Christine Birak

A measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is shown on a countertop at a pediatric clinic in Greenbrae, Calif. on Feb. 6, 2015. Alberta has reported 1,314 cases since its outbreaks began in March. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Eric Risberg

Alberta's measles outbreaks surpass case counts reported for entire U.S. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-s-measles-outbreaks-surpass-case-counts-reported-for-entire-u-s-1.7584490

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

How a new ‘smart’ therapy is pushing boundaries for Parkinson’s patients YouTube video by CBC News: The National

How a new ‘smart’ therapy, adaptive deep brain stimulation, is pushing boundaries for #Parkinson patients, by @christinebirak.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLqk... via @cbcnews.ca #DBS #neuroscience

Here’s an Inconvenient Truth: Disease Is in the Air | The Tyee We ignored the science of airborne transmission for a century. Carl Zimmer tells us why.

Here’s an Inconvenient Truth: Disease Is in the Air. We ignored the science of airborne transmission for a century. In his new book, "Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe, "Carl Zimmer tells us why, by @crof.bsky.social thetyee.ca/Culture/2025... via @thetyee.ca

Canadians heading to vote face sticker shock for primary care at private clinics | CBC News Some clinics charge thousands a year for primary care and out-of-pocket fees while an estimated 6.5 million Canadian adults don't have a regular health-care provider like a family doctor or nurse prac...

Canadians face sticker shock for primary care at private clinics. A shortage of family doctors across Canada is pushing people to pay thousands a year in out-of-pocket fees www.cbc.ca/news/health/... via @cbcnews.ca @christinebirak.bsky.social

The Ontario government is paying a for-profit clinic more than it pays its public hospitals to perform identical, provincially covered surgeries, according to documents obtained by CBC News.

Canadians going to vote face sticker shock for health care at private clinics www.cbc.ca/news/health/... @christinebirak.bsky.social @ritamc.bsky.social

𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀: CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

‘Chaos and Confusion’ at the N.I.H., the Crown Jewel of American Science Senior scientists at the National Institutes of Health fear that research on conditions like obesity, heart disease and cancer will be undermined by President Trump’s policies.

‘Chaos and Confusion’ at the Crown Jewel of American Science. Scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health fear that research on conditions like heart disease and cancer will be undermined by President Trump’s policies, by Gina Kolata www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/h... via @nytimes.com

What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about how viruses evolve : Short Wave Early in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the SARS-CoV-2 virus would mutate slowly. They were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of viral mutations and multiple seasonal waves la...

Scientists were wrong about how quickly the SARS-CoV-2 virus would mutate. Here's what actually happened — and what it could tell us about future viruses.

How COVID changed Canadians, their health and the future | CBC News Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, its effects live on and continue to have an impact on the health of Canadians. Here's a look back at some of them, including the effectiveness of e...

5 years after the pandemic, COVID-19 is in the rear-view mirror for most Canadians, yet its effects live on
Some of my💭 with CBC/@radiocanadainfo.bsky.social

www.cbc.ca/news/health/...

Heat can age you as much as smoking, a new study finds Exposure to heat can alter the way your DNA works, according to a new study. The effects could lead to long-term health outcomes.

Exposure to heat can alter the way your DNA works, according to a new study. The effects could lead to long-term health outcomes.

Acute Myocardial Infarction after Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Infection | NEJM Acute myocardial infarction can be triggered by acute respiratory infections. Previous studies have suggested an association between influenza and acute myocardial infarction, but those studies use...

What’s the big deal about flu?

A 🇨🇦study in @nejm.org from 2018

TL;DR ➡️ 📈 risk of heart attacks💔

(other studies also show 📈risk of strokes 🧠)

Let me tell you about an elxir that can prevent that: it’s called a 💉

‘Perfect storm of bad news’: Homelessness has soared in Ontario since the last provincial election A report released in January showed that between 2022 and 2024, the province’s known homeless population shot up by 25 per cent to 81,515 people.

‘Perfect storm of bad news’ -- #Homelessness has soared in Ontario since the last provincial election. Between 2022 and 2024, the province’s known homeless population shot up by 25 per cent to 81,515 people, by Victoria Gibson www.thestar.com/politics/pro... via @thestar.com #sdoh

Opinion: Danielle Smith has much bigger things than tariffs to worry about now A former Alberta Health Services CEO has made stunning allegations of government interference on behalf of private companies in health care deals

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has much bigger things than tariffs to worry about now -- a health care scandal alleging there were procurement deals with friends of the UCP that cost more than comparable options, by Gary Mason www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com

Albertans deserved a post-pandemic review. Instead, they got misinformation cloaked in science The Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force report is littered with anti-science talking points, many already debunked by fact-checkers

Albertans deserved an honest post-pandemic review. Instead, they got a report littered with contrarian, anti-science talking points that have been debunked, by @bradenmannsyyc.bsky.social @antibioticdoc.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... @theglobeandmail.com #COVID19 #infodemic

Rare bird flu strain found in California raises potential of wider spread First U.S. detection of virulent H5N9 strain, at a California duck farm, draws scrutiny as evidence of genetic reassortment that could trigger human outbreaks.

Rare bird flu strain found in California raises potential of wider spread. First U.S. detection of virulent #H5N9 strain, at a California duck farm, draws scrutiny as evidence of genetic re-assortment that could trigger human outbreaks, by @fenitn.bsky.social wapo.st/4jArJ7u via @washingtonpost.com

Boutique primary care clinics are making the family doctor shortage worse - Healthy Debate Boutique clinics are not the future of health care. They are a step backward and are making primary care access worse.

Boutique primary care clinics are making the family doctor shortage worse, by @ritamc.bsky.social healthydebate.ca/2024/12/topi... via @healthydebate.bsky.social @christinebirak.bsky.social #PrimaryCare

It's been a minute! This platform has changed, populated and morphed over the past year+.

How soda is changing the world A new study establishes that soda consumption is doing ever more damage to health — with rising rates of diabetes in regions where soda-drinking is on the rise, like sub-Saharan Africa.

A new study establishes that soda consumption is doing ever more damage to health — with rising rates of diabetes in regions where soda-drinking is on the rise, like sub-Saharan Africa.

Suicides abroad prompt police to investigate Ontario website that sold lethal substance | CBC News A report in the Times of London focusing on an Ontario man's website has prompted a Peel Regional Police investigation. The report linked the defunct site's sale of a toxic substance to multiple suicides overseas. Toxicology experts warn of a troubling increase in suicides involving sodium nitrite.

First post:

British father's quest to piece together the circumstances of his son's suicide led him to a Toronto-area man's website.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kenneth-law-police-investigation-1.6824764

I just read the privacy policy… now I’m not so sure about this… 😳

Not TOOO much! 😁

Well, hello…