Yvonne Spiczynski

The Astounding Physics of N95 Masks youtu.be/eAdanPfQdCA

There's a serious uncovered news story in the GTA with ERs facing 50-100 patients waiting to be seen - a sustained surge since Labour Day - and 10 hour waits to see a doctor. We could use some coverage of this because it's still pre-respiratory season peak. It's going to be bad. @Megan_Ogilvie @CBCLorenda @Thetrilliumca @NightShiftMD @LaurenPelley @Avis_Favaro @GraphicMatt @BenSpurr @ColinDMello @kkirkup @picardonhealth @nicireland_news @alanna_smithh @jessiecatherine @AidanChamandy @DrGorfinkel

covid is at the highest level it has even been at this time of the year since the beginning in 2020 highest level ever for the end of October going into the beginning of November

🇨🇦 ONTARIO: FREE AT-HOME MOLECULAR TESTING! You may qualify for FREE at-home testing for COVID-19, influenza A/B and other respiratory viruses through Unity Health Toronto's PREPARED research study. You don't need to live in Toronto. Windsor residents are eligible too!

A lawsuit alleging that gross negligence at a Toronto long-term care home led to hundreds of deaths from COVID-19 has been certified as a class action. chch.com/chch-news/court-cer…

Incidence of new-onset pulmonary fibrosis 4.5 years post SARS-CoV-2 infection in an academic urban medical center 🚨New 4.5-year study: COVID nearly doubles the risk of new pulmonary fibrosis, even in people who never went to hospital. AGAIN, the lung damage doesn’t end when the virus does. ➡️Large retrospective USA matched cohort study(March 2020–August 2024) examined new-onset pulmonary fibrosis (PF) up to 4.5 years after SARSCoV2 infection, ➡️COVID-positive patients (no prior PF) were propensity-score matched 1:2 to COVID-negative controls and analysed using Fine-Gray models for competing risks, ➡️Both groups showed roughly doubled risk of new-onset PF versus controls: - Hospitalized patients sHR 2.05 (95% CI 1.69–2.49), - Non-hospitalized patients sHR 2.33 (95% CI 1.88–2.88), ➡️Cumulative incidence remained elevated out to 54 months, ➡️Among those who developed PF: - Prior COVID hospitalization strongly raised odds of pneumonia (OR 4.84), respiratory failure (OR 3.76), asthma/COPD exacerbations, and pulmonary hypertension, - Non-hospitalized COVID patients also showed elevated pneumonia, asthma exacerbation, and pulmonary embolism risk, ➡️Sensitivity analyses (cause-specific Cox, inverse-probability weighting, pre-pandemic controls) supported the main findings, ➡️No clear sociodemographic disparities were observed, ➡️The discussion notes that vaccination could theoretically reduce infection rates or severity and thereby lower fibrotic risk, but this remains an untested hypothesis within the paper itself, ➡️Well noted and specified limitations. ‼️So, even mild, non-hospitalized SARSCoV2 infection roughly doubles the long-term risk of clinically coded new-onset pulmonary fibrosis and its cascading respiratory complications for up to 4.5 years. ‼️This is one of the longest large-scale EHR studies linking SARSCoV2 to new-onset PF in both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients. It elevates post-COVID fibrotic lung disease from a theoretical concern to a measurable, multi-year population risk that can drive repeated pneumonia, respiratory failure, exacerbations, and vascular complications. The findings argue for sustained respiratory surveillance, earlier risk stratification, and proactive management, particularly in diverse urban populations with high baseline respiratory burden, rather than treating infection as a purely acute event. #ProactiveScreening #AvoidSars2 #AvoidReinfections link.springer.com/article/10…

VIA Rail offering complimentary trips to patients requiring care at SickKids Hospital cp24.com/local/toronto/2026/…

News release: Toronto Public Health encourages residents to get vaccinated as winter approaches: toronto.ca/news/toronto-publ…