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)

Add this to MAHA's wins for 2025!

The scale of elite support for this terrible book is interesting information about public health politics

Look, if you're willing to concede that masking in health care settings is reasonable, then masking outside of such settings is hardly zealotry, since respiratory pathogens and the people vulnerable to them exist outside of health care settings, too.

"The Order...would deem the requirement for the Minister to examine specified information and material in a new drug submission to have been met based on decisions or documents produced by certain foreign regulatory authorities"

BREAKING: RFKJr directs that the US instantly stop recommending all vaccinations for children. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

This is the best piece I’ve read so far on why the Guinea-Bissau RCT, in which a proven life-saving vaccine will be deliberately WITHHELD, is unethical “When benefit is established, withholding an intervention is no longer neutral experimentation it becomes premeditated harm”

The @who.int has published a briefing document outlining a comprehensive framework for guiding national allocation decisions for pandemic influenza medical countermeasures, such as vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic tools. I had the pleasure of providing input. iris.who.int/items/6c8b06...

Three children dead in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario region after flu-related complications. Medical officers of health warn of rapid rise in influenza-A, urge vaccination ahead of holidays, by @kkirkup.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com

If the flu shot is a bad match, then messaging that fails to emphasize other protective measures is also a bad match.

🤔"Nunavik ends year with record number of TB cases, as officials promise funding announcement to come" www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #tuberculosis

The Supreme Court just set aside a 2nd Circuit decision upholding New York's requirement that all school students, public and private, obtain certain vaccinations, without any religious exemptions. It orders the 2nd Circuit to reconsider the ruling in light of SCOTUS' LGBTQ school books decision.

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...

So, to all the "RFK's got some good ideas" folks (Rachael Bedard, Leana Wen) and Jay Bhattacharya is "an excellent choice for NIH" (Steven Macedo, Frances Lee) and Vinay Prasad "will bring a breath of fresh air to FDA" (Adam Cifu, John Mandrola) groupies--you own this now too.

This week! 👇👇👇 Thursday, Dec. 4 at 3pm EST. All welcome! bioethicslaunch.eventbrite.ca

From the same administration that brought you "Tylenol causes autism."

So, why does "medical freedom" have so many new restrictions?

🤔✨🤔✨🤔

"The head of the national organization representing Inuit says he has had no firm commitment from federal officials to renew funding to support the elimination of #tuberculosis in #Canada’s North – despite the government promising to eradicate it by 2030." www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

🚨We're hiring! A tenure track position at McGill University in the area of #bioethics and / or philosophy of science, with a special focus on the ethics of medical technologies. Please share widely. #philsky #ethics #philsci philjobs.org/job/show/30402

Must read from @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social. Prasad will pause+review all basic science research happening at CBER initiated before he came, insinuating its researchers haven't been doing "honest work." How much more abuse can FDA staff be expected to take? insights.citeline.com/pink-sheet/a...

Lots of other ostriches to save. No interest? Perhaps they're not pro-ostrich, but rather anti-public health...

Sensible move, especially when the health system is under so much strain.

Lockdowns in 2020/2021 ‘undoubtedly saved lives’ but ‘only became inevitable because of the acts and omissions of the four governments’ - UK COVID Inquiry 2025 Key lesson: if you oppose lockdowns, support proactive interventions that could obviate their use. thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/hea...

23,000 deaths in England could have been prevented in the first wave of Covid if lockdown had started a week earlier, a new report by the Covid Inquiry has found. Read more in The Doctor Magazine👇 thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/hea...

Many on the right claim they have been "othered", that no room is made for their "different opinions" regarding vaccines and public health. And yet their voices have been so loud, so mainstreamed, that room is no longer made for the evidence-based claim that "vaccines do not cause autism".

When it comes to spending on R&D relative to GDP, Canada doesn't rank in the top 20 among OECD countries. But this is not because we under-perform in our higher education sector, but rather in our government agencies and especially in our business sector. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/scien...

Big Tobacco spends billions to 'hook' the next generation on tobacco, including by influencing public health policies. An estimated 37 million children aged 13–15 use tobacco. And yet, it is those who attempt to intervene who are accused of infringing on 'freedom'. This is backwards.

New report from @policyalternatives.ca and @iris-recherche.bsky.social shows a clear link between greater privatization in health care services and higher mortality rates—just as multiple Canadian provinces work actively to privatize those services www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Number of sick days used by the core public service in the Canadian federal government: Sept. 2020: 129,570 Sept. 2021: 157,657 Sept. 2022: 168,245 Sept. 2023: 209,395 Sept. 2024: 238,668 Sick days increase in tandem with return-to-office mandates. ottawacitizen.com/public-servi...

Crimes against humanity

Number of sick days used by the core public service in the Canadian federal government: Sept. 2020: 129,570 Sept. 2021: 157,657 Sept. 2022: 168,245 Sept. 2023: 209,395 Sept. 2024: 238,668 Sick days increase in tandem with return-to-office mandates. ottawacitizen.com/public-servi...

Where miasma theory is making a comeback, so too will historically controlled communicable diseases.

A new study found the Trump administration’s cuts to NIH grants disrupted more than 380 clinical trials, affecting over 74,000 participants. The cuts disproportionately impacted trials on infectious diseases and minority communities.

Join us for the launch of the Western University Centre for Bioethics, featuring a lecture by Prof Francoise Baylis, Distinguished Research Professor Emerita at Dalhousie University @dalhousieu.bsky.social and President, The Royal Society of Canada @src-rsc.bsky.social @francoisebaylis.bsky.social

I'm excited to announce the establishment of the Western University Centre for Bioethics (@westernbioethics.bsky.social), a research centre within the Faculty of Health Sciences @westernu.ca. I'm honoured to serve as the Centre's inaugural Director. #bioethics Join us for a launch event (cont 👇)

I'm excited to announce the establishment of the Western University Centre for Bioethics (@westernbioethics.bsky.social), a research centre within the Faculty of Health Sciences @westernu.ca. I'm honoured to serve as the Centre's inaugural Director. #bioethics Join us for a launch event (cont 👇)

If this is what they are doing with the AI, what do you think they are doing with the much simpler and easier to control algorithm that chooses which posts you see and which of your posts are seen by others?

Given the sheer size of this past year's outbreak, I suspect Canada will be able to regain its measles elimination status sooner rather than later. But this must serve as a reminder of how important it is to remain proactive and vigilant against communicable diseases.

A new @ca.theconversation.com article, co-authored by @juliamwright.bsky.social (FRSC), explores how updated CSA standards for respirator use can better protect health-care workers and patients — and why adopting evidence-based safety measures is vital for all Canadians. #RSCVoices

BREAKING: "The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."

I am so very excited about this new chapter of my life. Looking forward to working alongside talented colleagues to find creatives ways to leverage knowledge for the benefit of Canadians www.dal.ca/news/2025/11...

An update on my column: Parliamentary committee drops most contentious parts of its demand for data on research funding. It now wants aggregated, not disaggregated data. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

If you are a Canadian scientist 🧪 alarmed by the unfair targeting of academics working on research related to EDI in the US ➡️ Turn your attention to our own House of Commons' Standing Committee on Science and Research and consider signing this open letter: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

If you wash your hands, why does it matter if I wash mine?

10th Circuit rejects assortment of legal theories challenging workplace vaccine mandates (not religion - due process and equal protection). www.denvergazette.com/2025/10/23/1... via @denvergazette.com

AMA Journal of Ethics will cease publication at the end of this year. journalofethics.ama-assn.org/home

"Why should some have to bear the costs of others' freedom?"

We are hiring. #bioethics @munbioethics.bsky.social

"No IRB in the world would approve it." That's what every researcher has told me about saline placebo trials to test vaccines we already have. The CDC just got rid of its entire IRB. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...