It's nearly the holiday travel season, but you ain't going nowhere

The NPC Healthbiz Weekly has launched. It's your weekly briefing on topics pertinent to healthcare marketers and executives published in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions. From Chronicle Companies, organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress. More info at pharmacongress.info

⇒ Issue #145 (In numerology, 145 stands for excursions, organizing for a specific purpose, alone-time, and material goals.)

⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 12/04: 399,770*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 12/04: 12,423*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 12/04: 65,323,809*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 12/04: 1,509,141*

December 4,2020—Here we are, Curveflatteners, at what is usually the year's biggest travel season. And while I, John Evans, the "Churl from Chauncey Avenue" (Mitch always gets me mixed up with another guy, the "Chauncy Avenue Chainsaw"), am not a travel buff, I can sympathize with those who usually head for some winter wonderland or jet off somewhere warm this time of year.

Different responses to the pandemic by region have raised some perhaps unexpected pressures on borders around the world. Ski season has started in the Alpine mountains shared by France, Spain, and Switzerland, but France has not given permission for the resorts inside its borders to open their slopes. However, as the news outlet France 24 reports, authorities are concerned that snow and speed aficionados will jump the border to fill their mogul craving. And that concern is not unwarranted, the article notes, as ski resorts were sites of widespread Covid-19 transmission during the first wave earlier this year.

Ski trips to Vermont or Whistler are also going to have to stay restricted to locals, as the friendly but the long border between the U.S. and Canada are likely to stay closed to non-essential travel for some time to come, says our own winter-sports-loving head of state. “Until the virus is significantly more under control everywhere around the world, we’re not going to be releasing the restrictions at the border,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. 

For the to-tropics-travellers, how airports and airlines will be able to protect the health of their passengers is—if you'll forgive me saying it—up in the air.

On the one hand, there is a movement led by the World Health Organization and Estonia to develop electronic vaccination certificates that would aid different healthcare systems in tracking immunization status and encouraging vaccination. Though the WHO is standing by its recommendation that 'immunity passports' not be used to encourage a return to cross-border travel.

On the other hand, many airports and airlines are suggesting that proof of vaccination would be as disruptive to their business as quarantines have been, and that extensive testing for the virus is a better solution.

For myself, I'm just glad that Santa Claus is some sort of immortal elf and not subject to human infections or laws.

The NPC Podcast is back for another season. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest this week is Mark Lievonen. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma

COVID CHRONICLE 12-04-2020

• A study of data from Geisinger Health Electronic health records show that pre-existing kidney disorders are the largest risk factor for predicting hospitalization in patients with confirmed Covid-19 diagnoses. Geisinger is a regional health care provider to central, south-central and northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. The study looked at data on 12,971 individuals tested for Covid-19. Of those, 1,604 were Covid-19 positive, and 354 required hospitalization. The authors looked at 21 clinical phenotypes in five disease categories to see which were more associated with hospitalization. 
• Covid-19 patients undergoing cancer treatment with immunotherapy could remain contagious for months, according to new findings. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that these patients be isolated for 20 days after symptoms appear, in this study of 20 patients, three were infectious for three weeks after their symptoms appeared, and one was infectious for 61 days. 
• Much like in older adults, a majority of young patients with Covid-19 appear to experience lingering symptoms after their infections have resolved. Findings from a preliminary study of 40 university students who tested positive or were diagnosed with mild or moderate Covid-19 show that a majority (51 per cent) of the students continued to experience symptoms and complications more than 28 days after diagnosis and 30 per cent experienced these symptoms for 50 days or longer. 

TODAY CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON

The first day of the Real World Medicannabis symposium was very successful last night. However, there is more work to do as the second session will be held tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 5. Register at http://realworld.events

TONIGHT I AM EATING...

Last week's experiment with wrapping vegetables in thin slices of marinated steak went really well. Pre-steaming the vegetables was definitely the right choice, and the marinade—a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper—not only made the meat taste great but turned into something like a glaze in the pan. Fantastic, would do it again.

Today is take-out Friday for me, though, so the oven will stay off. I am thinking of getting the 'Divine Burger' from local upscale Bloor Street pub The Monk's Kettle. Described only as “a heavenly concoction for the bold and adventurous,” I think it is worth trying out.

HEADED INTO THE WEEKEND

Please use the comments section at the Daily CurveFlattener to let us know what you're up to today. Or feel free to check in via LinkedIn, email, or your choice of connector. By all means, pass this newsletter along to your colleagues.

On Monday, the Skin Spectrum Weekly will be out, followed by the NPC Healthbiz Weekly on Tuesday. Check back here Wednesday for some CurveFlattening from my kolleague Kylie Rebernik. Enjoy the first weekend of December.