Discussions

We have three weeks before labour day and there is a lot of work to be done before we can feel safe sending kids back to school

One positive impact of the current pandemic situation has been the way great ideas previously debated and defeated as impossible have been fast-tracked into reality.

After COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the number of cases started to climb globally. It’s difficult to apply a one-size-fits-all interpretation as to why certain states experienced higher numbers of infections while others kept theirs in check.

Today the COVID swab result finally arrived for my patient . . . six days after it was sent. She has respiratory symptoms; I tested and sent in the sample on the same day she called, two days sooner than offered at her local Assessment Centre. A potentially sick person in the GTA area with result backlogged six days, never mind if you are rural, or in the midst of a second wave! From this I fear we are heading into autumn with limited lab capacity, overwhelmed testing facilities, along with an undefined test strategy, insecure PPE supply, and uncertain availability of either the flu or COVID vaccines for all who wants them.

Discussed: Why Ontario needs a new CMOH; disease control as an economic stimulus; the remarkable achievement of non-occurrence; the culture war over facts

It appears pharmacists will have a role to play in this new era, but they will need greater support