/newsroom/taxonomy/term/12546/all en /newsroom/channels/news/expert-health-canada-approves-updated-covid-19-vaccine-ahead-holidays-353562 <p>Amidst the onset of respiratory illnesses this flu season, Canada has fortified its defences against the persistent threat of COVID-19 with the approval of another vaccine. Health Canada on December 5 approved the updated Novavax vaccine, marking the third updated booster available to Canadians alongside those from Pfizer and Moderna. (<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10149249/novavax-updated-covid-vaccine-health-canada-approval/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Global News</a>) </p> <p>Here is an expert from ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û who can provide comment on this topic: </p> Wed, 13 Dec 2023 18:26:32 +0000 keila.depape@mcgill.ca 307525 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/covid-infections-animals-key-ongoing-trajectory-pandemic-350373 <p><!-- x-tinymce/html --></p> Wed, 30 Aug 2023 19:49:20 +0000 claire.loewen@mcgill.ca 307325 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/how-canadians-lifestyle-behaviours-changed-during-covid-19-pandemic-348437 <p>Sixty per cent of roughly 1,600 Canadians who took part in a new ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û study say their lifestyle habits either stayed the same or improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the flip side, 40% of participants say they adopted less healthy lifestyle habits, including worsened eating habits, sleep quality, decreased physical activity and weight gain. The research is based on the Canadian COVIDiet study of Canadians between the ages of 18 to 89 years old. Researchers from ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û’s School of Human Nutrition collected data from across the country during the first wave of infections.</p> Wed, 24 May 2023 17:37:24 +0000 claire.loewen@mcgill.ca 301002 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/experts-covid-19-pandemic-no-longer-global-health-emergency-according-who-348275 <p>The World Health Organization (WHO) has ended the global COVID-19 emergency, citing increased immunity, fewer deaths and less pressure on hospitals. The pandemic, which was first declared an international crisis on January 30, 2020, resulted in unprecedented lockdowns, economic upheaval and the deaths of at least seven million people worldwide and more than 52,000 people in Canada. (<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canada-who-pandemic-no-longer-emergency-1.6833775">CBC News</a>)</p> <p>Here are some experts from ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û who can provide comment on this issue:</p> Wed, 10 May 2023 21:01:43 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 299764 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/study-sheds-light-how-immune-system-protects-body-348205 <p>First <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.038">study</a> of humans with a rare immunodeficiency reveals how the immune system protects the body against pathogens known to cause serious diseases, such as tuberculosis and COVID-19. The research involving ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û, paves the way for new therapies to treat autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, and new approaches to vaccine development.</p> Fri, 05 May 2023 18:41:23 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 299312 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/how-covid-19-changed-our-grocery-habits-344839 <p>To better understand food-related decisions during the pandemic, a team of ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û researchers, including School of Human Nutrition Professor <strong>Daiva Nielsen</strong> and postdoctoral fellow<strong> Katherine Labonté</strong>, conducted an online survey among a sample of adults from Quebec to compare grocery shopping behaviours in 2019 and 2020. The study showed that at the beginning of the pandemic, people reduced the frequency of in-store shopping expeditions. This reduction occurred in tandem with a rise in curbside pick-up and delivery.</p> Wed, 11 Jan 2023 18:51:46 +0000 claire.loewen@mcgill.ca 288616 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/experts-covid-19-309919 <p>Researchers are struggling to explain why Quebec had the country's highest official COVID-19 death toll, but a relatively low number of excess deaths. A study — titled Excess mortality, COVID-19 and health-care systems in Canada — looked at excess deaths, which refers to when observed deaths exceed expectations based on previous years' data, between March 2020 and October 2021. Quebec only had 4,033 excess deaths in that period, despite reporting 11,470 COVID-19 fatalities — almost three times more. It's the biggest gap recorded in Canada during the pandemic.</p> Tue, 21 Jan 2020 17:17:27 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 197611 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/what-ai-generated-covid-news-tells-us-journalists-dont-344060 <p>AI can help identify biases in news reporting that we wouldn't otherwise see. Researchers from ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û got a computer program to generate news coverage of COVID-19 using headlines from CBC articles as prompts. They then compared the simulated news coverage to the actual reporting at the time and found that CBC coverage was less focused on the medical emergency and more positively focused on personalities and geo-politics.</p> Mon, 05 Dec 2022 21:03:51 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 288558 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/study-challenges-attitudes-about-young-people-and-pandemic-preventative-measures-plus-other-stories-340677 <p><img alt=" Getty Images" src="/newsroom/files/newsroom/channels/image/covid-measures.jpg" style="width:100%" /></p> Tue, 09 Aug 2022 19:59:55 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 288287 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/experts-random-covid-19-testing-resumes-four-major-airports-340380 <p>Mandatory random COVID-19 testing resumed on Tuesday, July 19 for vaccinated travellers coming into Canada through four major airports. The tests for select passengers landing in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal will be completed outside the airports, either through an in-person appointment or a virtual appointment for a self-swab test. (<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/07/19/random-covid-19-testing-resumes-at-four-major-airports-tests-to-be-done-offsite.html" target="_blank">Toronto Star</a>)</p> Tue, 19 Jul 2022 20:37:12 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 288259 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/expert-canadians-seeking-closure-are-finally-holding-funerals-delayed-covid-19-340015 <p>The mandates may be lifted, but COVID-19 continues to shape how families across Canada mourn. Funeral directors say the COVID-19 pandemic has so altered what it means to mourn that it might be a while before there is any community consensus of how and when to have a funeral. While many families feel the time is right to finally mourn, others feel like too much time has passed, and they no longer plan to hold a service. (<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/summer-funeral-memorials-two-years-1.6488758" target="_blank">CBC News</a>)</p> Wed, 22 Jun 2022 15:29:28 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 288215 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/expert-airport-delays-339942 <p>While the air transport industry welcomed news that millions of unvaccinated Canadians will soon be allowed to fly, experts and unions said a new influx of travellers could worsen the ongoing delays at airports across the country. The government announced that starting June 20 proof of vaccination will not be required to board a train or a plane in Canada. As of May 22, just over 18 per cent of Canadians — almost seven million people — did not have at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.</p> Thu, 16 Jun 2022 19:21:38 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 288207 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/amid-war-and-disease-world-happiness-report-shows-bright-spot-338506 <p>In this troubled time of war and pandemic, the <a href="https://worldhappiness.report/">World Happiness Report 2022</a> shows a bright light in dark times. According to the team of international researchers, including ÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û Professor <a href="/newsroom/christopher-barrington-leigh">Christopher Barrington-Leigh</a>, the pandemic brought not only pain and suffering but also an increase in social support and benevolence.</p> Thu, 17 Mar 2022 20:45:45 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 286520 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/face-masks-impair-nonverbal-communication-between-individuals-337845 <p>Since the onset of the worldwide pandemic, face masks have been widely adopted to control the spread of COVID-19. While masks are critical for mitigating disease contagion, they hide parts of our faces which are used for nonverbal communication to express our emotions and intentions.</p> Mon, 21 Feb 2022 14:26:41 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 286055 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/prioritizing-supports-specific-neighbourhoods-key-curbing-covid-19-transmission-337560 <p>The COVID-19 pandemic has uneven impacts across cities and provinces, with some regions struggling more than others. A new study shows hotspots of COVID-19 infections across Canadian cities are linked to occupation, income, housing, and markers for structural racism.</p> Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:55:32 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 286039 at /newsroom