/oss/taxonomy/term/4412/all en /oss/article/covid-19-medical-critical-thinking/evidence-shows-masks-work <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-the-evidence-shows-masks-work">Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>As we see cases of multiple respiratory viruses rising in Canada and around the world, we now have to deal with not just COVID-19, but also respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) and influenza. As a result, overcrowded ERs are functioning so far beyond capacity it beggars belief and the health-care system is struggling to provide people with the optimal care they deserve.</p> Fri, 18 Nov 2022 11:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9298 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-medical/vitamin-d-no-cure-covid <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-vitamin-d-is-no-cure-for-covid">Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>During the pandemic, vitamin D has been touted by many as a cheap, easy way to prevent or cure COVID during the pandemic. But there’s a simple reason I don’t recommend it for these purposes: It doesn’t work.</p> Fri, 23 Sep 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9240 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-medical-critical-thinking/eric-feigl-ding-epidemiologist-who-moves-fast-and-breaks-things <p>The tweet that catapulted him to stardom began with the all-caps exclamation, “HOLY MOTHER OF GOD.” This is not language we expect from scientists on Twitter, and certainly not something we would see in an academic paper. But this is the tone Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding used at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to sound the alarm.</p> Fri, 09 Sep 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9222 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19/wider-eligibility-covid-booster-shots-makes-sense <hr /> <p>This article was originally published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-wider-eligibility-for-covid-booster-shots-makes-sense">the Montreal Gazette</a></p> <hr /> <p>Recently, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization lowered the recommended age for a COVID-19 booster shot from 70 and up to 50 and up, with the same proviso that it be at least six months after the second dose. It said those ages 18 to 49 could be offered a booster based on their individual risk and the degree of COVID-19 spread in their area.</p> Fri, 10 Dec 2021 21:54:16 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8949 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19/ivermectin-train-cannot-stop <p>It started with<a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0166354220302011"> </a><a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0166354220302011">a laboratory study</a> on African green monkey kidney cells. While the dose used was much higher than what doctors would prescribe, the results were promising. Ivermectin could stop the new coronavirus from making copies of itself.</p> Sat, 30 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8911 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health-and-nutrition/great-covid-19-immunity-test-kit <p>The kit arrives in the mail. You swab the inside of your cheek and mail it back. Two weeks later, the company emails you a report. You are told you have a 2% risk of getting COVID-19 and a 5% chance of passing the virus on to another person. The report claims these risks will never change. You decide that the risk is low enough and return to your pre-pandemic lifestyle.</p> Sat, 23 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8907 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/can-flu-vaccine-also-help-covid-19 <p>Bonus features on a DVD or Blu-ray disc (remember those?) are nice, but we don’t expect them from vaccines. As the novel coronavirus hurtled through communities in 2020 and no specific vaccine was on the immediate horizon, scientists began to wonder if a different jab, already approved and commonly administered, might have a bonus feature of its own: protecting us from COVID and its most severe consequences.</p> Sat, 02 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8884 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19/how-help-protect-under-12-crowd <hr /> <p>This article was originally published in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-how-to-help-protect-the-under-12-crowd">Montreal Gazette</a></p> Fri, 03 Sep 2021 23:08:19 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8836 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19/statistics-behind-breakthrough-infections <p>Recently we have seen a rash of headlines along the lines of “75% of infected people were fully vaccinated” atop stories describing a “super-spreader” event in Massachusetts. While that statistic is correct, it needs to be put into context. First, let’s note that the outbreak, in which 360 out of 469 cases (75%) were among vaccinated individuals, was linked with densely packed indoor and outdoor events on the July 4th weekend with few people wearing masks. Next, let’s examine that scary 75% number.</p> Fri, 27 Aug 2021 17:37:35 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8823 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19/internet-full-claims-vaccines-do-not-protect-us-covid-19-what-recent-evidence-there-they-do <p>It is true that the original protection rate of over 90% in the trials has not been matched by real-life experience, but that was to be expected. However, the protection is still significant. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that among frontline workers vaccines are 66% effective even when most infections are due to the delta variant.</p> Fri, 27 Aug 2021 16:37:50 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8821 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/strange-case-dr-cahill-and-ms-hyde <p>“If you’re under, like, 70 or 65 and you’ve no underlying conditions,<a href="https://youtu.be/A4RvrEKoNxc?t=3542"> </a><a href="https://youtu.be/A4RvrEKoNxc?t=3542">this is all a hoax</a>.” You’d be forgiven for thinking that this wild assertion about a pandemic that has killed over 4.3 million people worldwide and caused sequelae for an untold number of survivors came from someone who knows nothing of medicine and immunology.</p> Fri, 13 Aug 2021 19:09:29 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8805 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/what-we-know-about-kids-and-masks <hr /> <p>This article was originally published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/christopher-labos-what-we-know-about-kids-and-masks">the Montreal Gazette</a></p> Fri, 23 Jul 2021 20:06:13 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8791 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/how-we-know-covid-19-vaccines-work <p>We keep hearing that the COVID-19 vaccines work but some people have asked us, “How do we know that they work?”</p> <p>Luckily, we have a growing trove of data that show that these vaccines are indeed effective against catching the virus, transmitting it to other people, and ending up in the hospital because of it.</p> Fri, 23 Jul 2021 19:51:58 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8790 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/can-we-become-more-resilient <p>We’ve all been through a lot this past year. We have witnessed some of the largest social justice protests in history. Many have lost their jobs and even friends and family members to this global pandemic.</p> <p>As a mother, I can’t help thinking: How is my three-year-old daughter coping with all this? Will there be lasting effects from her staying at home for months at a time, without physically interacting with anyone other than her parents? Is there a way to stack the deck so she can bounce back or become more resilient after all this disruption and disappointment?</p> Fri, 02 Jul 2021 20:39:50 +0000 Gaia Remerowski, MS, Science Journalism 8773 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/fear-myocarditis-no-reason-skip-covid-vaccine <hr /> <p>This article was originally published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-fear-of-myocarditis-no-reason-to-skip-covid-vaccine">the Montreal Gazette</a></p> Fri, 11 Jun 2021 21:16:02 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8761 at /oss