Pfft! The Year of the Vaccine is off to an unsteady start

     

The NPC Healthbiz Weekly is back to inform you through 2021. 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 Winter Webinar Feb. 10, 2021. More info at pharmacongress.info

⇒ Issue #156 (In numerology, 156 is assertive, confident, and full of ambition..)

⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 01/21: 730,330*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 01/21: 18,416*

⇒ Number of Canadians vaccinated as of 01/21: 696,242*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 01/21: 96,943,570*

⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 01/21: 2,077,096*

January 21, 2020—Welcome back, you CurveFlatteners. Reporting your pandemic updates from his suspiciously cat-free home office in Toronto is Jeremy "Whiskers" Visser. Whether that nickname came from my affinity for felines or from Movember is anyone's guess.

The hot topic of the week is vaccine rollouts, as Ontario's first major vaccine site for Covid-19 has stopped administering shots after only two days of business. The site, which was meant to serve as a blueprint for vaccine distribution for the province, has briefly closed after news that Canada will not receive any vaccines from Pfizer in the following week. After previously announcing that Pfizer planned to reduce shipments to Canada, further hiccups at their Belgium production plant have left a hazy timeline for when more shipments will arrive and what quantities will be received.

The vaccination site was hoping to administer approximately 250 doses a day and, alas, can't reach those numbers. Ontario Premier Doug Ford was quick to express his anger at the situation, asserting, "I would be outside that guy's house. Every time he moves, I would be saying, 'where're our vaccines?'" (Although I'm not sure that counts as leaving the house for essential reasons as per the current lockdown restrictions.)

Speaking of vaccines and angry premiers, a member of the Ontario vaccine task force has resigned after confessing to having left the country during the holidays. If you hoped we'd seen the last of the phenomenon of politicians stepping down after spending the holidays abroad, you thought wrong. Linda Hasenfratz, CEO of the auto-parts manufacturer Linamar Corporation, resigned from her role on the task force after speaking with Premier Ford. She said she didn't want her travel imbroglio to "cause distraction" from the vaccine task force's obligations.

The NPC Podcast is back for another season. The National Pharmaceutical Congress organizers are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest next week will be Karen Lee, CEO of Parkinson Canada. 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 01/21/2021

• Research done at the University of Copenhagen has suggested that people under 30 with pre-existing mental health issues are experiencing mental health effects of lockdown more than older individuals. The study evaluated over 200,000 citizens across Europe on their experience of anxiety, loneliness and Covid-19 related worries during the lockdown. The study will be published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe. 

• A study published in Preventive Medicine suggests that those with anxiety and depression are more likely to drink more during the lockdown. The researchers administered an online survey for adults from the U.S.. The survey found that those with depression were 64 percent more likely to increase their alcohol intake during the pandemic, while those with anxiety were 41 percent more likely.

• A recent study from the University of Saskatchewan has linked the pandemic to a worsening of low activity levels, poor dietary habits, sedentary behaviour, and high alcohol consumption in university students. 125 participants were surveyed from USask and the University of Regina, focusing on the most vulnerable graduate and undergraduate students. The study was published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism. 

WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY

Season 3 of the NPC Podcast is currently in production. I'll be spending some time putting the finishing touches on Peter Brenders's interview with Karen Lee of Parkinson Canada, which will be ready for your listening pleasure on Wednesday, Jan 27th.

RIGHT NOW, WE ARE WATCHING... 

The Dragon Prince. The animated fantasy series on Netflix covers a magical journey between an elf and a human trying to end cultural grudges before war erupts. Somehow managing to be classified as a kids' show but packing all the clever jokes, witty dialogue, and character development keep its surprisingly more adult audience coming back. 

TONIGHT WE ARE COOKING...

Katsu Curry. I've been delving into a Vegan Japanese cookbook I received over the holidays, and my new favourite dish has to be Katsu Curry. The roux itself is simple enough to make, assuming you have an onion, banana, the necessary spices and is totally freezable. You throw it into some dashi (Japanese broth), add veggies, pour over some rice and voila: your day is instantly better.

HOW IS YOUR WEEK GOING?

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.

Allan Ryan will be here tomorrow to wrap up the week. Stay in touch, stay safe, and enjoy your day.