🇨🇦

Hey, Canada. This is the US healthcare system that many politicians and media elites want for you, replacing your free, universal care, primarily through gradual privatization of services. This process is already far along in some provinces. Corporate lobbyists are pressuring us to accept this.

I will never understand how people who know better continue to embrace denial about the reality of C19…for themselves & their kids. The extent of said denial must be beyond imagination. I so wish we could find better ways to more gently welcome them into reality vs having them learn the hard way.

As I heard or read someone say, as long as the first S in SARS stands for Severe, I will treat it as such.

7/ We could PREVENT airborne illnesses and dramatically reduce the strain on our emergency departments. AND reduce hospital-acquired infection. Sucks to show up for stitches and leave with Flu A, FFS. @picnet.bsky.social @ipaccanada.bsky.social @cma-docs.bsky.social

Do you ever read a post that hits as so perfectly poignant? I think this is one of the best posts of the year, and will be reposting it several more times. And then a few times after that.

Do you read a post that just “hits” as so perfectly poignant? For me, this is one of the best posts of the entire year. Thank you @brownecfm.bsky.social for being the outstanding truth-teller that you are.

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To be blunt: if you are doing anything at all right now to reduce your risk of infection from SARS-CoV-2, you're being smart. As a result of the current high prevalence of flu, masking is back in the media. Ignore anything negative said about it. Political nonsense is irrelevant.

“Schools have become cesspools for cold and flu [AND COVID], but they don’t have to be: Ontario School Safety” ottawa.citynews.ca/2025/12/21/s...

Unfortunately, over the last 6+ years, I can count on zero fingers the number of times Nosferatu has been wrong. @realnosferatu.bsky.social

Beware. Conditions are prime for a H5N1 reassortment event.

For those who do not know him, Conor Browne is a biorisk analyst and has worked with the "WHO, UNHCR, the NATO Science for Peace and Security programme, and numerous other NGOs and commercial organisations." www.linkedin.com/in/conor-bro...

I seriously wish we weren’t… but… yeah

Please remember, every time you see a newspaper or magazine article denigrating people - people like myself - who choose to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2, there will always be a tiny, quiet voice in the mind of the author whispering, 'what if they're right'? We are right.

A gentle reminder that if you’re having a tough time during this 6th covid+ holiday season, you are not alone. Nor are you wrong for avoiding the viral soup being fed to society.

Also a reminder that the people sacrificing patients and healthcare workers to cover up their mismanagement of COVID passed the "narcissist makes stupid mistake" please years ago. 👉They know what they are doing.👈 These muppets were "unmasking the future" - and now they're desperate not to own it.

This. This is the problem. OH and S standards are different for HCWs and for the life of me (and them) I can't understand why.

For years, public health bent under pressure to downplay masks. When the same institutions now say “mask up,” it’s not a flip-flop—it’s a warning. If they’re willing to recommend masks again, the airborne threat is serious.

Finally. A Public Health division released useful public recommendations to helo protect each other from illness spread (including airborne pathogen spread) www.toronto.ca/community-pe...

How Not to Give or Get COVID for Christmas. "No one wants to be sick for the holidays! Gathering with friends and family during the holidays can spread more than just good cheer; some guests could unknowingly pass along a viral illness like COVID (and flu, RSV and measles)"

A must read, must share article dispelling dangerous misconceptions about the flu vaccine. If all health journalists were as excellent as @egpayne.bsky.social we’d be in a lot less trouble. Do consider giving her a follow. #VaccinesSaveLives #Flu #medsky ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...

According to PHAC wastewater data, in Ontario, both Covid and flu-A are high, and RSV is moderate. Put on a mask, wash you hands, and run an air filter.

New JAMA study of 20,000 pregnancies shows that COVID vaccination before or during pregnancy: ⬇️ reduced severe maternal COVID infections (62% less hospitalizations, 90% less ICU care needed) ⬇️ reduced risk of preterm birth. buff.ly/OuyTY4q

The link to the "WHO Director General's remarks at the launch of the through-the-air-transmission-report" is no longer working. @who.int Do you have an updated link I can use?

One reason Rob Reiner’s death was so shocking is that he was a living embodiment of a gentle, righteous, kind humanity. Trump’s reaction, meanwhile, was an embodiment of his inhumanity, vile as it is. We all get to choose which one we would want to be. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

COVID vaccines ⬇️ risk of ER visits in CHILDREN by 76% in toddlers 9 mos-4 yrs 56% in kids 5 - 17 years ...compared with children NOT vaccinated 🧸 www.scientificamerican.com/article/covi...

It’s only December 15th and already 3 children in Ontario have died from influenza A-related complications. Most of the winter respiratory spread pathogen season is still ahead. NOW is the best time to practice a layered approach to protecting yourself and others. www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

I’ve lost count of how many “What’s going around, we’re all sick over here?” posts. What’s going around is the “find out” phase of the pandemic, and it isn’t pretty. It’s bloody terrifying to see what widespread immune dysfunction looks like, and I fear this is but the tip of the iceberg.

For those up the back?? Immune dysregulation is a considerable and unpleasant consequence of Cövid doi.org/10.1016/j.cl...

I sometimes wonder if non-maskers understand that they aren’t waiting us out to stop, we are waiting them out to start (again). We, as a society, are clearly in the “find out” phase of COVID.

While in the U.S. this topic became politicized, Germany just committed US$582 million to post-infectious disease research. With #COVID and now with the #BirdFlu risk, we are witnessing a major leadership shift, with the U.S. losing ground to Europe, and Germany now leading the way. #LongCovid #ME

Ontario wastewater as of Nov 30th (released today). London is particularly concerning: wwater.ca/Ontario

Sounds silly, does’t it?!

New paper - this is the largest long COVID estimate I've seen yet 😳 Link 🔗 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39842946/

Terribly stupid idea that will satisfy faux-populist urges to dunk on public servants while simultaneously making the lives of public servants and the service itself so much worse. Goofy stuff.

SARS-CoV-2 Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Immune System johnsnowproject.org/primers/sars...

A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...

Idk, it kinda feels like folks should be way more worried than they are about covid SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1: So Different yet so Alike. Immune Response at the Cellular and Molecular Level 2022 Oct 3 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...

what shocks me that almost six years since the start of the pandemic, so many people still think that getting infected with covid "trains" the immune system, like with the flu virus

Seems fine, mild even?

Yes, vaccines work. And there are other measures that can help make population-scale vaccination campaigns work even better, starting with 1) Clear, consistent & open scientific decision making 2) PPE in hospitals, daycares, long term care homes and schools 3) Clean air and clean hands

Read this twice. “Our findings redefine SARS-CoV-2 infection as a condition of long-lasting immune compromise.” www.sciencedirect.com:5037/science/arti...

Of course it is possible to stop the spread of airborne pandemic diseases! The #CovidInquiry suggests ✅ Better Government communication of airborne risks ✅ Lockdowns can be avoided with good leadership & adequate preparedness UKHSA is asking everyone to ✅ Open windows for better ventilation

The sheer dedication to avoiding any mention of COVID when talking about things that we know for certain are heavily impacted by COVID is...impressive. The "after pandemic" bit is a red flag too - someone's either not keeping up, or deliberately trying to manipulate the narrative.