There needs to be caution about any coercion that could harm our children
The Canadian Academics for Covid Ethics (CA4CE) is a group of researchers and scholars from fields spanning the natural and social sciences and humanities. It is concerned with the mismanagement of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response in Canada and around the world. The following commentary was written by Alexander Andrée, PhD, Valentina Capurri, PhD, Claudia…
And is leading to the rise of a new inquisition to persecute and ostracize dissenters
The ongoing campaign against COVID-19 has several religious attributes and analogues. I’m not talking about Mologic or Luciferase, or the way “Build Back Better” looks like code for 666, given that ‘b’ is a cipher for ‘6’. I’m not referring to the dozens of ways millenarians enthusiastically uncover apparent connections between this period of tribulation…
Link could hold the key to improving immune responses against COVID-19 and other viruses
A little-understood link between insulin resistance in cells and obesity could hold the key to improving immune responses against COVID-19 and other viruses, according to University of Alberta researcher Sue Tsai. “We hypothesize that insulin resistance in immune cells such as B cells is a major link between obesity and an impaired antiviral response, leading…
The unvaccinated don’t seem to get that life is a team sport, not a me sport
Aaron Rodgers has every right to hold whatever thoughts and beliefs he might have about COVID-19 and vaccines. But that freedom ends when his actions have a negative – or potentially negative – health impact on others. What the unvaccinated don’t seem to get is that this game called life we’re all playing is a…
Computing scientists developing AI to combat pandemic by taking advantage of health data
How many new COVID-19 cases will be in the ICU three weeks from today? University of Alberta scientists are using the wealth of public health data on COVID-19 to build AI-powered tools to help project and combat the pandemic. “Our team is using ideas from epidemiology and machine learning to develop tools to forecast the…
Understanding the process could help scientists look out for new, more infectious variants
Sugars found on the surface of human cells influence COVID-19 infection, according to a University of Alberta-led study that’s one of the first to observe this relationship and suggests that cells in the brain might be particularly susceptible. “The idea here is that the virus is leveraging or using the host glycans, or the host sugars,…
Even if everyone is vaccinated, the spread of infection won't stop
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s plan to treat the coronavirus as endemic is the way out of the COVID-19 crisis. That he has adopted provincial restrictions for the fourth time doesn’t negate the endemic approach. But his declaration that we have “a crisis of the unvaccinated” offers no solution. The newest health impositions reveal a vaccine…
Orwell's 1984 should be renamed 2021 because our times are more like his novel than any in history
In his novel 1984, George Orwell envisioned a future that’s arguably unfolding before our eyes, where government authority is supreme, and truth and freedom are not to be found. Perhaps Orwell should have named his novel 2021 because our times seem more like his novel than any in previous history. For Canadians, the examples abound.…
Researchers partnering to improve life for those dealing with lingering symptoms of COVID
In the early hours of Christmas morning, Lance Hoddinott awoke from a restless sleep with a raging temperature. “I knew instantly what it was,” said Hoddinott. “My Christmas present this year was COVID-19.” Although he took all the precautions and followed safety guidelines to the letter, Hoddinott contracted the disease that ultimately sent him to…
Infections peak in January to June – a pattern that could help the health-care system plan
Researchers have identified a clear-cut seasonal pattern of respiratory viruses that could help hospitals plan for waves of sick patients. Bouts of respiratory illness from six viruses that were analyzed all peak in January and hit a low in June, with the peaks worse every second year, according to lead researcher Michael Hawkes, a pediatrics…
The Canadian Academics for Covid Ethics (CA4CE) is a group of researchers and scholars from fields spanning the natural and social sciences and humanities. It is concerned with the mismanagement of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response in Canada and around the world. The following commentary was written by Alexander Andrée, PhD, Valentina Capurri, PhD, Claudia…
