Canadian COVID-19 News

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Oh FFS. Who are 'those', and what agenda?

I think you should consider the effects of the stupid-mongering from those downplaying the pandemic and vaccination for political reasons.

Lol, typical fear reaction, to lash out!
I do agree that anyone who downplays the pandemic and vaccination programs is stupid... but that is quite different from learning to live with a protracted battle

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Lol, typical fear reaction, to lash out!

No, anger. Seriously - who are 'those', and what agenda? Its a pandemic, that still has capacity to do great harm.

[Greg K]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Hopefully this won't be a problem in Canada:

Patients overdosing on ivermectin backing up rural Oklahoma hospitals, ambulances

Paging Dr Darwin...

Fake news. Deliberate misinformation spread by MSM and useful idiots on internet boards.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/r...-no-ivermectin

[Greg K]

Originally Posted by Montanan

So since Montana is not going to issue a "vaccine passport", and has made it illegal for businesses to have any vaccine mandate or even ask for vaccine status, of their employees, customers, suppliers, services, accommodations, or otherwise, ...

Excellent news.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Greg K

Fake news. Deliberate misinformation spread by MSM and useful idiots on internet boards.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/r...-no-ivermectin

Not that I trust ZeroHedge at all, but yes the hospital that the quoted doctor practiced out of has flatly denied the assertions. So without further proof, that Dr's information now seems suspect.

Of course, there are the calls to the Poison Control Centers, which are better-sourced. And any drug can cause problems if misused... especially self-medicating based on bad advice.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

It's great that my home country is getting on top of vaccinations and if annual boosters become the norm, I am all for it.

But the issue of Fear Mongering is something we need to be aware of

I'm really not sure what you're getting at P. The only fearmongering I see are the one's ranting about the dangers of the vaccine, with almost no evidence, and nothing that stands up to scrutiny. On the public health side I see statements based in verifiable fact, referencing the very real and measurable risk of this virus, its continued propagation (largely through the unvaccinated population), and the ongoing risk of even more virulent versions that this unnecessary propagation results in.

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I agree the members discussing here are intelligent enough to follow the numbers, but many others just follow the media soundbites of those with an agenda.

Again, I'm not clear who you're talking about. There is indeed a lot of misinformation and fear being spread by certain, what I'll call 'anti' media. I assume they have an agenda of some sort. Since it is promoting the spread of the virus, the end result is to kill more of their audience, which seems like an odd agenda, but I guess the agenda is short-term gain.

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Mike, consider this;
The Placebo Effect is well proven to help patients.
Sustained Media or Political Fear Mongering probably has the reverse effect.

Yes, the placebo effect is real -- in certain limited circumstances. It's been shown to have a real effect in areas such as:

• Depression
• Pain
• Sleep disorders
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Menopause

Conversely, it has been shown to have zero effect in many other biomedical situations. Its positive effects seem mostly in the psychological realm.

Originally Posted by Pelagic

If we were to get an executive checkup every month, Medical clinics would find something wrong with us every time.

You're stating your belief, not a fact.

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Do we want to be turned into a hypochondriac mindset by continued testing or just accept and live with Covid

I guess this depends on the individual. I'd rather operate from the realm of knowledge. Since testing is readily available now (again, speaking from the Canadian perspective), why would one purposely choose ignorance? Makes no sense to me.

Now, if that drives some people to be hypochondriacs, well... I'd say they have deeper issues that would be there regardless. I've never heard of testing leading to the onset of hypochondria, but certainly those with the condition will seek out unnecessary medical testing.

I think you and I are seeing the pandemic from very different perspectives. Here in Canada we have the opportunity to reach effective herd immunity. And yes, that does make a difference. That doesn't mean the disease will go away, but it can be contained, much like many other diseases are contained outside of rich developed countries.

This raises all sorts of global ethical questions, but those are there regardless.

[Pelagic]

"I think you and I are seeing the pandemic from very different perspectives. Here in Canada we have the opportunity to reach effective herd immunity. And yes, that does make a difference. That doesn't mean the disease will go away, but it can be contained, much like many other diseases are contained outside of rich developed countries."

You've identified the cause of my concern Mike and so glad it is different in Canada.

Here we have heavy handed and often nonsensical laws.
A black market and monopoly on Covid related materials, a corrupt government whose medical insurance reserves had been plundered before this all started.

The simple Filipino family is suffering rampant inflation and incredible stress as children under 15 and adults over 65 have not been able to leave their homes since March 2020

With only a trickle of quality vaccines available, fake medicines on the market, curfews and alcohol bans being invoked in a helter/skelter way, they are being kept in check by fear and intimidation.

My apologies for the dark view.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

"I think you and I are seeing the pandemic from very different perspectives. Here in Canada we have the opportunity to reach effective herd immunity. And yes, that does make a difference. That doesn't mean the disease will go away, but it can be contained, much like many other diseases are contained outside of rich developed countries."

You've identified the cause of my concern Mike and so glad it is different in Canada.

Here we have heavy handed and often nonsensical laws.
A black market and monopoly on Covid related materials, a corrupt government whose medical insurance reserves had been plundered before this all started.

The simple Filipino family is suffering rampant inflation and incredible stress as children under 15 and adults over 65 have not been able to leave their homes since March 2020

With only a trickle of quality vaccines available, fake medicines on the market, curfews and alcohol bans being invoked in a helter/skelter way, they are being kept in check by fear and intimidation.

My apologies for the dark view.

It is a dark view Pelagic ... far darker than anything we face up here. You are definitely living with a very different pandemic than us in the cozy, rich countries of the north.

It's sadly amusing how we're now moving into giving people a 3rd shot up here -- a booster shot. And this while most of the rest of the world hasn't even seen a first shot. This is not only an example of the typical greed of the rich, but also rather short-sighted since it will prolong the pandemic and continue to affect us as well.

Stay safe Pelagic. Stay healthy.

[GordMay]

Youngest residents now account for largest share of new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba
Provincial data shows cases among ages 0-18 make up more than 1/3 of all cases since mid-June.
Of the 4,283 cases recorded, between June 13 and Aug. 28, 1,554 were between the ages of 0 and 18, though only 17 ended up in hospital, and none needed admission to an intensive care unit.
Part of the reason for this shift is rising vaccination rates, among eligible Manitobans.
Another reason is the fact that household contacts of known cases are advised to get tested, even if they are asymptomatic, and not very sick.
➥ https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publich...-19/index.html

[Greg K]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Youngest residents now account for largest share of new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba
Provincial data shows cases among ages 0-18 make up more than 1/3 of all cases since mid-June.
Of the 4,283 cases recorded, between June 13 and Aug. 28, 1,554 were between the ages of 0 and 18, though only 17 ended up in hospital, and none needed admission to an intensive care unit.
Part of the reason for this shift is rising vaccination rates, among eligible Manitobans.
Another reason is the fact that household contacts of known cases are advised to get tested, even if they are asymptomatic, and not very sick.
➥ https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publich...-19/index.html

In my view, it is fundamentally dishonest to classify a positive PCR as a " case". A positive test is basically only an indicator (assuming it is not a false positive) of the presence of virus. Clinically it means very little, especially when there are no symptoms nor illness. To state that there were 1,554 "cases" of youngsters up to the age of 18, when none were severely ill is a deceitful use of language that distorts the fact that this age group is in all practical terms not affected by covid at all.

I would also point out that with all of those graphs and statistics provided in this document, I could not find a simple breakdown of what percentage of the so called " cases" in the province were partially or fully vaccinated. If you are going to call this the "pandemic of the unvaccinated" should this info not be included as evidence of such claims? Of course, this specific data may be there buried someplace, but I certainly couldn't find it.

Lastly, I find Figure 2, showing the variants of concern rather inexplicable. A large portion of the variants shown in that graph are classified as " unspecified." What does that mean? If you cannot identify the variant, how can one then claim it was indeed a "Covid" variant?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Greg K

In my view, it is fundamentally dishonest to classify a positive PCR as a " case". A positive test is basically only an indicator (assuming it is not a false positive) of the presence of virus. Clinically it means very little, especially when there are no symptoms nor illness ...

That's true, as far as you go.
But, to add a little context:
Molecular tests, like PCR, look for genetic material, that comes only from the virus.
One of the most common false claims, is that PCR tests are prone to false positives. They are NOT.

If a PCR test comes back positive, we can be sure that it has correctly detected genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Any actual false-positive results are likely to be due to lab contamination, or other problems with how the lab has performed the test, not limitations of the test itself.
There is a chance of PCR tests picking up dead virus, in a patient who has recovered, and is no longer infectious, which is not a false positive.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Greg K

In my view, it is fundamentally dishonest to classify a positive PCR as a " case". A positive test is basically only an indicator (assuming it is not a false positive) of the presence of virus. Clinically it means very little, especially when there are no symptoms nor illness.

If there's a positive result from a PCR test, it means the person has been infected and the virus is reproducing in that person. They "have it" (or had it); it's a case of COVID, however mild. Next, you don't know who went on to develop symptoms or not. And most important, the infected person can spread it. Tracking all cases is an important metric for how the virus is spreading through a population.

[Mike OReilly]

CBC:
Alberta's vaccine lottery had little effect on boosting vaccination rates, doctors say

"The lottery really didn't have a particularly significant effect. And so I'm not sure that an individual incentive will make a huge difference, either," said Dr. Stephanie Smith, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

CBC:
Alberta's vaccine lottery had little effect on boosting vaccination rates, doctors say

There was zero promotion of winners etc. I had forgotten all about it and had to look up the winners when I finally remembered. It really seemed like they buried it, but it could just be bad comms. Heaven knows the UPC party has continually suffered from amateurish communication strategies...

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Greg K

Fake news. Deliberate misinformation spread by MSM and useful idiots on internet boards.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/r...-no-ivermectin

Not quite so fake, it turns out; another OK hospital that the same Dr works out of says they do have cases of ivermectin overdoses presenting at their ER. Also, the Dr says that his actual statements have been misquoted or exaggerated.

And as I linked earlier, there have been many calls to the various Poison Control Centers about ivermectin overdose.

(And c'mon, when people self-medicate with a veterinary medicine, there's going to be problems)

So, not exactly a slam-dunk for fake news.