September 25 2021 COVID-19 report

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Dear Colleagues: Welcome to our Saturday, September 25 report during this twentieth month of COVID-19 in Ontario. You can find earlier update reports here, including thematic pieces in Doris’ COVID-19 Blog. And, for the many resources RNAO offers on COVID-19, please visit the COVID-19 Portal where you will also find RNAO media hits and releases on the pandemic here. Daily Situational Reports from Ontario’s MOH EOC can be found here. As always, feel free to share this report and links with anyone interested. Scroll down for policy updates and action alerts, as well as RNAO’s upcoming webinars.

RNAO is ecstatic with the news that Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are arriving home, today! We take the opportunity to wish them and their families a time of peace, love, and rejuvenation. We thank Prime Minister Trudeau and his team for bringing the two Michaels home.


Today we share: (1) an announcement about the launch of RNAO’s Leading Change Toolkit; and (2) RNAO’s response to the easing of capacity limits in indoor settings. The remaining of this week’s Blog focuses on the threat of far-right extremism. This includes: (3) our call to recognize far-right extremism as a serious health threat; (4) an article on how the anti-vax movement is being radicalized by far-right political extremism in Canada; and (5) an article on how anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and the far-right are coming together over COVID internationally.


Accelerating knowledge uptake and sustainability – learning from the Leading Change Toolkit™

RNAO, in collaboration with Healthcare Excellence Canada, are excited to launch the new online Leading Change Toolkit. The toolkit is designed for change agents and change teams whose goal is to create lasting improvement with the uptake and sustainability of knowledge, like best practice guidelines (BPG).

What makes the toolkit revolutionary is the integration of two complementary frameworks to guide and support a change process:

  • The novel Social Movement Action (SMA) Framework (Grinspun et al., 2020) – a dynamic approach to change that applies a grassroots, ‘bottom-up’ people-led action in response to an urgent shared concern or strongly desired change. The SMA Framework is structured according to preconditions, key characteristics and outcomes. The 10 key characteristics include collective identity, intrinsic motivation and mobilized individual and collective action as cornerstones of social movement action. The framework, based on a concept analysis, formalizes RNAO’s experience for the past 20 years as an association of social movement action to transform nursing, evidence-based practice, health system transformation and improved outcomes.
  • The Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) Framework (Graham et al., 2006) – a structured, systematic process model that includes seven action-cycle phases. The KTA Framework is featured in the second edition of the Toolkit: Implementation of Best Practice Guidelines and has been used successfully by Best Practice Spotlight Organizations®(BPSO®) to achieve excellence in care outcomes, knowledge translation and sustained practice change. It builds on RNAO’s first implementation toolkit issued in 2002.

The Leading Change Toolkit is for you – it is available at no cost for everyone as a free download. It includes robust evidence, strategies, pragmatic and valid tools, worksheets and other resources to support your change initiative from start to sustainment. 

We invite you to join us on October 5th, 2021 from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET for a virtual international webinar and launch of the Leading Change Toolkit. Register at The Leading Change Toolkit: National Webinar and Launch Registration (myrnao.ca).

The presentation will include members of the expert panel, including co-chairs Dr. Doris Grinspun and Dr. Janet Squires. Grinspun is CEO of RNAO and the founder of RNAO’s Best Practice Guidelines Program, including its BPSO social movement of knowledge mobilization. Squires is full professor, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa, Research Chair in Health Evidence Implementation, and senior scientist for the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. 

You will also hear from members of the toolkit’s development team led by Katherine Wallace, Senior Manager, Implementation Science. And, you will hear Dr. Jennifer Zelmer, President and CEO, Healthcare Excellence Canada, as the Executive Co-Sponsor. The master of ceremony will be Susan McNeil, Associate Director, Guideline Implementation and Knowledge Transfer at RNAO’s International Affairs and Best Practice Guidelines (IABPG) Centre supported by Oliwia Klej, Project Coordinator, Implementation Science, IABPG.


RNAO calls for the government to shift its focus back to protecting Ontarians through vaccination

TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2021. At a time when long-term care (LTC) residents are still being infected and dying from COVID-19 because of unvaccinated health-care workers, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) says the provincial government's announcement Friday should have been about mandatory vaccination for all health-care workers. Instead, it was about raising capacity limits for sporting events.

LTC homes across Ontario have faced the brunt of the pandemic with 3,826 residents who have died as of Sept. 24. "This shameful legacy of bad policy – especially during the first and second waves – cannot repeat in this fourth wave given that vaccines are abundantly and readily available for all eligible Ontarians," says Dr. Doris Grinspun, RNAO's CEO.

The government took an important step by implementing vaccine certificates. Now, it must ensure a consistent province-wide government directive for mandatory vaccination for all health-care workers and education staff. "These same workers must show proof of vaccine to enter a gym or a restaurant. Yet that same requirement to be fully vaccinated does not apply in all health settings, nor does it apply in our schools, colleges and universities. This is nonsensical," adds Grinspun.

RNAO calls on Premier Ford and Ministers Christine Elliott, Rod Phillips, Stephen Lecce and Jill Dunlop, to immediately implement government-led mandatory vaccination of all health-care workers and all education staff in Ontario. "It is an essential public health measure to help us in our fight against COVID-19 and a critical tool to protect people needing health care and to protect students given the highly transmissible Delta variant," says RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth.


Connecting the dots – far right extremism as a serious health threat

As RNAO’s 46,000 members and other blog readers know, RNAO has been vocal (see here and here) about protecting nurses and other health providers in recent weeks from “protesters” close to hospitals all across Ontario. I write “protesters” in quotation marks since these events have been anything but peaceful, democratic expressions of ideas. Rather, these mobs – a more accurate term than protesters – have screamed at, insulted, spit at, harassed and intimidated staff – who are simply trying to reach the hospital to attend to patients and provide services – or those accessing essential health services for themselves or their loved ones. Many have carried signs with hate and disinformation about COVID.

RNAO has been clear that it is unacceptable to disrupt health-care facilities and the targets cannot be patients, families and the healthcare workers that have been at the frontlines of this pandemic for already 20 months. I have also warned of the same demonstrations happening in schools. Protests must move to Queens Park, City Hall or other public spaces, and for this we have for weeks called on Premier Ford to implement #SafeZones, immediately, around health facilities and schools. The latter have already been a target in B.C. and Quebec.

As I have expressed in the media, as a nurse sociologist, I have been concerned that these mob events at hospitals and schools represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of the threat to health represented by the growth of far-right extremism in Canada and in other countries. Today I tackle the larger picture of how the pandemic – the fear, frustration, anger, isolation, uncertainty, loss of jobs, unregulated social media echo chambers, and disinformation – has provided the ill-conceived breeding ground for extremely dangerous social undercurrents.

As health providers and policymakers, we need to become aware of how the increasing organization, visibility and influence of far-right extremism and their ideas and organizations is a serious concern from a health perspective. We need to connect the dots. And we need to act!

Action needs to happen at many fronts – and it must be pursued with political will.

In my estimation, the large majority of those who attend the rallies are people who mean no harm or violence. These are persons who have suffered from COVID-19 restrictions and its consequences, such as job loss, loneliness, and a heightened level of frustration with limited resilience and coping. They carry a lot of fear, frustration and anger. The remaining small and gravely concerning minority is a mix of ideological anti-vaxxers and far-right agitators, including white supremacists, who lead these actions. The organizers, many with links to the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) – a self-denominated “movement” by their leader Maxime Bernier –, are manipulating and using the large majority to their advantage.  

Thus, tackling job loss, loss of hope, social exclusion and other underlying factors that breed anger and resentment, as well as cultures of white supremacy and hate that channel them, are an urgent and ‘must’ policy imperative.

We must tackle the distrust in government by demanding governments that are honest, credible, and committed to the betterment of conditions for all. We must reject governments that are corrupt and engaged in providing privilege to the few.

And we also need to take direct action against far-right extremism. We need to challenge politicians to condemn all far-right and white nationalist expressions. We need to educate politicians and the public that these are not legitimate democratic expressions, and instead see them as sources of hate and violence that use disinformation to create social disruption. We need to discredit and tackle through available democratic means organizations such as the PPC that openly harbour the far-right. We need to use legal means, such as those to enact #SafeZones. And we must enact regulation of social media and message platforms and diminish the role of organized disinformation and hate echo chambers.

These are major policy agendas, and the first step is to recognize we have a problem. That’s where we are, as health policymakers. Let’s recognize and identify the problem of far-right extremism as an enormous threat to our agendas of health and wellbeing for all.

To help in this task, I am including two articles that provide background in Canada and internationally. The first one shows how the anti-vax movement is being radicalized by far-right political extremism in Canada. The second shows how anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and the far-right have came together over COVID in Australia.


The anti-vax movement is being radicalized by far-right political extremism

This is a September 19 article by Sibo Chen, an assistant professor at the School of Professional Communication, Ryerson University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


Vaccine passports have become a major point of contention in the 2021 federal election.

Currently, more than 73 per cent of Canada’s population have received at least one dose of vaccine, and the country’s response to COVID-19 continues to be a top priority for voters. This is likely why current public health efforts have concentrated on expanding vaccine access and implementing communication strategies (like motivational interviewing) to increase vaccination rates.

But, as seen through recent anti-vax protests, especially those targeting schools and hospitals, there is a worrisome convergence of the anti-vaccine movement and far-right political extremism.

And on the frontline of these anti-vax protests are people occupied by extreme rage who are threatening to exert violence against whoever they deem as “outsiders” and “traitors.”

For decades, vaccine hesitancy has been a subject of intense study in the field of scientific communication. The issue’s recent radicalization makes insights about its root causes even more important.

Factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy

A distinction must be drawn between vaccine hesitancy and the current anti-vax movement, as the latter’s agenda has been hijacked by far-right groups.

Previous study has identified a variety of factors contributing to people’s vaccination hesitancy, such as community trauma, scientific scepticism and political beliefs. Some Indigenous communities’ concerns about COVID-19 vaccines, for instance, come from instances of medical experimentation.

Meanwhile, errors made during pro-vaccine communications may raise additional concerns about vaccination safety and efficacy. Consider the public uncertainty and outrage over the National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s contradictory messages regarding AstraZeneca.

Research on vaccine hesitancy around the world has demonstrated that a number of contributing factors to vaccine hesitation are directly linked to a persistent decline in public trust in institutions and government policy. In recent years, this trend, along with escalating political polarization, has shaped the anti-vaccine movement into its current form.

Prior to the pandemic, researchers noted that social media platforms, like Facebook, facilitate anti-vaccine messages and conspiracy theories by enabling the diffusion of misinformation like “pesticides caused clinical symptoms of polio.” Fast forwarding to 2020, major anti-vaccine groups on Facebook launched anti-vaccine misinformation campaigns weeks before the U.S. government launched its vaccine development program, sewing seeds of doubt and subsequently hampering the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

The radicalization of the anti-vaccine movement

Since the start of mass COVID-19 vaccinations in early 2020, the public health sector has been closely monitoring an unusually high level of resistance among a small section of the population. Unlike prior vaccination hesitancy, the current anti-vax movement cannot be explained by a lack of information or illogical thinking, especially in light of the significant press coverage and public health initiatives over the last several months.

Scholars have resorted to the solution aversion model to account for the growing political division around vaccination. According to this model, individuals with divergent political ideologies perceive social issues differently because of their inherent aversion to specific solutions. In the case of vaccine passports, its implementation depends on stringent government regulations, which are deeply unpopular among many far-right individuals.

Additionally, our fragmented media environment further fosters solution aversion by promoting motivated reasoning. With today’s media audiences being trapped in algorithm-based digital echo chambers, it is increasingly typical for individuals to interact exclusively with like-minded media sources and other internet users, resulting in biased information absorption.

Fixing the broken public sphere

Admittedly, reconciling the divided public opinions on COVID-19 vaccination policies is not a simple task. As long as social media platforms continue to not bat an eye at misinformation out of concern for their click-through rates, and governments continue to ignore structural injustices driving political radicalization, it is unlikely that vaccine resistance will be reduced without increasing polarization.

The anti-vax movement, like many other issues that have emerged during the pandemic, serves as a stark reminder that our society’s public sphere is fundamentally broken. The long yet essential process of fixing it will require all of us, as responsible citizens and media users, to work collaboratively on restoring public conversation mechanisms.The Conversation


‘It’s almost like grooming’: how anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and the far-right came together over COVID

This is a September 21 article by Josh Roose, a senior research fellow at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original.


Scenes of protesters clad in hi-vis jackets and shouting anti-vaccination slogans have dominated the news this week. As the ABC reported:

Some of those gathered held a banner reading ‘freedom’, while others sang the national anthem and chanted ‘f*** the jab’.

Some attacked union offices, drawing criticism from officials such as ACTU chief Sally McManus, who described the protests as being orchestrated “by violent right-wing extremists and anti-vaccination activists.”

These images may shock some but for researchers like me — who research far-right nationalist and conspiracy movements, and explore the online spaces where these people organise — these scenes came as no real surprise.

Far right nationalists, anti-vaxxers, libertarians and conspiracy theorists have come together over COVID, and capitalised on the anger and uncertainty simmering in some sections of the community.

They appear to have found fertile ground particularly among men who feel alienated, fearful about their employment and who spend a lot of time at home scrolling social media and encrypted messaging apps.

The latest in a continuum

It’s important to see what’s occurring with these protests as part of a continuum rather than a series of unrelated incidents. This week’s protests are related to anti-lockdown protests held in 2020, and earlier this year.

It was at first limited to the conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer crowd. Some were just upset by lockdowns but most of the planning conversation online was being led by anti-vaxxers and QAnon activists.

These movements thrive on anxiety, anger, a sense of alienation, a distrust in government and institutions. It’s really no coincidence this is occurring most vigorously in Melbourne given what this city has been through with lockdowns.

It has really built momentum over the last year and, more recently, been infiltrated by far right groups.

The far right are capable recruiters

If you go back two years ago, anti-vaxxers were a tiny minority. They have grown significantly in size and influence online.

I have observed in my research the far right consciously appropriating the language of anti-vaxxers, of the conspiracy movements, seeking to exploit their anger and distrust.

I spend a lot of time on the encrypted messaging groups used by these groups and in the online spaces where they organise. I have seen the same names popping up, and growing use of hard right or far right national socialist iconography.

It is almost like grooming. The far right are a lot more capable of recruitment than we give them credit for. They have found an audience who are angry, frustrated and looking for someone to blame.

This is particularly the case among young men who are increasingly attracted to right wing nationalism and make up the majority of protesters. Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton has said the majority of protesters at the Saturday protest were men aged 25-40, who came with violent intent.

Many of these groups share similar ideas: that there is a cabal of politicians and elites who are oppressing you. That freedom is at risk, that one must stand up for liberty, that there is a wealthy and unelected ruling class controlling you.

COVID — with all the fear, uncertainty, lockdowns, policing and employment impacts it brings — has helped bring these groups together.

Victoria police earlier this year warned a parliamentary inquiry into extremism that:

online commentary on COVID-19 has provided a recruiting tool for right-wing extremist groups, linking those interested in alternative wellness, anti-vaccination and anti-authority conspiracy theories with white supremacist ideologies.

The far right has really sought to mobilise frustrated people and push them more toward right-wing narratives, particularly white nationalist narratives.

There is a strong historical animosity toward trade unions (as the vanguard of the political left) by the far right. It would be disingenuous to view the far right as unintelligent thugs. They are learned in the history of national socialism and fascism and the preconditions for its rise.

So you see the far right working very hard to undermine trade unions and the way they represent the organised working class. There is an attempt to undermine trust in trade unions and paint them as traitors and sell-outs who are in bed with the government.

Among the protesters there was a really self conscious effort to represent themselves as themselves as tradies [skilled manual workers] and workers. Some observed protest organisers encouraging people to wear hi-vis [high-visibility] clothing to these rallies.

It’s important to note the construction industry and trade union movement in general are incredibly diverse, and there will be different and competing views around vaccines, masks and lockdowns.

Some of these protesters actually are tradies, some may not be. Some are union members, others are not. But the broader point is there is a group of people who are incredibly angry about the situation they find themselves in, and resentment is proving fertile terrain for organised groups.

Where to from here?

This is not an easy knot to unpick, but there are three main approaches I think would really help.

The first is we really need to get people back to work. That is critical. People’s self esteem and livelihood is tied up in work and the ability to put food on the table, in staying busy and socially connected (which is often via work).

By ensuring safe, secure employment for people, you really take away one of the main drivers of anger, resentment (and too much time to scroll around social media) that is helping push people toward extremism.

The second is politicians need to think hard and fast about what they can do to help rebuild trust in them, in government and in our institutions. Politicians can’t hide behind press conferences and press releases to get their message out. They need to get out and build trust, face-to-face with the community. Of course, that has been constrained by lockdown but this work is urgent and important. Politicians need to lead and create relationships with the community again.

The third thing is we as a society need to think carefully about social media, and perhaps about regulation. We need a long-term approach to media literacy training, to teach media literacy in schools and to educate people about social media echo chambers.


POLICY UPDATES FOR ALL TO ACT ON & MUST JOIN EVENTS – OPEN TO ALL


RNAO Action Alerts

Sign the Action Alert calling on premier Ford to Implement the 3 Mandatory Asks of Nurses: 1) #MandatoryVaccination for health-care workers (unless medical exemption); 2)  #MandatoryVaccination for teachers and educational staff (unless medical exemption); and 3)   #MandatoryVaccinePassports for everyone (unless medical exemption). In addition, we are asking for indoor masking for children two years old and up.

Take action on Bill 124 and sign the Action Alert. Add your voice to the 5,302 others calling on Premier Ford to exempt health-care workers from Bill 124. We join the call to #RepealBill124. This is urgent given the deterioration of nursing human resources as colleagues leave the profession or move to the United States. President Biden is eager to welcome our awesome RNs.

Take action on global vaccine access: Sign an Action Alert calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure global vaccine access. Let’s also make sure we urge Prime Minister Trudeau to match President Biden’s commitments to Covax.

Call on elected leaders to step up and end the opioid crisis: Sign an Action Alert calling on politicians at all orders of government to work together to save lives and bring this crisis to an end.

Enshrine a nursing home basic care guarantee in legislation, premier, set the path forward! Sign an Action Alert! Call on the premier to enshrine in legislation RNAO’s Nursing Home Basic Care Guarantee.


Webinar: COVID-19 Webinar Series

Oct 4, 2021, 2:00pm - 4:00pm

When: Every second Monday of the month.

RNAO's CEO Doris Grinspun will be hosting COVID-19 webinars for health providers.

Topics include:

  • updates on COVID-19 and the health system: latest news and pressing issues
  • guest speakers (as available)
  • questions and answers
  • calls to action

Health providers from Ontario, Canada, and anywhere in the world are welcome to join at no cost.

Register now.

Watch the September 13 webinar:

Topic: COVID-19 amidst back to school and a federal election

School is back in session, vaccine mandates and passports are being rolled out, and the federal election is upon us. What does this mean for Ontario nurses, families, teachers, community members and those deciding how to vote on Sept. 20?

Join us for a discussion with RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun who will share updates, latest news and pressing issues related to COVID-19. Learn how to use RNAO’s non partisan federal election policy platform to inform your election decisions, and hear about current calls to action that support a Just Recovery for All.

Watch the webinar here. See the slides here.

Watch and read about earlier webinars here.


Let’s Talk About Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Nursing

October 18, 2021, 2:30pm - 4:00pm

This webinar, originally scheduled for September 20, has been re-scheduled due to elections, for October 18, 2:30-4:30 pm.

This is a webinar series designed for members of the public interested in receiving updates on RNAO’s Black Nurses Task Force and to engage them in meaningful conversations that will inform the work of the Task Force. The Black Nurses Task Force has a mandate to tackle anti-Black racism and discrimination within the nursing profession.

Upcoming webinar

Oct. 18, 2021, 2:30-4:00 pm

Topic: The Lived Experiences of Black Nurses Using Mental Health Services in Ontario

Presenter:

Dania Versailles, RN, MScN, CPMHN (C), Director of Clinical Services of Outreach, Canadian Mental Health Association – Ottawa

Register now.

Watch and read about earlier webinars here.


MOH EOC Situational Report

We are posting each day the Daily Situational Reports from Ontario's MOH EOC at RNAO’s website. That way, you can access the Ministry’s guidance at any time.

For a more detailed Ontario epidemiological summary from Public Health Ontario, you can always go here.

Here is a segment from the last Situation Report #521 for September 24:

Case count as of September 24, 2021 / Nombre de cas le 24 septembre 2021

 

Area / Région

Case count / Nombre de cas

Change from yesterday / Changement par rapport à hier

Deaths / Décès

Change from yesterday / Changement par rapport à hier

 

Ontario*

582 635

+  727

9 688

+  11**

Update - Ontario is cautiously easing capacity limits in select settings where proof of vaccination is required.


Staying in touch          

Keeping in touch remains important as we face the pandemic and other challenges in Ontario, in Canada and elsewhere – in particular, in Africa and Latin America – two of the continents most affected by COVID-19 and its variants – delta and lambda. Feeling that we are part of a community and that we have each other’s backs helps us get through these challenges, becoming better people in the process. We are eager to hear how we, at RNAO, can best support you. Send us your questions, comments, and challenges. Recommend ideas for articles and webinars. Write to me at dgrinspun@rnao.ca and copy my executive assistant, Peta-Gay (PG) Batten at pgbatten@rnao.ca. RNAO’s Board of Directors and our entire staff want you to know: WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!

Thank you for being there for your community – everywhere and in all roles! Together, in solidarity, we are strong and resilient. In Canada we see hope at the end of this long pandemic tunnel. Please keep encouraging your colleagues, their loved ones and your communities to be fully vaccinated. We must not forget, however, about our privilege. Canada has purchased more vaccines than what it needs, while 9 out 10 countries have almost nothing. Like in other challenges we face, such as racism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination, we are not safe until everyone is safe. Vaccines for all – literally for all, across the world – must guide policy in the upcoming 12 months. Let’s learn from the 17-month pandemic and take real action to build a better world.

To everyone – THANK YOU! Please take care of yourself and know that RNAO always stands by you!

Here’s one constant throughout the pandemic. The silver lining of COVID-19 has been all along to come together and work as one people for the good of all. Let’s join efforts to demand political leaders bring about !SafeZones to protect patients, students, and workers; and #Vaccines4All to protect humanity.

Doris Grinspun, RN,MSN, PhD, LLD(hon), Dr(hc), FAAN, FCAN, O.ONT
Chief Executive Officer, RNAO


RECENT BLOG ITEMS:

19 Sept - Nurses urge Canadians to vote – go here.

19 Sept - Keeping schools open and safe – learning from Spain’s exceptional experience – go here.

11 Sept - Vote in the federal election! Nurses vote for a healthy recovery for all Canadians – go here.

11 Sept - Federal election: Which party has the best climate plan? Here’s where they stand – go here.

11 Sept - Where the parties stand on gun control in the 2021 federal election – go here.

4 Sept - RNAO condemns protests outside health organizations – go here.

4 Sept - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The August 2021 report – go here.

4 Sept - RNAO welcomes important steps to implement vaccine certificates – go here.

28 Aug - Mandatory vaccination in process; vaccine certificates coming to Ontario – go here.

28 Aug – MSF on boosting global vaccine supply – go here.

21 Aug - Nurses call on voters to vote for a healthy recovery for all – go here.

21 Aug – RNAO calls for a stronger vaccine mandate and action on vaccine certificates – go here.

21 Aug - WHO condemns rush by wealthy nations to give Covid vaccine booster – go here.

21 Aug - Calling on Canada to back WHO Moratorium on Booster Shots and Donate Vaccines – go here.

15 Aug - Why is Delta such a worry? – go here.

15 Aug - This is what we know about the Delta variant and kids – go here.

15 Aug - RNAO welcomes mandated vaccination for health care workers – go here.

8 Aug - COVID-19 vaccine boosters: is a third dose really needed? – go here.

8 Aug - RNAO calls to implement vaccine passports to help reopen Canada – go here.

8 Aug – School reopening plan: additional measures needed to stave off worst effects of fourth wave – go here.

1 Aug - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The July 2021 report – go here.

1 Aug - Preparing for the fourth wave – go here.

25 July - Action Alert: Mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all health-care workers, premier! – go here.

25 July - Are we preparing for a safe school reopening? – RNAO asks once again – go here.

17 July - Mandatory vaccination for health-care workers – Exploring issues, challenges and supports – go here.

17 July - #FullyVaccinated campaign and mandatory vaccination for health-care workers – go here.

10 July - A Detailed Study of Patients with Long-Haul COVID – go here.

10 July - Prolonged brain dysfunction in COVID-19 survivors – go here.

3 July - RNAO’s continuing media profile: The June report – go here.

3 July - RNAO celebrates virtual 96th Annual General Meeting – go here.

We have posted earlier ones in my blog here. I invite you to look.