News & Events News Bites

News Bites from CDA Knowledge Networks – 2021/08/11

CDA Oasis August 11, 2021

Skyrocketing insurance costs pose a new challenge to small business recovery. cfib‑bcei.ca, Aug 11: Insurance has become the top operating cost concern for small businesses, and seven in ten report their premiums have gone up since the beginning of the year, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). This is creating a new impediment to small business recovery, at a time when businesses are already in a precarious financial position. Read more

Water fluoridation proposal going to Regina city council today. cbc.ca, Aug 11: 10 councillors and mayor proposing fluoride be added to the city's drinking water as soon as 2025. ... The motion said there's strong scientific evidence to show the benefits of water fluoridation, and that cavity reduction is particularly important if the young are to avoid traumatic dental work and the elderly are to avoid dental appliances that are costly and difficult to manage. Read more

A tale of two cities finds that community water fluoridation prevents caries. ada.org, Aug 10: Research study looks into effects of fluoride cessation in Calgary compared with fluoridated Edmonton. The prevalence of caries in the primary dentition of children was significantly higher in Calgary, Canada, without fluoridated water, than in Edmonton, where the water is still fluoridated, according to a study published by the journal Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology. Read more

Are Manitobans still required to wear masks at dental offices? winnipeg.ctvnews.ca, Aug 10: Manitobans are still required to wear masks at dental offices; despite the fact the province has lifted the mask mandate. On Monday, the Manitoba Dental Association (MDA) clarified that dental offices are health-care settings, so staff and visitors will continue to be subject to the mask requirement. Read more

Masks still mandatory inside dental offices. brandonsun.com, Aug 10: Manitoba dental offices are still requiring visitors to wear face masks after the province ended the indoor mask mandate on Saturday. According to a statement from the Manitoba Dental Association, the provincial dentistry regulator, masks are still mandatory in dental clinics. Read more

Second reading of plebiscite questions for Health and Dental Plan at SLC [University of Calgary]. thegauntlet.ca, Aug 9: This week’s Students’ Legislative Council (SLC) meeting was held on August 3. A significant point of discussion was the second reading of the Health and Dental Plan plebiscite questions. The Students’ Union (SU) has determined that it is no longer fiscally possible to support the Health and Dental Plan in its current state. As such, the SU has approved a set of plebiscite questions that will let students have a say on how the SU moves forward with the Health and Dental Plan. The plebiscite will be on the October 2021 by-election ballot. Read more

Supporting Whitecourt’s needy with a friendly smile and a generous bag of groceries. thestar.com, Aug 9: The parking lot at Family Dental Health Whitecourt has been busy after hours on Mondays for several months. Starting at 5 pm, the owners, their children, and staff members at the popular downtown dentist office have been handing out grocery bags to those in need. Dr. Harp Rakhra and his wife Dr. Dana have supported Tennille’s Hope for years. When the pandemic forced the kitchen to shut its doors, the dentist-duo saw an opportunity to help. Read more

dentalcorp and Loblaw Companies Ltd. bring digital dental health services to Canadians. newswire.ca, Aug 9 [NEWS RELEASE]: hellodent integration into PC Health app gives users access to over 430 top-rated dental practices and the opportunity to earn PC Optimum™ points through digital oral health program. Read more

COVID-19 Update: Free N95 masks and antigen rapid tests now available. rcdso.org, Aug 6: The Government of Ontario is providing 3M Aura Health Care Particulate Respirator and Surgical Masks, 1870+, N95 and Panbio COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests to dental professionals free of charge. Access to these products is made possible through a partnership between the Ontario Government and Ontario Dental Association (ODA). Read more

Does Teledentistry Have a Future Post Pandemic? oralhealthgrup.com, Aug 9: …in a post‑pandemic world, are there benefits to keeping the teledentistry options at your practice or will they no longer be necessary? 53 percent of dentists don’t plan on keeping them but here’s why keeping teledentistry around might be what’s best for you. Read more

Sask. professor looks at spit to evaluate Canadians' oral health. thestarphoenix.com, Aug 5: Dr. Walter Siqueira knows your spit says a lot about you. The University of Saskatchewan dental professor will help analyze spit samples from thousands of Canadians as part of a massive survey he hopes will lead to new understandings on the relationship between dental care, nutrition, socioeconomic status and countless other factors. Read more

OPINION: Axe 'exceptional' tuition hikes in Alberta. edmontonjournal.com, Aug 7: ...Thanks to student advocacy, the government ordered both universities to go back to the drawing board for real consultation. But these exceptional tuition increases are still a danger — both to students and Alberta’s future. Read more

AHS [Alberta Health Services] launches pro-fluoride campaign in Calgary ahead of election. calgaryherald.com, Aug 5: According to a July Leger poll, 58 per cent of respondents said they supported returning fluoride to the city's water supply. Read more

‘Good oral health leads to general overall better health’: How strokes may be preventable with oral care. wistv.com, Aug 10: Neurologists at Prisma Health published results of a 17‑year-long study of the potential link between oral health and stroke risk. Read more

California Oral Health Literacy Toolkit helps dentists implement OHL during patient visits. cda.org, Aug 9: The California Oral Health Literacy Toolkit is a new digital resource to help oral health care providers learn or review the basic principles of oral health literacy, including the importance of communicating clearly and with cultural humility and creating a welcoming environment for patients. Two years of background studies, conducted by the UC Berkeley Health Research for Action Center in collaboration with the California Office of Oral Health, informed the toolkit’s development. Read more

ADA, CDC: Vaccination, masks recommended amid Delta variant. ada.org, Aug 9: Fact sheet released contains updated information on protecting oneself and others from variant. Read more

ADA publishes FAQ on vaccines in the dental office. ada.org, Aug 9: Questions-and-answers include whether dentists can mandate vaccination for employees. Read more

Democrats Hope To Beef Up Medicare With Dental, Vision And Hearing Benefits. npr.org, Aug 9: Sorry, Joe Namath. Despite what you keep saying in those TV ads, under Medicare, seniors are not "entitled to eliminate copays and get dental care, dentures, eyeglasses, prescription drug coverage, in-home aides, unlimited transportation and home-delivered meals — all at no additional cost." But if Democratic lawmakers in Congress have their say, seniors could soon be entitled to some of those services. Read more

Medicaid expansion can increase dental care access to underserved areas. news-medical.net, Aug 9: When public health insurance like Medicaid expands its dental coverage, by increasing the types of procedures it covers and the total amount a dentist can spend on an individual patient, more dentists will locate to the expansion areas, therefore increasing access. This finding comes from research recently published in the Journal of Public Economics. Read more

Trainers, doctors, therapists: is it OK to ask professionals if they’re vaccinated? theguardian.com, Aug 9: It’s already an up-close and personal experience that can be a little awkward. Now many find themselves with a tricky new question: are they entitled to quiz their doctor, dentist, fitness trainer, therapist or hairstylist whether they’ve been vaccinated? Read more

This Colgate-Palmolive design manager reinvented toothbrush packaging to make it plastic-free. fastcompany.com, Aug 10: Before Colgate launched its eco-friendly Keep toothbrush, Jadalia Britto had to come up with a sustainable new way to package it. ... Instead of the usual clear plastic “blister” affixed to a piece of cardboard, Britto created a tray—comparable to the cost of existing plastic solutions—made from biodegradable sugarcane and wood fiber that’s heat sealed to a piece of recycled cardboard, which is printed with a picture of the product inside. Read more

Netherlands residents increasingly unhappy with dental care. nltimes.nl, Aug 9: It's raining complaints about dentistry in the Netherlands, newspaper AD reports based on its own research. The newspaper received "many hundreds" of complaints from people unhappy about dentists providing treatments that don't work, doing unnecessarily large procedures, and sending high bills. Read more

COVID-19 News: Canada

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Wednesday. cbc.ca, Aug 11: University of Ottawa mandates vaccines for anyone accessing campus. N.L. drops mask mandate for patchwork of policies and recommendations. COVID‑19 intensified struggles for Edmonton's ethnic communities, study finds. Quebec restaurant and gym to test province's new vaccine passport system. B.C. records 395 new cases of COVID-19 as 7-day average nearly doubles in 1 week. Ontario sees 321 new COVID-19 cases as long-term care homes call for vaccine mandate for health workers. South Korea's daily increase in COVID-19 cases exceeds 2,000 for 1st time. Germany to stop offering free COVID-19 tests in bid to encourage vaccinations. Read more

'No doubt' Canada now in 4th wave of COVID-19 as cases spike across much of the country. cbc.ca, Aug 11: Vaccines, restrictions may ward off worst outcomes as delta spreads — but pressure on hospitals still possible. ... The country's seven-day average for new daily cases is now close to 1,300 — an increase of nearly 60 per cent over the previous week, with cases ticking back up mainly in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. "We're absolutely in the fourth wave," said Dr. Peter Juni, who is the scientific director of Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. "There's no doubt about that." Read more

Government will purchase different types of Moderna vaccines 'for a number of years to come,' says industry minister. cbc.ca, Aug 11: Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne joins Power & Politics to discuss an agreement with U.S. drugmaker Moderna to build an mRNA vaccine production facility in Canada. Watch 5:30

Ontario long-term care homes association calls for mandatory vaccines for all health-care workers. globalnews.ca, Aug 10: …The Ontario Long-Term Care Association says making vaccines mandatory provincewide would both protect residents and ensure facilities don’t lose their staff to other health-care facilities. Read more

Ontario now tracking vaccine status of COVID-19 patients in hospital. These graphics break down what’s happening. thestar.com, Aug 10: ...The province says the new data collection is intended to better understand the vaccination status of COVID‑19 patients who are currently hospitalized. The new data set also includes vaccine status updates on patients in the ICU. Read more

Quebec to require vaccine passports starting Sept. 1. ipolitics.ca, Aug 10: In anticipation of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, as of Sept. 1, Quebec will make it mandatory for anyone entering a bar, restaurant, or gym in the province to first show proof that he or she has been fully vaccinated, Health Minister Christian Dubé announced Tuesday. Read more

Ontario Health Minister Stands Behind Refusal for Mandatory Vaccines and Proof Passports. iheartradio.ca, Aug 10: Health Minister Christine Elliott held the line today on her government's staunch refusal to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for health-care workers or for non-essential activities. The province is facing growing calls to mandate vaccinations as cases rise, including from the Ontario Long-Term Care Association. Read more

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Tuesday. cbc.ca, Aug 10 Mask on, mask off: Nova Scotia Liberals promise vaccine passport system if re-elected. N.L. business owners react to end of mask mandate. Alberta's plan to stop testing for COVID‑19 poses risks for children, pediatricians say. How will the delta variant affect kids? Experts explain what we know and what we don't. Read more

Government of Canada announces agreement with leading COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna, Inc. to build mRNA vaccine facility in Canada. canada.ca, Aug 10: New agreement is a major milestone in the Government of Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy and positions Canada as mRNA centre of excellence. Read more

New Moderna plant opening in Canada, but we still don’t know where. globalnews.ca, Aug 10: Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne says a new vaccine production facility, set to be built by Moderna, will help Canada prepare for the next pandemic. Champagne announced in Montreal that Moderna will set up a highly advanced facility to manufacture mRNA vaccines on Canadian soil. Read more

Quebec bars will be safer than university classrooms this fall: McGill epidemiologist. montrealgazette.com, Aug 9: A McGill University professor who specializes in infectious disease epidemiology says she believes Quebecers will be safer in bars, restaurants and gyms this September than in university classrooms. Read more

Ontario business groups call for vaccine certificate system to avoid lockdown. cp24.com, Aug 9: COVID‑19 cases appear to be on the rise in Ontario again and business groups are calling for a vaccine certificate system as a means to avoid another lockdown. Ontario has reported rising positivity rates and more than 300 new COVID‑19 cases for the past four days, with more than 400 on Sunday - levels not seen since mid-June. Premier Doug Ford has rebuffed calls from medical, political and business groups to implement a vaccine certificate system for non-essential activities, saying he doesn't want a “split society.” Read more

Manitoba launches new COVID-19 immunization card app. cbc.ca, Aug 10: The provincial government launched the new app on Monday. Like the physical immunization card, the app will only show the individual's first and last name, along with a QR code which, when scanned by the province's Immunization Verifier app, will confirm that the person is fully vaccinated. Read more

University of Waterloo to require self-declaration of COVID-19 vaccination status to access campus. kitchener.ctvnews.ca, Aug 9: ...An update on the university's website said the data will be anonymous and will be used to plan health and safety approaches for the fall term. Read more

Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday. cbc.ca, Aug 9: Canada loosens more travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers. Vaccines give COVID-19 survivors a big immune boost, studies show. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine approved provisionally by Australian regulator. Read more

Health Canada updates Pfizer vaccine label regarding very rare reports of Bell's palsy. ctvnews.ca, Aug 7: In an advisory issued on Friday, the agency said it decided to update the labelling after a small number of people in Canada and internationally reported temporary weakness or paralysis on one side of the face shortly after receiving the vaccine. Read more

Canadian business community largely supportive of vaccine passport system. nationalnewswatch.com, Aug 8: The Canadian business community appears to be largely supportive of the Quebec government's move to impose the country's first vaccine passport system. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says vaccine passports or digital vaccination certificates would help to prevent future waves of the pandemic from forcing a resurgence of financially disastrous lockdowns by enabling those with low risk to participate in events, move freely and go about their daily lives. Read more

Should post-secondary schools mandate vaccines for on-campus learning? ctvnews.ca, Aug 8: With a new school year quickly approaching and COVID-19 case numbers going up across Canada, some are beginning to ask whether post-secondary institutions should require staff and students to be vaccinated if they want to learn on campus. Read more

'The tide is really turning' on support for COVID-19 vaccine passports, expert says. cbc.ca, Aug 7: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has rejected adding vaccination certificates and mandating immunizations in workplaces, but one legal expert who's argued in favour of so-called vaccine passports believes they're inevitable. Read more

COVID-19 News: World

Covid-19 latest updates. washingtonpost.com, Aug 11: Oregon set to become third state to impose statewide indoor mask mandate. More than 175 public health experts, scientists and activists have demanded that President Biden move quickly to address the global spread of the coronavirus, warning that if the virus goes unchecked, more variants could emerge. The Covid-19 death toll in Iran has surged to more than 500 deaths a day amid a vicious fifth wave of infections, breaking previous records. Medical workers warn that hospitals are overwhelmed. Read more

WHO, Facebook and Praekelt.Org provide critical mobile access to COVID-19 information for vulnerable communities. who.int, Aug 11: ...Though over 85% of the world’s population lives in areas with existing cellular coverage, many people can’t afford to purchase mobile data consistently and others have not yet adopted the internet. During the COVID-19 public health crisis, it is important now more than ever to help people stay connected and to increase access to health information and other resources on the internet. Read more

Decision to vaccinate children rests on ethics rather than science. politico.eu, Aug 9: Tricky risk-benefit calculations are being made — with countries coming to different conclusions. Read more

Complete Eradication Of COVID-19 Is Possible, New Study Suggests. iflscience.com, Aug 10: Over the last few months, there’s been an increase in discussions that we just have to learn to live with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Now a new study suggests that it might be possible to eradicate the virus from the face of the Earth. Read more

Vaccine-skeptical German nurse may have swapped thousands of legitimate doses for saline. ctvnews.ca, Aug 11: Authorities in northern Germany appealed to thousands of people on Tuesday to get another shot of COVID-19 vaccine after a police investigation found that a Red Cross nurse may have injected them with a saline solution. The nurse is suspected of injecting salt solution into people's arms instead of genuine doses at a vaccination center in Friesland - a rural district near the North Sea coast - in the early spring. Read more

Central Florida hospitals slammed as state’s COVID-19 admissions set records. orlandosentinel.com, Aug 10: COVID-19 hospitalizations surged past 15,000 in Florida on Tuesday with more than 3,000 people requiring intensive care, setting another record as pandemic-related patients continue to fill beds. Read more

Florida's Governor Says School Leaders' Salary May Be Withheld If They Require Masks. npr.org, Aug 9: …The move to potentially punish educators follows days of controversy during which school district superintendents and school board members seeking to comply with CDC guidelines ignored an executive order from DeSantis banning school districts from requiring students to wear face masks. Read more

Dallas County, Bexar County officials fight Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates in court. texastribune.org, Aug 10: The local officials are asking for courts to rule that Abbott’s ban on local mask mandates is unenforceable. Read more

America's Delta data problem. axios.com, Aug 9: America is increasingly reliant on data coming from other countries or from drug companies about the coronavirus vaccines' effectiveness over time, particularly when it comes to the Delta variant. Between the lines: Top Biden officials are growing frustrated with the lack of internal visibility into data being collected by the CDC, particularly as they try to deal with Delta's spread. Read more

‘This Is Really Scary’: Kids Struggle With Long Covid. nytimes.com, Aug 8: Lingering physical, mental and neurological symptoms are affecting children as well as adults, including many who had mild reactions to the initial infection. Read more

What experts are learning about Lambda, a coronavirus 'variant of interest'. ctvnews.ca, Aug 7: As the coronavirus pandemic continues, infections caused by the Lambda variant have been emerging in the United States, including in Texas, where Houston Methodist Hospital last month reported its first case. Read more

U.S. now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day. ctvnews.ca, Aug 7: The COVID‑19 outbreak in the United States crossed 100,000 new confirmed daily infections Saturday, a milestone last exceeded during the winter surge and driven by the highly transmissible delta variant and low vaccination rates in the South. Read more

Some in U.S. getting COVID-19 boosters without FDA approval. ctvnews.ca, Aug 7: …The U.S. government has not approved booster shots against the virus, saying it has yet to see evidence they are necessary. But an untold number of Americans have managed to get them by taking advantage of the nation's vaccine surplus and loose tracking of those who have been fully vaccinated. Read more

Disposable face masks prompt anti-waste campaigners to call for sustainable alternatives. abc.net.au, Aug 9: Every minute of the day, 3 million disposable face masks are thrown away across the world. Globally, 129 billion disposable face masks are thrown into landfill every month, according to a study by University of Southern Denmark researchers. Read more

Other News: Canada

Government of Canada and Prince Edward Island accelerate work to implement pharmacare. canada.ca, Aug 11: ... Through this agreement, the province will receive $35 million over four years in federal funding, to add new drugs to its list of covered drugs, and lower out of pocket costs for drugs covered under existing public plans for Island residents. ... The Government of Canada will use early lessons from PEI's efforts to inform its ongoing work to advance national universal pharmacare. This agreement will also build on the ongoing work to develop a national strategy for drugs for rare diseases. Read more

Canada’s healthcare system? Most say it’s working as well as can be expected. abacusdata.ca, Aug 11: In new public opinion research commissioned by the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, 3200 adult Canadians were interviewed by Abacus Data, between July 20th and 24th, 2021. Results show that Canadians tend to see our health care system as functioning in line with their expectations, with relatively better satisfaction regarding virtual care, access to GPs and timely tests, drug costs and access to quality medicines. Read more

Majority of Canadian physicians planning to use virtual care post-pandemic. cma.ca, Aug 11: According to a recent survey conducted for Canada Health Infoway Opens in a new window (Infoway) and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), almost all Canadian physicians say they will continue to use virtual care after the pandemic, and 64 per cent say they will maintain or increase their use. Read more

New course at University of Alberta combines science with Indigenous knowledge. cbc.ca, Aug 11: Indigenous Peoples and Technoscience now a regular offering at U of A. From working on science technology issues in Indigenous communities, Kim TallBear is aware of the perception that Western science and Indigenous knowledge are separate things. TallBear, an associate professor in the University of Alberta's faculty of Native studies, created a course called Indigenous Peoples and Technoscience. The goal of the course is not only to dismantle the myth that science and Indigenous knowledge are separate, but also to include Indigenous voices in science-based decision-making. Read more

'Hope is not a plan': Northerners call for action after harrowing UN climate report. cbc.ca, Aug 10: Report makes especially stark predictions for the North. … Arctic lands and water aren't what they used to be. Annual freeze-ups are happening later, and breakups earlier. Places where ice was once frozen solid are now more precarious. All this is a grim reminder that the consequences of climate change are being felt right now. Read more

Liberals, Conservatives won’t say if election candidates have COVID-19 vaccine. globalnews.ca, Aug 11: Canada’s Liberal and Conservative parties won’t say if they’ve mandated COVID-19 vaccination among their candidates — or even whether they’re asking them about their vaccination status — as rumours swirl that a snap federal election is coming. Global News recently reached out to the five main parties to get their stance on the topic as the country continues its fight against the pandemic, and as calls grow to require vaccination for a growing number of non-essential activities and professions. Read more

COVID-19 pandemic worsened disparities for ethnocultural communities in Canada: study. ctvnews.ca, Aug 9: The research, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday, showed job losses exacerbated food and housing insecurities for visible minorities, immigrants and refugee communities. Family violence, COVID-19 prevention and mental health were among their top concerns during the pandemic. Read more

'A real struggle:' Nursing shortage leading to health centre closures in Nunavut. ctvnews.ca, Aug 8: A nursing shortage is affecting the country's most northern communities, with eight health centres run by nurses expected to temporarily shut their doors if staff aren't found to keep them open. In Clyde River, a community of just over 1,000 people on Baffin Island in Nunavut, the health centre is set to close for two weeks, except for emergencies, starting Monday. Read more

Depression and anxiety symptoms have doubled among youth during pandemic: study. ctvnews.ca, Aug 9: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a large number of youth across the globe staying at home and it's having a drastic effect on their mental health, University of Calgary researchers have found. The percentage of children and adolescents experiencing depression and anxiety symptoms has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

Government of Canada enhances support to Indigenous communities to respond to and heal from the ongoing impacts of residential schools. canada.ca, Aug 10: Today, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced $321 million in additional support for Indigenous-led, Survivor-centric and culturally informed initiatives and investments to help Indigenous communities respond to and heal from the ongoing impacts of residential schools. Read more

Urgent need to address the growing impact of climate change on Canadians’ health. cma.ca, Aug 10: ...While the Canadian Medical Association has supported Canada’s previously stated commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we believe more needs to be done. We are therefore committing to be a full participant in the development and implementation of a comprehensive and robust plan to prevent further climate change and address the health consequences that are already affecting Canadians. Read more

What the new UN report warning of climate impacts means for Canadians. cbc.ca, Aug 9: Expect more heat waves, fires and flood events in future. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) once again issued a dire report warning that without a radical reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions, we are on a course for global warming that will have grave consequences. Read more

Despairing about the UN report on climate change? Experts say you should do this instead. thestar.com, Aug 10: …experts offered advice for how those who want to do something can channel their energy. Read more

Other News: World

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News Bites from CDA Knowledge Networks – 2021/08/11

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News Bites from CDA Knowledge Networks – 2021/08/11

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