Enjoyed reading this 1895 debunking of criticisms of diphtheria antitoxin jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... Of course, it would be nice if we still had reliable DAT access to meet needs, even better if we had an upgrade (mAbs!) over an 1890s serum, and best if we no longer had #diphtheria at all (💉!)

Interesting #cholera vaccine study in @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social "Safety and immunogenicity of PanChol, a single-dose live-attenuated oral cholera vaccine: results from a phase 1a, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial" www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Vertex charges prices that made Trikafta/Kaftro a 10x blockbuster drug in 2025. That's greed, well beyond recouping R&D costs and a decent ROI. (Plus in many countries they don't sell it at all). Generics of this WHO #EssentialMedicine can save ⬆️lives in ⬆️places at a tiny fraction of the cost👍. 💊💰⚖️🌐

Just received a "are you still interested in this request" email about an Access to Information (ATIP) request I'd made in 2020, so that's something. 🧐

Toronto man who’s been locked in psychiatric ‘seclusion’ for 20 years must be reassessed, Court of Appeal rules

Only one more week to apply to be the Executive Director of #MSFAccess... 💊🌐 msf.recruitee.com/o/msf-access...

Enjoyed reading this 1895 debunking of criticisms of diphtheria antitoxin jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... Of course, it would be nice if we still had reliable DAT access to meet needs, even better if we had an upgrade (mAbs!) over an 1890s serum, and best if we no longer had #diphtheria at all (💉!)

The time is now: making the case for compassionate use/pre-approval access to new TB drugs - PMC pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Only one more week to apply to be the Executive Director of #MSFAccess... 💊🌐 msf.recruitee.com/o/msf-access...

Vertex charges prices that made Trikafta/Kaftro a 10x blockbuster drug in 2025. That's greed, well beyond recouping R&D costs and a decent ROI. (Plus in many countries they don't sell it at all). Generics of this WHO #EssentialMedicine can save ⬆️lives in ⬆️places at a tiny fraction of the cost👍. 💊💰⚖️🌐

👀Interesting set of patent infringement lawsuits in which Bayer/ #Monsanto is going after #Pfizer, #Moderna and #J&J over IP used in COVID-19 vaccines. 🌱⚖️💉

While "Welder's Anthrax" kinda sounds like the occupational diseases version of MadLibs, this is interesting. "Welder’s Anthrax Treated with Obiltoxaximab — Louisiana, 2024" www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

Engaging obit: "Aldrich Ames, C.I.A. Turncoat Who Helped the Soviets, Dies at 84" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...

A human hookworm vaccine is being developed by @bcmhouston.bsky.social, but a new study suggests that a combined hookworm/malaria vaccine may be preferred in endemic countries. We interviewed stakeholders about the idea of a dual-parasite vaccine: https://bit.ly/4jivdvw #VaccinesWork

And a follow-up article: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... 🤔Not convinced the govt response really meets the moment in flagging: a) a not-yet-announced funding increase for #measles awareness; b) some unknown type of formal review that may be possible; c) ongoing data collection "challenges".

👀"Providers dropping common anesthesia drug that’s also a climate super pollutant - The European Union now prohibits desflurane’s use during most procedures." arstechnica.com/science/2026...

Interesting piece on #clofazimine access in the USA and elsewhere from @akesselheim.bsky.social and colleagues. "The curious constraints on clofazimine" 💊🌐 (as a bonus, nice to see someone out there actually reading some of my articles on access to old #EssentialMedicines in Canada😜)

🤨"Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk is preparing to introduce a new version of its blockbuster drug Ozempic to compete with cheaper generics that became legal on Monday, but which are not expected to hit shelves immediately because of delays at Health Canada." www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

"Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war - First and only GLP-1 pill on the market costs significantly less than injectable versions" www.theguardian.com/business/202...

I had missed both this article and any episodes of the medical/procedural shows I can only presume it inspired: 🕵️💀🍄 "For decades, a grisly mystery has buzzed around one fly-killing fungi. No matter when the fungus infects a fly, it always dies at the same time of day. Death always comes at sunset."

And a follow-up article: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... 🤔Not convinced the govt response really meets the moment in flagging: a) a not-yet-announced funding increase for #measles awareness; b) some unknown type of formal review that may be possible; c) ongoing data collection "challenges".

ICYMI over the holidays, this is a thorough, and thoroughly depressing, deep dive into just how lousy Canada's public health data on things like #measles vaccination actually is, and the multiple reasons why that's the case. 💉🧮

🤔"McDonald’s hit with class action lawsuit claiming McRib doesn’t contain any rib meat." www.the-independent.com/life-style/m...

While "Welder's Anthrax" kinda sounds like the occupational diseases version of MadLibs, this is interesting. "Welder’s Anthrax Treated with Obiltoxaximab — Louisiana, 2024" www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

I had missed both this article and any episodes of the medical/procedural shows I can only presume it inspired: 🕵️💀🍄 "For decades, a grisly mystery has buzzed around one fly-killing fungi. No matter when the fungus infects a fly, it always dies at the same time of day. Death always comes at sunset."

👀"Why does Canada have such high rates of forced psychiatric hospitalizations?" www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

A fact rather than an opinion, headline aside... "Opinion: Edmonton's #tuberculosis outbreak shows need for housing" edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Sadly evergreen #NewYearsResolution for Canada's Government: Stop (unsuccessfully!) treating Canada's publicly-owned, public good-mandated Biologics Manufacturing Centre as a contract manufacturer for industry, and start choosing & making vaccines/drugs to fill the needs industry isn't meeting. 💉💊🏭

Sadly evergreen #NewYearsResolution for Canada's Government: Stop (unsuccessfully!) treating Canada's publicly-owned, public good-mandated Biologics Manufacturing Centre as a contract manufacturer for industry, and start choosing & making vaccines/drugs to fill the needs industry isn't meeting. 💉💊🏭

Something to ponder as folks formulate New Year's Resolutions...

In 2011, Petronas was warned its South Sudan oil wells may be causing congenital disease. Over a decade later, babies are still being born with serious deformities.

Note: The "most" in the headline refers to just one wealthy country, not to the continent with the vast majority of #sicklecell cases and for which a complex multimillion dollar treatment is much further out of reach.💊⚖️🌐 "The miracle cure for sickle cell is now 2 years old. Most are still waiting."

New Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development: HAITI’S MULTI FACETED CRISIS AND CANADA’S RESPONSE www.ourcommons.ca/content/Comm...

A fact rather than an opinion, headline aside... "Opinion: Edmonton's #tuberculosis outbreak shows need for housing" edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

This has always been a shocker to me. It is easier to get timely immunization data from most LMICs than Canada.

Putting a little added emphasis on IFPMA's deep commitment to access and benefit sharing for those (like me) whose neurons are operating a little slower over the holiday season. 💊⚖️🌐

Interesting article, though re: government efforts around a "made-in-Canada" vaccine, perhaps worth clarifying that Moderna is now making vaccines at their own facility, while the failed Novavax deal was at the govt's publicly-owned facility (that opened in 2022 but hasn't made...anything at all).💉🏭

Something to ponder as folks formulate New Year's Resolutions...

Note: The "most" in the headline refers to just one wealthy country, not to the continent with the vast majority of #sicklecell cases and for which a complex multimillion dollar treatment is much further out of reach.💊⚖️🌐 "The miracle cure for sickle cell is now 2 years old. Most are still waiting."

"Advocates push for advance MAID requests two years after Parliament recommendation - The Liberal government has given no indication of whether it intends to change the existing laws for medical assistance in dying." www.thestar.com/news/canada/...

"PHAC lacks timely national data on children’s vaccination rates as report finds agency is not meeting targets" 🤔💉🧮 www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...

Putting a little added emphasis on IFPMA's deep commitment to access and benefit sharing for those (like me) whose neurons are operating a little slower over the holiday season. 💊⚖️🌐

Australia issues health alert on fake rabies vaccine, Abhayrab®, in India open.substack.com/pub/outbreak...

By contrast, this article describes the Grifols pay-for-plasma experience.🩸💰 "Some Torontonians are selling their blood to make ends meet. Paying for blood is illegal in Ontario, but a for-profit company recently opened two new paid locations in Toronto thanks to a Canadian Blood Services exemption"

Interesting article, though re: government efforts around a "made-in-Canada" vaccine, perhaps worth clarifying that Moderna is now making vaccines at their own facility, while the failed Novavax deal was at the govt's publicly-owned facility (that opened in 2022 but hasn't made...anything at all).💉🏭

🤔"The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board has closed any outstanding investigations into excessive pricing in order to start “fresh” when updated guidelines are implemented in the new year, says its director general." 🇨🇦💊💰 #PMPRB www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...

"A Year of Health Science Under Siege" by the aptly monikered @pessimist13.bsky.social thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025...

"PHAC lacks timely national data on children’s vaccination rates as report finds agency is not meeting targets" 🤔💉🧮 www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...

ICYMI: Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs & International Trade’s long-gestating report (1st witnesses heard Dec 2023!) "Canada-Africa: Seizing a Strategic Opportunity" is finally out. Some decent recommendations (but health/humanitarian/human rights issues mostly MIA😕) sencanada.ca/content/sen/...

"He made beer that’s also a vaccine. Now controversy is brewing. A scientist’s unconventional project illustrates many challenges in developing new vaccines"💉🍺 Very intriguing article. But not only choosing a Lithuanian Farmhouse Ale but involving Vilnius University is an angle meriting more detail!