Ontario shrugs and gives up on AZ's vaccine. For the time being. Maybe.

The NPC Healthbiz Weekly is here to keep on informing you through Q2 of 2021. It's your weekly briefing on topics pertinent to healthcare marketers and executives published in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions. 

⇒ Issue #187 (In numerology, 187 is all about introspection and looking ahead.)

⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 05/13: 160,505,176*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 05/13: 3,333,076*
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 05/13: 1,314,420*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 05/13: 24,755*
⇒ Number of vaccine doses administered to Canadians as of 05/13: 16,904,709*

May 13, 2021—Hello and welcome to the Thursday edition of the CurveFlattener. You've got assistant editor Kylie Rebernik behind the keyboard today, while my trusty assistant named Snowball (see photo below) stands by, ready to check facts, proofread, and offer the occasional recommendation on literary style and optimal word usage. 

As the slow rollout of vaccines continues across Canada, Ontario will see one vaccine discontinued. It was announced yesterday that Ontario will no longer jab the AstraZeneca-Oxford (AZ) Covid-19 vaccine as a first dose due to the risk of blood clotting. According to Ontario's chief medical officer, Dr. David Williams, there has been an uptick in Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT) linked to the AZ vaccine. Data shows that the rate of VITT has increased from 1 out of every 100,000 doses to 1.7. In a statement, Dr. Williams said, "[the] Ontario government is reviewing data to consider whether to use AstraZeneca for second doses and is preparing guidance for people who received AstraZeneca as a first dose." Sheesh. Hey, Snowball, what's a word that means "opposite of confidence-inspiring?"

In other vaccine news, it was announced the Pfizer will donate doses of their Covid-19 vaccines to athletes and officials preparing for the Tokyo Olympics. The Olympics, which were supposed to occur during the summer of 2020, were postponed due to the pandemic. The goal is to have athletes and staff receive their first dose this month and be fully vaccinated in time to start the games (July 23.) 

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 this week is Myka Osinchuk, Managing Director of Western Management Consultants. 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 05/13/2021

• Patients using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) do not have an increased risk of mortality due to Covid-19. In addition, the severity of the disease is not increased in patients who take NSAIDs. According to a matched, prospective cohort study published in The Lancet (May 7, 2021). Early in the pandemic, it was suggested that patients using NSAIDs would have worse Covid-19 outcomes. 
• A study using data from 35,691 participants identified as pregnant has found that using mRNA Covid-19 vaccines is safe. According to researchers, these are preliminary findings and that there were "no obvious safety signals among pregnant persons who received mRNA Covid-19 vaccines." The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (April 21, 2021). 
• A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics (May 3, 2021) has found that substance abuse has not increased in the adolescent population during Covid-19, but physical activity has significantly declined. The authors noted that although there was persistent cannabis and alcohol use throughout the entirety of the Covid-19 stay-at-home order, physical activity during this same period declined and may become a health concern post-pandemic.  

TODAY CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON 

The team at Chronicle is working on the upcoming virtual Scleroderma Summit. The Summit, which is being held on May 29, 2021, is a free webinar designed to enhance healthcare practitioners on the state of scleroderma therapy in Canada. The faculty includes Drs. Janet Pope, Robert Gnaidecki, Shafiq Qaddri, and Mr. John Malcomson. The first Canadian Scleroderma Summit is presented with the support of Scleroderma Canada and is sponsored by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. 

LATER WE ARE READING...

I think it is apt to say Tik Tok made me do it. My current read is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. After seeing all the hype on "book-tok" and hearing the praise for Shadow & Bone on Netflix, I went to the interwebs and ordered myself all the books in the Grishaverse universe and started reading them last week. 

LATER WE ARE EATING...

My summer go-to is always tacos. Admittedly, it's jumping the gun by five or six weeks, but I recently tried making myself flank steak tacos. We will have them tonight and many nights as the weather gets warmer. 

TOMORROW AND TOMORROW

Tomorrow, podcast producer Jeremy Visser will be back at the helm. On Monday, watch for the Skin Spectrum Weekly e-newsletter, and on Tuesday, the NPC Healthbiz Weekly will be distributed when the rooster crows at 6 a.m.