The latest information on the second-generation vaccines being developed at McMaster and predictions for the course of the pandemic
Administration of vaccines, including those created by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, has been ongoing for several months in Canada. We are currently in Phase 1 of our the Ontario government’s immunization campaign against COVID-19.
Ontario’s plan to immunize citizens has been expedited by two months. Phase 2 will allow approximately 9 million Ontarians to receive an approved vaccine starting in April for those who cannot work from home or are immunocompromised. Phase 3 will begin in July for all Ontarians ages 59 and under.
This welcomed change of plan is a result of recent news regarding the approval of two additional vaccines for use in Canada, and the option to space out Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech administration by up to four months. However, the long-term implications and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada remain uncertain. This brings into question the long-term benefits of vaccine developments with regard to pandemic control.
It appears that Canada is on track to ensure the proper immunization of the population. Many controversies surrounding vaccine rollout in Canada have surfaced, including the arrival of only 50 per cent of the expected shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines earlier this year, as a result of production issues overseas.
Another frustration expressed by Canadians is due to the total percentage of vaccinated Canadians is less than half that of Americans. Despite bumps in the road, vaccine rollout in our nation has overall been a success to date and is expected to improve in the near future.
It is in the midst of these recent developments that researchers at McMaster University have started developing second-generation vaccines. If successfully developed, approved and manufactured, these could be the first vaccines to be created entirely on Canadian soil.
The project stems from previous vaccine trials for tuberculosis conducted by Dr. Zhou Xing and Dr. Fiona Smaill, who are principal investigators on the second-generation vaccine project alongside Dr. Brian Lichty and Dr. Matthew Miller in the Robert E. Fitzhenry Vector Laboratory at McMaster.
The first generation of COVID-19 vaccines contains a spike protein that teaches our immune system to recognize and protect us from COVID-19. The second-generation vaccines will also use the spike protein but are trivalent, meaning that they are composed of three structures found on SARS-CoV-2.
These vaccines are capable of potentially providing greater protection and immunity against COVID-19 variants. This is important given the recent rise in variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreading around the world, including in Hamilton.
“Our “second-generation vaccine” study uses two different types of adenovirus vector, a human adenovirus and a chimpanzee adenovirus, that are engineered to express three different COVID-19 virus antigens. We believe this approach will give a better protective immune response against infection by harnessing all the components of the immune system – both antibodies and a range of T cells,” said Smaill.
“Our “second-generation vaccine” study uses two different types of adenovirus vector, a human adenovirus and a chimpanzee adenovirus, that are engineered to express three different COVID-19 virus antigens. We believe this approach will give a better protective immune response against infection by harnessing all the components of the immune system – both antibodies and a range of T cells,” said Smaill.
This project is sure to enhance McMaster’s reputation as the “most research-intensive university” in Canada and is a source of hope in the fight against the ongoing pandemic. The vaccines also offer hope in the fight against any future similar outbreaks caused by coronaviruses.
“If proven successful in its initial development and winning additional support, our new vaccine strategy may advance to the next stage of development and ultimately contribute to effective control of current and future pandemics and outbreaks caused by coronaviruses,” said Xing.
With an increasing number of vaccinations and downward infection trends and recent developments on second-generation vaccines, the uncertainty regarding the longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic remains. Some specialists, including professors at McMaster, have even speculated that the novel coronavirus might be sticking around for the long term. It appears the virus could even become something as common as the seasonal flu in the coming years, despite global and national efforts to control the pandemic.
“We're not going to vaccinate our way to getting COVID off the face of the earth,” said Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease specialist and professor at McMaster.
Although progress has been made in the fight against COVID-19 — and much of it right here at McMaster — it is unlikely the virus is going to be wiped off the planet anytime soon. In fact, recent findings from a Nature survey have shown that many scientists expect SARS-CoV-2 to become endemic, meaning the virus will regularly be found among people with time. However, the virus and the disease it causes will likely pose less danger with time despite remaining endemic.
Some experts have voiced that efforts to develop and administer vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 may have been short-sighted and not addressing the potential long-term implications of the pandemic. With that said, McMaster’s contributions to the fight against the pandemic through the development of second-generation vaccines will surely leave a lasting impact on the vaccine landscape and will aid in the fight against the pandemic.
Exploring the hypocrisy and xenophobia of laws banning religious face coverings and concurrent by-laws being introduced that mandate them
By: Sarah Homsi and Michelle Yao, Contributors
This article was written by the Student Health Education Centre’s Research & Advocacy coordinators, in collaboration with Diversity Services.
Back in 2017, Quebec passed Bill 62, in what lawmakers claim is meant to be promoting “religious neutrality”. This law prohibits employees of public bodies, such as government departments, schools, hospitals and public transit, from covering their faces. It also prohibits people receiving services from public employees from having their face covered.
In 2019 in Quebec, Bill 21 was passed, banning the display of all religious symbols from being worn at work by government workers. Despite the tireless work of civil rights groups to appeal this law to the Supreme Court of Canada, Bill 21 remains in place.
While advocates for the implementation of Bill 62 and 21 argue that there would be guidelines put in place for religious accommodation, this petty form of placation merely demonstrates further that laws such as these are veils for one agenda: limiting religious freedom.
Bill 21 alarmingly prevents Quebec teachers, judges, lawyers and other public sector workers from wearing religious symbols of all kinds. In this article, we would like to specifically highlight the limitations put on the donning of religious face coverings. While they continue to be prohibited in 2020, new laws were concurrently being introduced that mandate face coverings be worn to limit the spread of COVID-19. The hypocrisy in this is astounding.
Appeals against Bill 21 are still being deliberated upon in the Quebec Superior Court. With no ruling announced as of the publication of this article, wearing a face covering in enclosed or partially enclosed public spaces continues to be mandatory throughout the province.
Garments that cover the face and eyes, such as the burqa and niqab, had been previously labelled as a security issue by the Quebec government, which emphasized issues with not being able to see someone’s face. However, during a time where everyone’s face is covered, this argument no longer holds up. It is abundantly clear now that this argument was not valid.
Perhaps because it was never really about security or religious neutrality and more about rampant islamophobia. After all, the disproportionate impact that Section 8 of Quebec’s Laicity Act — which mandates keeping faces uncovered — has on Muslim women in particular has been explicitly acknowledged in the Quebec Court of Appeal.
Policing of how Muslim women express their religion is pervasive and rooted in Western constructs of feminism. It is ingrained in the notion that how a women dresses indicates her level of freedom. Stereotypes surrounding Islam are perpetuated by discriminatory laws such as Bill 62 and continue to marginalize Muslim women. Muslim women do not experience oppression because of a religion they choose to follow, rather they remain oppressed by a Eurocentric society that continues to enforce assimilation and erasure of culture and religion.
It is long overdue that these discriminatory laws get appealed and we continue to dismantle racist systems and values that uphold many governments. While these laws currently exist only in Quebec, issues of xenophobia are most certainly not isolated. In 2019, The National Council of Canadian Muslims recorded 9 anti-muslim incidents in Hamilton.
When other provinces in Canada legalize discrimination, it sets a precedent that may ripple into Ontario. With McMaster University students and alumni currently spread out across the globe, the implications of such mandates feel as ubiquitous as ever.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has previously reported that new rules and increased reinforcement powers surrounding COVID-19 were disproportionately applied to marginalized communities, with Ontario and Quebec both being highlighted as two of three jurisdictions where disproportionate and discriminatory enforcement was being enacted.
While still prioritizing community wellbeing and doing everything that we can to prevent COVID-19 spread, we should be thinking critically about laws or enforcement measures that discriminate against marginalized folks. If McMaster wants to tout itself for being a leader in “advancing human and societal health and well-being,” these nuances in health-related policy and practice must be considered by our community members.
When a government is expending an abundance of legal resources to uphold a law about how people should be dressed in public, we should be able to trust that it is because they are concerned about a real danger to the public. With the current state of COVID-19, we are given the perspective to see when government intervention is necessary, and when it is not.
A team at McMaster University is working on a second-generation vaccine, which are designed to protect against viral variants
C/O Brian Lichty
By: Natalie Chen, Contributor
As of March 6, 2021, approximately six out of every 100 Canadians have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 26 out of every 100 Americans.
While Canada has approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, researchers have also been hard at work at McMaster University’s Robert E. Fitzhenry Vector Laboratory to develop two second-generation COVID-19 vaccines.
Brian Lichty, a principal investigator of the vaccine development project and an associate professor at McMaster’s Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, explained the novelty behind these vaccines.
The first-generation of COVID-19 vaccines contain a spike protein, which will teach our immune system to recognize and protect us from COVID-19. The second-generation vaccines will also use the spike protein but are trivalent, indicating that it is composed of three structures found on the COVID-19 virus SARS-CoV-2.
The two additional components that the second-generation vaccines contain are called the nucleoprotein and the polymerase. As they are less likely to mutate, the second-generation vaccines with these two components of the coronavirus may provide increased immunity against variants of SARS-CoV-2.
“We’re hoping that the broader immunity that our vaccine[s] can generate will help control even the variants. We’ve actually designed [the vaccines] to potentially give some protection against related coronaviruses,” said Lichty.
“We’re hoping that the broader immunity that our vaccine[s] can generate will help control even the variants. We’ve actually designed [the vaccines] to potentially give some protection against related coronaviruses.”
Brian lichty
Another novel aspect of the second-generation vaccines is the provision of the booster dose via inhalation. Similar to using a puffer, the vaccines can be aerosolized and inhaled by the recipient.
The idea and the technology used to create these COVID-19 vaccines stemmed from previous vaccine trials for tuberculosis conducted by Dr. Zhou Xing and Dr. Fiona Smaill, who are principal investigators on the vaccine development project alongside Lichty and Matthew Miller.
There are two main benefits to this approach. Since memory in our immune system tends to remain in the area where the pathogen is last found, targeting the upper airways and the lungs — the primary points of contact for SARS-CoV-2 — would provide greater and longer-lasting protection.
“The other benefit to [this] route is, we actually can get away with a much lower dose than injecting [the vaccine] into the arm. If you think about it, that would allow for more people to be vaccinated with the same starting amount of material, which is important nowadays because we’re struggling to vaccinate all the people that need it,” explained Lichty.
Sam Afkhami, a co-lead researcher working under the principal investigators and a recent Ph.D. graduate from McMaster’s medical sciences program, expressed his hopes regarding the impact of the novel project.
“We’re hoping to show essentially the community and the world that thinking outside the box of traditional vaccine strategies can provide us with avenues of developing vaccines with broader immunity,” said Afkhami.
“We’re hoping to show essentially the community and the world that thinking outside the box of traditional vaccine strategies can provide us with avenues of developing vaccines with broader immunity.”
Sam Afkhami
The Robert E. Fitzhenry Vector Laboratory, the vaccine manufacturer, was created in 2004 and was the first of its kind in Canada. The research conducted within the laboratory is part of Canada’s Global Nexus for Pandemic and Biological Threats, a McMaster initiative of interdisciplinary teams of global experts to prepare for future outbreaks.
As one of Canada’s only institutions equipped to isolate SARS-CoV-2, Canada’s Global Nexus has partnered with the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization to spearhead vaccine development, the creation of new diagnostic tools and to produce clinical trials.
Afkhami and Ph.D. student Michael D’Agostino, another co-lead researcher of vaccine development and a member of the Miller Laboratory at McMaster, have also emphasized the importance of internal collaboration at McMaster that has led to the creation of the vaccines.
“The collaborative environment that we have here is next to none, and I really want to highlight how important the collaboration has been to the rapidity of the work we’ve done so far and getting these vaccines from theory to pre-clinical testing to eventual clinical application,” expressed Afkhami.
“The collaborative environment that we have here is next to none, and I really want to highlight how important the collaboration has been to the rapidity of the work we’ve done so far and getting these vaccines from theory to pre-clinical testing to eventual clinical application.”
Sam Afkhami
“There are so many people that are involved behind the scenes, and none of this would be possible without them for sure,” added D’Agostino.
For undergraduate students interested in scientific research, D’Agostino and Afkhami also shared advice on how to gain hands-on experience.
“Don’t be afraid to contact the professors that teach your courses. If they give a lesson that’s something you can see yourself interested in or you want to learn more about, I’d suggest reaching out to them,” D’Agostino explained. “Send an email seeing if you could even just hang around the lab [and] help out where you can.”
To those passionate about virology, Afkhami also recommended the McMaster Immunology Research Centre.
“Overall, it’s a great centre if you’re very interested in research and things like virology, vaccine development or just basic immunology,” Afkhami said. “MIRC is one of the most fantastic places, I think, [where] you can get that type of experience in Ontario.”
Internet friendships made during the pandemic are just as important as in-person ones
C/O Ben Collins/Unsplash
By: Anrya Foubert, Contributor
Friendships can be complicated and messy, but they can also be the greatest things to exist. The friends you have can bring you more joy than you ever thought possible.
Yet, during the pandemic and a large transition such as going to university for the first time, it can feel next to impossible to make friends and connections. But thanks to the internet, we are still able to spend time with people that we would be isolated from otherwise.
Many of us probably grew up with the message that “you shouldn't talk to strangers online because it could be dangerous” from our parents or guardians.
But these days, internet friends are becoming more and more important as it connects others while we all have to remain home and provides us with ways to connect with people all around the world.
But these days, internet friends are becoming more and more important as it connects others while we all have to remain home and provides us with ways to connect with people all around the world.
Of course, they can be just as important as real in-person friendships, but many people may believe this is not the case because internet friends can't really interact physically.
The people you chat with online aren't exactly people you can easily go to get food with, have a game night, bonfire or even just a general party. Since they likely live far away and you can't really physically interact with them, internet friendships can feel less real. They can feel as if the person almost doesn't really exist even if you know that they really do.
It may be the subliminal messaging many of us grew up with, the stories of catfishing and lying to others about who you are via the internet, that made us believe that internet friendships aren’t as “valid” or “real.”
However, many people are turning to internet friendships as a way to make new friends during the pandemic. As a first-year student, I haven't been able to meet any of my classmates in person yet but I've been able to create connections with them online. It has still been weird that we haven't gotten to see the people we spend large amounts of time with each week in person.
Even the people I’m moving in with later this year are people I haven't met in person before. But I still am friends with those people and others because of the connection via the magical place we call the internet.
Even the people I’m moving in with later this year are people I haven't met in person before. But I still am friends with those people and others because of the connection via the magical place we call the internet.
Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and Snapchat (to name a few) are amazing ways to meet new people. By using social media platforms, you can meet people that have similar interests to your own.
Some of my strongest friendships have been with people I met over the internet. I have a group of friends based in Australia while I reside in Canada and in all honesty, they are the type of people I have been trying to surround myself with for years.
I had long outgrown my peer group in high school and had ended up surrounding myself with not the best influences or most supportive people about halfway through Grade 11.
For some odd reason, these people I met online and only really started talking to on a regular basis at the beginning of quarantine have somehow been the most supportive people I have met and have helped me in more ways than they could ever possibly know. They are just as valued to me as those who are geographically closer to me and I’ve planned on visiting/going on exchange to Australia for some time.
Now I know that if I should go across the globe to study for a while, I will have people that I know there. While I won’t be able to meet them face-to-face for some time, I look forward to the day I can and I know that my friendship with them is valid, even if we can't do things that in-person friends can.
Now I know that if I should go across the globe to study for a while, I will have people that I know there. While I won’t be able to meet them face-to-face for some time, I look forward to the day I can and I know that my friendship with them is valid, even if we can't do things that in-person friends can.
It’s important to remember that outside of a pandemic, meeting people on the internet is still a completely valid and great way to foster new friendships. We may rely on it more now than ever due to global-scale lockdowns, but they still existed before and will continue to exist after the pandemic.
How sex workers have remained resilient in the face of COVID-19 and ongoing criminalization
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the rampant systemic inequality that exists in Canada. Racialized, low-income, precariously housed, disabled and many other marginalized folks in Canada have experienced a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Among the most affected are sex workers.
While the pandemic unavoidably affected the sex work industry, it is not the loss of work alone that has made this pandemic even more difficult for sex workers. It is the criminalization of the sex trade, the lack of social supports for sex workers and the fact that many sex workers are also members of other marginalized groups.
In 2014, Canada introduced laws that prohibited the purchase, attempted purchase, procurement and advertisement of sexual services, among other things. The titled “end-demand” model is based on the idea that targeting clients will end the demand for sex work and thus sex work more broadly.
The desire to end sex work is based on the incorrect assumption that sex work is inherently exploitative and that all sex workers are victims in need of protection.
In practice, these laws have put sex workers at risk. The prohibition of purchase has made it more difficult for sex workers to screen and assess clients as well as organize with other sex workers.
Moreover, these laws reinforce the idea that sex workers are victims of an exploitative industry when, in fact, most sex workers do not characterize themselves as such. These laws disregard the agency of sex workers and the fact that many choose this work. For years, sex worker justice organizations in Canada have been working to repeal these laws.
However, as the government failed to reform sex work laws, this was the state of sex work in Canada when the pandemic hit in March 2020.
“What's happening right now is a crisis. It's a specific crisis for sex workers,” explained Jelena Vermilion, the executive director of the Sex Worker Action Program Hamilton.
“What's happening right now is a crisis. It's a specific crisis for sex workers,” explained Jelena Vermilion.
Throughout the pandemic, the federal and provincial governments have made several decisions that negatively impacted sex workers in Canada.
In March 2020, the federal government announced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. This monthly funding was part of a plan to ensure that “no one will be left behind” in the pandemic. However, several sex workers were unable to access CERB.
Butterfly, Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network, is an organization formed by sex workers and service providers that advocates and provides support for Asian and migrant sex workers. They ran a survey in April 2020 and found that less than half of respondents applied for CERB.
Some were not eligible because of undocumented work or immigration status, while others were not eligible because they were claiming other social assistance. A number of sex workers also do not file taxes because of the criminalization of their work.
“Some of it is strategic to avoid stigma. Just having the government know that you're a sex worker is such a risk for some people. Some people sincerely don't know how to do their taxes . . . and fear approaching an accountant for the same reason . . . and then many were unable to collect CERB. Or if they did, they were asked to pay it back,” explained Vermilion.
Vermilion also spoke to the specific impact that COVID-19 has had on sex workers in Hamilton.
“I'd say [COVID-19 has affected sex workers in Hamilton] a little bit worse than a couple of other cities, especially with the strip clubs around this area having been closed before COVID due to gentrification and other zoning [and] political issues. People have had to move to or get work in other cities and of course, commuting is its own expense. Having access to a vehicle is precarious for many people. So I would say that honestly we've had a lot more heard a lot more stories of people having housing issues, of people just having no way to get work,” said Vermilion.
Unfortunately, even for Hamilton sex workers who are able to work in other cities, 2020 brought extreme uncertainty.
On Sept. 25, 2020, the Ontario government announced its decision to close all strip clubs, which was made without consultation or notice to sex workers.
Strip clubs were singled out and hit harder with restrictions than other establishments at the time. The provincial government continued to allow restaurants, bars and nightclubs to remain open with added restrictions.
In response to these regulations, the stripper-led organization Work Safe Twerk Safe is pursuing legal action.
“We are concerned that our work at strip clubs is being treated differently than workers at other bars. We feel that the decision to enact these provisions to close strip clubs specifically relates to discriminatory and stereotypical assumptions about strippers as vectors of disease. We want to be treated the same as other bars and nightclubs. We feel we have been left out of decisions that affect us,” wrote Work Safe Twerk Safe on the organization’s website.
As the government has failed to support sex workers, organizations such as SWAP Hamilton, Butterfly, Work Safe Twerk Safe and Maggie's Toronto Sex Workers Action Project have stepped up to help their communities.
These organizations have provided sex workers with guides for working during the pandemic, set up emergency funds and advocated for income support. SWAP Hamilton supported the city’s sex workers during COVID-19 by providing harm reduction packages, gift cards and $100 stipends.
While these actions demonstrate the resilience of sex workers, they are also reminders of the lack of government support for members of this community.
While these actions demonstrate the resilience of sex workers, they are also reminders of the lack of government support for members of this community.
As many sex workers are already members of other marginalized groups, this additional work takes a toll on their mental and physical health.
“Honestly, [SWAP Hamilton is] just trying to survive, just like everybody else. A lot of it falls on my shoulders. So a lot of it comes down to what my capacity is and I'm a trans woman. I'm dealing with my stuff as well during this whole situation. So ultimately it's just been about being able to still remain visible in the community. And even if we're not like active in the exact same way, we want people to understand that [sex workers] still exist,” said Vermilion.
Vermilion encouraged students to educate themselves and to think critically about these issues. She also encouraged all students to sign a petition to repeal the laws that criminalize sex work.
Research study launched to understand and address student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
While student mental health is not a new issue, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have severely impacted the mental health of university students. Amidst online classes and assignments, students are forced to grapple with feelings of isolation and anxiety.
In an effort to address this ongoing student mental health crisis, Harvard University and the World Health Organization have launched an international study called the World Mental Health International College Student survey. The study will survey post-secondary students across fifteen countries.
Dr. Daniel Vigo, along with the department of psychology at the University of British Columbia, is leading the Canadian side of the study. Marisa Young, associate professor of sociology at McMaster University and a Canada research chair in mental health and work-life transitions, is leading the study at McMaster.
This study is being conducted with support from the Student Wellness Centre and the McMaster Office of Institutional Research and Analysis.
According to Young, much of the research being conducted will allow the team to reach students with a range of different experiences to gain a better understanding of McMaster’s entire student population. Young hoped that this information can then be translated into ways to help students during COVID-19.
“The goal is to work with the Student Wellness Centre, which has been really integral in getting the study off the ground,” said Young.
Allison Leanage, a PhD candidate at McMaster has been involved with the administration of the survey. She explained that the study consists of a survey that is sent out to a randomly selected group of students. The survey asks questions about social relationships, substance use, the impacts of virtual schooling and general mental health.
“The impact of the survey is to gather more information about how students are impacted in their social settings and how mental health services can understand their situations, [which can] help improve those services,” said Leanage.
“The impact of the survey is to gather more information about how students are impacted in their social settings and how mental health services can understand their situations, [which can] help improve those services,” said Leanage.
Much of the interest surrounding this study comes from the fact that students across the world will be surveyed and studied. A standardized set of questions will be asked to each student, allowing answers to be compared once the study concludes.
According to Young, using a standardized survey to acquire data in so many different countries will help researchers to draw more accurate comparisons.
“There are a variety of measures that we use to understand psychological distress across cultures and across countries, which is great in a number of respects, but sometimes can lose the powerful comparison properties,” Young explained.
Young also explained that the international status of the survey might benefit McMaster students more directly as well.
“Being on an international level, the attention [to the study] will be so much more impactful,” Young explained. “The voices of those leading the efforts at McMaster will be louder because of the international presence,” she added.
Given the mental health crisis that university students are currently facing, this study has the potential to improve the experiences of students around the world, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We don't mean to fill your email box with just another call for a survey. We truly believe that this is going to have impacts for students at McMaster,” Young said.
“We don't mean to fill your email box with just another call for a survey. We truly believe that this is going to have impacts for students at McMaster,” Young said.
As COVID-19 continues to place strain on healthcare workers, McMaster University provides isolated and affordable accommodations
For many healthcare workers, the struggle to keep society safe has come at a personal cost. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers have faced an increased risk of infection, as well as the emotional impacts of dealing with this public health crisis.
Offering residence rooms to healthcare workers was a way for McMaster University to provide support to those on the frontlines. The aim of this program is to provide frontline healthcare workers with a safe and affordable place to self-isolate.
As these workers are at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, living away from home for a period of time helps them to protect their families.
According to Laurie Ham, manager of conference and event services at McMaster, an organization heavily involved with this program is the Thrive Group. As Ham explained, the Thrive Group is a non-profit organization that has been helping to connect McMaster with healthcare workers who are interested in accessing this program.
“They receive the initial inquiry and they work with people interested,” said Ham.
The Thrive Group’s Vice-President of Business Strategy, Vickie Baird, reflected on the importance of having this program in place.
“We knew that there was some anxiety that these healthcare workers would bring the virus home to [their] families, so we wanted to be able to give them an affordable option that would allow them to stay somewhere safe during their work term,” said Baird.
The program, which launched on Jan. 20, allows healthcare workers to book a stay in McKay Hall at an affordable rate, with the option to order meals to their rooms as well.
“We had heard that [healthcare workers] really did want some options, other than calling a local hotel and paying a hundred plus dollars per night,” Baird explained.
“We had heard that [healthcare workers] really did want some options, other than calling a local hotel and paying a hundred plus dollars per night,” Baird explained.
Ham explained that McKay Hall was well-suited for this program.
“The building has just completed a major modernization of all of the washrooms throughout, so it makes it a perfect opportunity to have [healthcare workers stay in] a safe, comfortable setting,” said Ham.
Healthcare workers can stay at McKay Hall from three to 14 days, a policy which was created to accommodate as many workers as possible. Baird added that McMaster would be willing to consider extension requests.
As of Feb. 4, the program has received nine inquiries from healthcare workers, although none have registered yet. According to Baird, healthcare workers may be waiting to see if their employers would cover the cost, or they may be unsure about the meal plan, as it isn’t designed with long shift schedules in mind.
“I think it's still early. Even though we launched the program two weeks ago, it takes a while for the information to filter through,” Baird said.
Along with space reserved for healthcare workers, McMaster’s campus is still inhabited by a small number of students currently living in residence. To ensure effective social distancing and other safety protocols, Ham highlighted that healthcare workers and students are isolated from one another.
“It's entirely separate. It's a separate building; it's a separate series of standard operating procedures and protocols,” said Ham.
A number of McMaster departments have been involved to create this initiative. From parking to hospitality services, it takes a village to bring the community together.
“To be able to come up with a comprehensive [program] requires participation from [many] people,” said Ham.
Overall, Ham described this program as an opportunity for McMaster to give back to Hamilton’s healthcare workers.
“We were able to work through a plan to demonstrate the university's commitment to supporting these dedicated, passionate, relentless professionals who are caring for everyone else to make sure people stay well,” said Ham.
In between setting new stay-at-home orders and dolling out fines to businesses for violating pandemic protocols, politicians across Canada continue to not listen to their own advice
Photo C/O Robbie Palmer on Unsplash
Do as I say, not as I do. An old idiom that traces its origin back to the 17th century but continues to ring true to this day. In these times enduring the pandemic, it rings even more true — with possibly dire consequences.
Do you know how many politicians in Canada went on vacation outside of the country over the last 10 months or attended gatherings not permissible according to federal or provincial guidelines?
Barely a week into 2021, there was already a handful of politicians on the federal and provincial level that left Canada for one reason or another. This is not limited to one party either. Liberal, Conservative and NDP alike from Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and more have left the country or illegally attended large gatherings.
While some politicians had somewhat understandable reasons for travelling, including visiting spouses or attending memorials, there are some who went simply on a warm tropical vacation and a few openly bragged about their decision to disobey their own government’s safety protocols.
While we can laugh at these people as they are exposed, publicly shamed and stripped of responsibilities, dismissing them as just another hypocritical politician (what a surprise), this is not just another example of hypocrisy.
During a pandemic that refuses to go away, it is more important than ever for everybody to follow the rules and regulations. As frustrating as they may be, we are incredibly reliant on each person’s ability to follow the rules and do what is right.
As much as we are all capable of thinking for ourselves and making our own informed decisions, it would be nice to see a little accountability from our elected leaders who are actively telling us what we should be doing.
Ultimately, everyone is able to choose how they will handle themselves on an individual level, utilizing the information we now know about COVID-19 and how it spreads to assess their actions and weigh the risks of what they decide.
If they can do something with minimal health risks to themselves and others, that is beneficial for everyone.
If someone decides to break government rules or protocols for whatever reason and does not endanger others, I’m not too concerned about their actions. If you leave the country but isolate yourself afterwards and follow the testing and quarantine protocols, then you did what you were supposed to do.
But if you are someone who has been entrusted with making wise decisions for people and representing their best interests, then there is a higher level of responsibility. You must lead by example.
Don’t just do the bare minimum, but follow your rules over 110%, be extra careful and show others a pristine example of what you can do.
Sadly, this is just another instance where we have been let down by those who we have collectively entrusted to be smart and make the best decisions for us all. How can we trust our politicians to make the best decisions for us when they can barely make a rational decision for themselves?
More than ever, we are extremely reliant on one another making smart informed decisions — our health and safety rely on it. If we ever want things to return to some semblance of ‘normal’, we must think logically and selflessly. Maybe someone should tell politicians that.
As provincial COVID cases rose rapidly, Ontario imposes a new stay-at-home order
By: Alexandra Podkoscielny, Contributor
Despite many people’s illusioned hopes, hanging up a new calendar did not leave the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Only 12 days into the new year, the province of Ontario proclaimed a second provincial emergency.
In a news conference at Queen’s Park on Jan. 12, Premier Doug Ford promulgated both the state of emergency and a stay-at-home order under section 7.0.1 (1) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
“The measures [introduced on Jan. 12] are absolutely necessary to save and protect the lives of Ontarians . . . The number of cases and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 are at the highest levels since the start of the pandemic a year ago,” said Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliot.
“The measures [introduced on Jan. 12] are absolutely necessary to save and protect the lives of Ontarians . . . The number of cases and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 are at the highest levels since the start of the pandemic a year ago,” said Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliot.
The number of single-day COVID case increases in Ontario reached a record peak of 4249 on Jan. 8, 2021. “By doing the right thing and staying home, you can stay safe and save lives,” said Ford.
Now, since Jan. 14, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. until at least Feb. 9, 2021, residents of Ontario are required to stay at home. “Remain in their place of residence at all times,” according to the stay-at-home order.
Now, since Jan. 14, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. until at least Feb. 9, 2021, residents of Ontario are required to stay at home.
Residents must stay home with the exception of leaving for purposes that are deemed as essential. These exceptions most notably include groceries, medicine, healthcare services and exercise. Among the many other permitted exceptions outlined by the order, people are also able to leave for essential work. Non-compliance with the order can result in fines.
The order has received some criticism for being unclear.
The order has received some criticism for being unclear. With 29 exceptions, many Ontarians are left puzzled. However, according to Ford, the order is clear.
“There is no confusion here. It’s very simple. Stay. Home. Stay home. That’s it. If you’re questioning, “should I go out?”, you got the answer: stay home,” said Ford.
The guidelines of the stay-at-home order layer onto previous rules and restrictions; however, some have become more stringent. During the state of emergency, non-essential businesses can only operate between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. through contactless curbside pick-up and delivery.
“There is no confusion here. It’s very simple. Stay. Home. Stay home. That’s it. If you’re questioning, “should I go out?”, you got the answer: stay home,” said Ford.
Indoor gatherings between members of different households are now banned, with some exceptions, such as religious rites. Outdoor gatherings cannot exceed a maximum of five people and must comply by social distancing guidelines. Outdoor use of masks is now being advised during instances where social distancing is difficult as well.
Remote learning in elementary and secondary schools is extended until Feb. 10 in schools that were in grey zones prior to the state of emergency, including Hamilton. Post-secondary institutions must continue to carry out their courses online, aside from mandatory in-person components, such as clinical training.
“[Ontario] should have somewhere around or below 1,000 new cases a day,” said Williams.
In a news conference on Jan. 18, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams explained some general requirements for the lockdown to end. “[Ontario] should have somewhere around or below 1,000 new cases a day,” said Williams.
Since the new measures were imposed, the province has had an average of approximately two-and-a-half times this proposed daily target per day and last had around 1,000 new cases per day in early November.
By: Esther Liu, Contributor
The Silhouette: What is the IMPACT study?
Marla Beauchamp: With the start of COVID-19 and the public health recommendations on social distancing and staying home as much as possible, one of the things that concerned us was: "How could this be affecting older peoples' mobility and their social participation?"
We know that mobility is a really really critical aspect of health for older people and when you lose mobility, you're at risk of falling, of negative health outcomes, of hospitalization. So our team wanted to understand the impact of these social distancing recommendations on peoples' mobility and participation over time.
[/media-credit] Marla Beaucamp
Brenda Vrkljan: Our sample is focused on people in Hamilton and one of the things that we wanted to do with this study was to be very thoughtful about who is gonna be included in the study. We aim to have a random sample, but that's a very loose term because when you say “I want a random sample,” it's not really that random because you still need to obtain informed consent and those kinds of things [and] you still need to recruit people. But what we did was we sampled people in different areas of the city, different economic statuses, different social determinants of health.
How did this study come into existence?
Beauchamp: I do a lot of work with people with chronic Lyme disease. Some of the guidelines for people include that you should remain at home completely, you should not go out at all. And so I was really concerned that we were telling people not to move, right? And I wanted to understand the impact of staying at home and not going about doing their usual activities, what that could do to their health.
So that was part of the reason for doing it. Also, Brenda and I are always talking about ways that we can support older people to live in their homes and to live independently. So if we were going to think more long term about this pandemic, we really needed to understand what has been the impact: what are people doing, what are people noticing?
Vrkljan: Like any good idea, there tends to be what I called the idea stack. So, Marla goes: "I have an idea," and I go: "Oh what if we did this too?". This might draw some other people in too and then what hopefully happens is that it's picked up in a better place. One thing we have is that we involve older adults in our initiatives. Of course, we might talk to our families, but that's not quite the same as talking to somebody who's not so close to us.
Marla and I have parents who are aging. . . and we also had an older adult partner who said that we're asking her lots of questions, but one thing that we're missing out on was the impact of the quarantine. We were missing out on the experience of living through a quarantine. So we've added interviews to our study with questions about their lives before the pandemic, during the pandemic and how they foresee their lives after the pandemic.
We're calling it the trilogy approach — it's not quite Star Wars — but this idea of thinking about your life in segments and trying to understand how people manage is our next step. We want to see what strategies people are using that are helping them do really well and see if those strategies could be implemented to help more people.
We're calling it the trilogy approach — it's not quite Star Wars — but this idea of thinking about your life in segments and trying to understand how people manage is our next step. We want to see what strategies people are using that are helping them do really well and see if those strategies could be implemented to help more people.
What are some highlights from the study so far?
Vrkljan: As an occupational therapist, I'm very interested in things that occupy peoples' time — their ability to do things that are important to them. For example, being able to get out to Tim Horton's could be really important to some people, that could be where you get your socialization. When you can't do those things, it could mean that you're not getting rest, that you're not moving around as much. So together, we're very interested in how people manage their mobility and manage their social participation because we want to leverage that.
Resilience is something . . . interesting as well. It's interesting to see that some of our participants actually reported that they're having such a hard time that they would actually have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. It's not a diagnosis, but it's a real struggle. Now, we don't know how they were doing before, but we just had their snapshot in time.
[/media-credit] Brenda Vrkljan
Beauchamp: I just want to emphasize that it is a small proportion of people, but obviously concerning still and not nontrivial. Another big concern with our study is that almost half of respondents said that they were very worried about falling and of the people that had a fall in previous years, almost 40% said they had a fall in the last 30 days. That is a high number of calls during a pandemic where you're supposed to be with your family at home and less in the community.
So it just speaks to the fact that if you're less active and you do have problems with mobility, it can really have an impact on your health. These are all routes highlighted by the survey that are going to be important concerns going forward as we come out of the pandemic.
