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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 35m

🚨A cornerstone of 🇺🇸 public health has been DECIMATED

Nearly the ENTIRE staff of CDC’s MMWR was FIRED

This publication was a go-to for information on
🇺🇸 DISEASE OUTBREAKS

What’s next?

www.statnews.com/2025/10/11/c... via @statnews.com

Deep cuts made to CDC's flagship MMWR publication, a cornerstone of public health

CDC staff behind the agency’s flagship publication have been fired amid drastic cuts to the HHS promised by the White House due to the government shutdown, according to five people familiar with the s...

www.statnews.com

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 22h

Clinics are the one place patients should be SAFE

Colds, flus & coughs are the #1 reason why Canadians see a doctor

…so where did masking in healthcare go?

It’s political.

Canada Healthwatch 🍁 @canadahealthwatch.ca · 1d

How politics is putting patients and health care workers at risk www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... @drgorfinkel.bsky.social @thestar.com

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

"Masks prevent the transmission of respiratory viruses. The science is clear," writes Iris Gorfinkel. "The standards are in place. A health policy that reacts to hospitalizations and deaths falls below the long-held standard of do-no-harm. Policies that are enacted only once hospitalizations are high do the opposite.

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 5d

Leaving an ER without being seen is riskier than you think.

It’s linked to a 14% higher risk of hospital admission & death.

Canada Healthwatch 🍁 @canadahealthwatch.ca · 5d

Too many Canadians are leaving ERs before getting assessed www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... @drgorfinkel.bsky.social @theglobeandmail.com

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

A treatment room in the emergency department at Calgary's Peter Lougheed Hospital. 1 in 13 patents nationwide left ERs before they were treated because of long wait times.

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 10d

Finally.
Some HOPEFUL NEWS

The Department of Defense funds biomedical research to ensure military and pandemic preparedness.

This includes mRNA vaccine projects that RFK, Jr., recently defunded

www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

The U.S. Military Is Picking Up mRNA Vaccine Research That RFK, Jr., Defunded

The Department of Defense funds biomedical research to ensure military and pandemic preparedness. This includes mRNA vaccine projects that RFK, Jr., recently defunded

www.scientificamerican.com

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 10d

Canada's DUBIOUS PROVINCIAL SCORECARD

Proportion of patients LEAVING ERs without being seen
...from BEST to WORST

ON: 1 in 20
BC: 1 in 18
AL: 1 in 11
NS, NL: 1 in 10
QC: 1 in 9
MN, NB (Horizon): 1 in 8
PEI: 1 in 7

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 10d

LONG ER WAITS TRIGGER

-Envy: "Why did they let that patient go before me?"
-Anger: "No way am I staying!"
-Rationalizing: "This chest pain isn't that bad..."
-Distrust in the system
-Exposure to illness

... & Abuse to healthcare workers

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 10d

😰 SOBERING

How many patients LEFT EMERGENCY ROOMS without being seen last year?

Overall- 1 in 13 got fed up with the wait
...HALF were urgent cases

Result?
14% ⤴️ RISK of admission & death within 7 days compared to those who stayed

🎧8 min
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 12d

💉 FLU SHOTS IN TORONTO

...will be available SOONER than expected

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 14d

Meta & TikTok's finances + teen addiction are linked.

The predictable product?

Worsening teen mental health & growing
-Anxiety
-Depression
-Low self esteem
-Body dysmorphia
-Eating disorders
-Over-sexualization

...problems which overwhelm our health system

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 15d

Thus far, in governments' quest to protect kids from the increasingly-evident harms of social media, we've tried:
-Befriending big tech
-Sending sternly-worded letters
-Pretending it's fine
-Nothing

None of it's worked! Let's try something else. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Justin Ling: Meta and TikTok say they take kids’ safety seriously. Their actions suggest otherwise

The official company line is often contradicted by the companies' own internal documents.

www.thestar.com

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 15d

😨 Next year 1 in 4 Ontarians
won’t have a family doctor

There aren’t nearly enough primary care clinicians to hire our way out of this.

Modernizing electronic health records could inform, connect & accelerate access to medical services.

Canada Healthwatch 🍁 @canadahealthwatch.ca · 15d

As the family doctor and nursing shortage gets worse, here is an innovative solution that will help www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

More news → CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

"Digitized tools should be viewed as an indispensable part of the health-care team, taking on routine, preventive tasks to allow clinicians the time needed to focus on complex care." writes Iris Gorfinkel

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 15d

😨 Starting Oct 1, 2025, the U.S. will slap a 100% tariff on imported branded/patented drugs.

Generics are exempt (for now), as are firms building U.S. plants.

This could drive Rx costs even higher
— and disrupt 🇨🇦 drug supply chains

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Trump targets heavy-duty trucks, pharmaceuticals in latest round of punishing tariffs

U.S. will impose 100% tariffs on imported branded drugs, 25% tariff on truck imports and 50% on kitchen cabinets

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Reposted by Iris Gorfinkel, M.D.

Dr. Jen Irwin @drjenirwin.bsky.social · 15d

Excellent interview by @drgorfinkel.bsky.social on the importance of masks

www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

www.cbc.ca

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 17d

You're sick.
You go to a clinic.
People are coughing, sneezing & blowing their noses.

...and no one is wearing a mask.

Time to bring masks back into healthcare facilities.

🎧 8 min listen
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 17d

AUTISM

🧬Linked to > 1,000 genes

🫄 Develops from a mix of genetic and environmental factors — e.g. parental age, preterm birth, or pregnancy complications

🧸 Affects 1 in 31 children
... up from 1 in 150 kids twenty years ago
WHY ?
-Broader definitions
-More awareness

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 17d

President Trump advised pregnant people to
"fight like hell not to take Tylenol"

...but failed to mention the RISKS of maternal fever:
-Birth defects
-Miscarriage
-Preterm labour
-Neurodevelopmental problems in the baby.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/u...

A Fact-Check on Trump’s Claims About Tylenol, Vaccines and Autism

www.nytimes.com

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 21d

This year's Ig Nobel Prize in Nutrition was awarded to D. Dendi et al

...for their deserving work on the preferred pizza toppings of rainbow lizards at a seaside resort in Togo.

P.s. It's four-cheese, in case you're wondering.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 23d

Novo Nordisk is WORRIED.

Their legal exclusivity in Canada is about to END

5 GENERICS have filed with Health Canada

...which is expected to SLASH the drug's price
from $ 400 /month to just $ 65 /month

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/eco...

Novo Nordisk partners with Pocketpills for online sales of Ozempic, Wegovy

Pocketpills operates four fulfilment centres across Canada to deliver medications in all provinces except Quebec

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 23d

🦠COVID-19 VACCINES

QUEBEC has joined Alberta in charging to get vaxed w/ these exceptions -
💉Seniors / Medically vulnerable
💉Healthcare workers
💉Remote regions

Price check
-Quebec $ 150-180
-Alberta $ 100
-Elsewhere FREE

theglobeandmail.com/gift/4b2fe55...

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 24d

The TOP 3 WAYS to ⬇️BLOOD PRESSURE
...naturally

1️⃣ Cut back on salt - ¾ comes from processed foods
2️⃣ Move - sedentary adults are 40% more likely to have high BP
3️⃣ Sleep 7+ hrs

Bonus: ⬇️booze & smoking

🎧 8 min
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

www.cbc.ca

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 24d

📢 BIG NEWS
Ontario announced it will cover the RSV VACCINE
for all seniors 75 +

.. so will NS, PEI & Yukon

Alberta covers all seniors 70+

Community-dwelling seniors everywhere else still have to pay out-of-pocket

Ontario's new elibility cirteria for older adults:

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 26d

SHOCKING

1 in 6 U.S. parents REJECT vaccine recommendations
...They're more likely to be

-White
-Very religious
-Republican or under 35
-Home-school their kids

It's RAPIDLY GROWING & has MASSIVE public health consequences

wapo.st/3K4aFcG

Why 1 in 6 U.S. parents are rejecting vaccine recommendations

A wide-ranging Washington Post-KFF poll details who tends to reject vaccine recommendations and their reasoning.

wapo.st

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · Sep 10

Florida's Surgeon General - Dr. Joseph Ladapo
said school vaccine mandates "drip with slavery"

...for the sake of his personal political gain

How dare him.

👂https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-82-here-and-now-toronto/clip/16168330-health-contributor-dr.-iris-gorfinkel-offers-perspective-shift

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · Sep 9

CANADA - FLU SHOT AVAILABILITY (2025–26 Season)

💉Ontario & Quebec: Mid-October

💉All other provinces & territories: Early October

Rollouts are timed to match peak flu season
-usually late Nov. - early Feb.

www.canada.ca/en/public-he...

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚨 ADHD - Ontario has NO provincial plan.

...so what's the "strategy" ?

⏳ 2-3 year waits for school‑board assessments
⏳ 1-2 year waits for OHIP‑covered psychiatrists
💔 Coaching & skill-training - Not covered

thestar.com/opinion/cont... via
@torontostar

thestar.com

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Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · Sep 4

Dear U.S. friends, family & colleagues:

Looking for reliable, science‑based health info from north of the border?

This may help...

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