School's out. So, is this one more Covid hardship, or part of a larger scheme?

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

⇒ Issue #194 (In numerology, 194 represents well-deserved new beginnings.)
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 06/04: 172,191,804*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 06/04: 3,702,736*
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 06/04: 1,395,336*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 06/04: 25,627*
⇒ Number of vaccine doses administered to Canadians as of 06/04: 24,933,524*

June 4, 2021—Good morning, CurveFlatteners. It's Kylie Rebernik here behind the keyboard with your end-o'-week update. 

Parents across Ontario gave a collective groan this week as the province's premier, Doug Ford, announced on Wednesday (06/02) that students would not be returning to class for the last three weeks of school. His announcement came a week after seeking advice from different Ontario organizations and experts. According to CBC News, experts included public health officials and teachers' unions. Experts could not guarantee that Covid-19 cases would not spike, with modelling showing the possible increase in cases by six to 11%.

Premier Ford's decision not to send kids back to school was met with mixed reviews, with many critics slamming his choice, including provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. She noted that Ontario is the only province without children in classrooms, and she opined, "There is a reason for that. It's not an accident. The government walked us right into the third wave, ignoring the advice of experts...kids in the classroom were supposed to come first. That was what was supposed to be the priority."

Ms. Horwath was not the only critic who made a statement expressing disappointment with Premier Ford's decision. The Children's Health Coalition said, "As leaders in children's health, we are deeply disappointed that Ontario has not acted upon the broad consensus for a regional re-opening of in-person learning. This consensus included children's healthcare, public health, scientific experts and teachers' organizations."

This is the part of this newsletter where I disclose that while I don't have any kids, my partner is an Ontario teacher. Therefore, I have my conflicts of interest and my biases to make clear. So please weigh that when I say that with Ontario being the only province not have kids back in class, you have to wonder if keeping children home is part of what some suspect is Premier Ford's scheme to keep virtual learning permanent. Please discuss this among yourselves. In the words of Alice Cooper, school's out for summer.

On an unrelated note, and further to Publisher Mitch Shannon's prediction that today will bring cat photos, here is my best friend Snowball, seen hanging out in a box, like the tiny princess she is. 

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 Brigitte Sonier Ferguson of the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute. 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 06/04/2021

• Is a fourth wave coming? Canadian experts say that vaccinating 90% of eligible Canadians against Covid-19 might be the only way to tip the scale and slow the possible fourth wave of more infectious Covid variants. Currently, the goal of people vaccinated is 75%. When this goal is reached, the more restrictive public health measures will be removed. However, experts say this is not good enough, and the threshold needs to be increased to at least 90% with modelling that shows that the risk of a more deadly fourth wave is significantly reduced by increasing the threshold. 

• A recent study published in the journal Transfusion (May 27, 2021) found that Covid-19 does not pose a significant threat to the U.S. blood supply, and current screening protocols do not need to be updated to include extra blood testing screens for Covid-19. The study was led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and included 17,995 pools of donated blood. Researchers did note that anybody making a blood donation should still be screened for physical symptoms of Covid-19. 
• Forty-five per cent of patients hospitalized for Covid-19 are still experiencing health-related issues after being discharged.  This was the finding of a new study published in PM&R (April 30, 2021). The study, led by Dr. Alecia K. Daunter, reported: "[Patients] survived, but these people left the hospital in worse physical condition than they started." Dr. Daunter is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan. Long-term complications of Covid-19 included issues such as the new use of medical equipment (wheelchairs and canes), with 67.6% of patients reporting the new use of this equipment. Researchers also reported that it is likely that post-Covid-19 problems are most likely underreported. 

TODAY CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON

The team at Chronicle is hard at work on the upcoming NPC Summer Webinar. The faculty includes Ronnie Miller, Brian Canestraro and Pat Forsythe. You can register for the free NPC Summer Webinar here.

LATER WE ARE WATCHING...

I thought it was about time for a rewatch of the TV show "Dexter" in anticipation of the upcoming season 9th season. The 10-episode revival will be set 10 years after the last episode. The original series aired from 2006-2013 and followed the fictional character of  Dexter Morgan, a cop and serial killer who only killed murders and serial killers. You can binge all eight seasons on Crave. 

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

The CurveFlattener will return next week. In the meantime, on Monday, watch for the Skin Spectrum Weekly e-newsletter, and on Tuesday, the NPC Healthbiz Weekly will be distributed. Please go ahead and subscribe through the links above, at no charge.