Dr. Jen Irwin
@drjenirwin.bsky.social
Professor, Health Promotion, views are my own. Evidence-informed decision-making is important. Integrity matters. N95 wearer. Dog mom. (She/her) 🇨🇦
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
@westernu.ca @westernualumni.bsky.social
Can you pls find a way to make these available to students? We’re in the era of frequent illness now and Western parent FB groups are FULL of reports of student sickness.
Many of the viruses we know are airborne & can be stopped in their tracks with these:
Can you pls find a way to make these available to students? We’re in the era of frequent illness now and Western parent FB groups are FULL of reports of student sickness.
Many of the viruses we know are airborne & can be stopped in their tracks with these:
November 25, 2025 at 2:14 AM
@westernu.ca @westernualumni.bsky.social
Can you pls find a way to make these available to students? We’re in the era of frequent illness now and Western parent FB groups are FULL of reports of student sickness.
Many of the viruses we know are airborne & can be stopped in their tracks with these:
Can you pls find a way to make these available to students? We’re in the era of frequent illness now and Western parent FB groups are FULL of reports of student sickness.
Many of the viruses we know are airborne & can be stopped in their tracks with these:
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
My work on SARS-CoV-2 variants informed a recent piece in The Lancet: "Epidemiological and virological update on the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2".
The authors were kind enough to mention me and the Variant Hunters Ryan Hisner and Federico Gueli.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
🧵
The authors were kind enough to mention me and the Variant Hunters Ryan Hisner and Federico Gueli.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
🧵
Epidemiological and virological update on the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2
The constant emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants has driven the COVID-19 pandemic
and sustains the current endemic. Saltation variants, such as BA.2.86,1 encode highly
mutated spike (S) proteins th...
www.thelancet.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:30 AM
My work on SARS-CoV-2 variants informed a recent piece in The Lancet: "Epidemiological and virological update on the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2".
The authors were kind enough to mention me and the Variant Hunters Ryan Hisner and Federico Gueli.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
🧵
The authors were kind enough to mention me and the Variant Hunters Ryan Hisner and Federico Gueli.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
🧵
Occam's razor is a problem-solving principle that states the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the best one…perhaps it might apply here?!
Donald Glover, the actor and five-time Grammy winner who performs as Childish Gambino, said during a concert on Saturday in Los Angeles that he had suffered a stroke and other health challenges last year that prompted him to cancel his world tour.
Donald Glover Says He Had a Stroke That Prompted Him to Cancel His Tour in 2024
The rapper and actor, who performed in Los Angeles on Saturday, said doctors had also discovered a hole in his heart, prompting him to cancel his world tour.
nyti.ms
November 23, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Occam's razor is a problem-solving principle that states the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the best one…perhaps it might apply here?!
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
Donald Glover, the actor and five-time Grammy winner who performs as Childish Gambino, said during a concert on Saturday in Los Angeles that he had suffered a stroke and other health challenges last year that prompted him to cancel his world tour.
Donald Glover Says He Had a Stroke That Prompted Him to Cancel His Tour in 2024
The rapper and actor, who performed in Los Angeles on Saturday, said doctors had also discovered a hole in his heart, prompting him to cancel his world tour.
nyti.ms
November 23, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Donald Glover, the actor and five-time Grammy winner who performs as Childish Gambino, said during a concert on Saturday in Los Angeles that he had suffered a stroke and other health challenges last year that prompted him to cancel his world tour.
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
There is no such thing as an intelligent report on increasing school absences due to chronic illness and mental health issues that does not lead with a discussion of the out-of-control virus that causes chronic illness and mental health issues.
@cbcnews.ca has seriously weird biases about COVID. 🙄
@cbcnews.ca has seriously weird biases about COVID. 🙄
November 23, 2025 at 6:49 AM
There is no such thing as an intelligent report on increasing school absences due to chronic illness and mental health issues that does not lead with a discussion of the out-of-control virus that causes chronic illness and mental health issues.
@cbcnews.ca has seriously weird biases about COVID. 🙄
@cbcnews.ca has seriously weird biases about COVID. 🙄
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
Calling Long COVID a “shadow” and claiming the acute phase has “faded” is misleading.
COVID hasn’t faded, it still causes waves of ongoing transmission, repeat infections, hospital pressure, Long COVID and deaths. It’s not a shadow; it’s still shining a light on an ongoing crisis.
archive.md/9Tcay
COVID hasn’t faded, it still causes waves of ongoing transmission, repeat infections, hospital pressure, Long COVID and deaths. It’s not a shadow; it’s still shining a light on an ongoing crisis.
archive.md/9Tcay
November 22, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Calling Long COVID a “shadow” and claiming the acute phase has “faded” is misleading.
COVID hasn’t faded, it still causes waves of ongoing transmission, repeat infections, hospital pressure, Long COVID and deaths. It’s not a shadow; it’s still shining a light on an ongoing crisis.
archive.md/9Tcay
COVID hasn’t faded, it still causes waves of ongoing transmission, repeat infections, hospital pressure, Long COVID and deaths. It’s not a shadow; it’s still shining a light on an ongoing crisis.
archive.md/9Tcay
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
Yes! Black Friday codes until November 30th.
November 22, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Yes! Black Friday codes until November 30th.
Looking for a black N95?
Good news, Canada! 🇨🇦👇
Good news, Canada! 🇨🇦👇
Dear Canada,
Stop waiting for a Black 3M Aura.
This black BreatheTeq KN95 headband mask just arrived, and is available for purchase on Canada Strong!
It's made in Canada, too!
Elbows up, neighbour 💪
Stop waiting for a Black 3M Aura.
This black BreatheTeq KN95 headband mask just arrived, and is available for purchase on Canada Strong!
It's made in Canada, too!
Elbows up, neighbour 💪
November 22, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Looking for a black N95?
Good news, Canada! 🇨🇦👇
Good news, Canada! 🇨🇦👇
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
If you care about either health or productivity, return-to-office should be accompanied by efforts to mitigate the spread of illness associated with it.
November 20, 2025 at 2:22 AM
If you care about either health or productivity, return-to-office should be accompanied by efforts to mitigate the spread of illness associated with it.
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
Number of sick days used by the core public service in the Canadian federal government:
Sept. 2020: 129,570
Sept. 2021: 157,657
Sept. 2022: 168,245
Sept. 2023: 209,395
Sept. 2024: 238,668
Sick days increase in tandem with return-to-office mandates.
ottawacitizen.com/public-servi...
Sept. 2020: 129,570
Sept. 2021: 157,657
Sept. 2022: 168,245
Sept. 2023: 209,395
Sept. 2024: 238,668
Sick days increase in tandem with return-to-office mandates.
ottawacitizen.com/public-servi...
Sick days increased almost 14 per cent when public servants returned to office three days a week
Public servants have taken more sick days as remote work rules have changed.
ottawacitizen.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Number of sick days used by the core public service in the Canadian federal government:
Sept. 2020: 129,570
Sept. 2021: 157,657
Sept. 2022: 168,245
Sept. 2023: 209,395
Sept. 2024: 238,668
Sick days increase in tandem with return-to-office mandates.
ottawacitizen.com/public-servi...
Sept. 2020: 129,570
Sept. 2021: 157,657
Sept. 2022: 168,245
Sept. 2023: 209,395
Sept. 2024: 238,668
Sick days increase in tandem with return-to-office mandates.
ottawacitizen.com/public-servi...
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
i’m sure both my late dad and his hero dr. semmelweis would be glad to find handwashing is still an established and recommended practice during an ongoing pandemic. but i’m as certain they’d both be sporting n95s and wondering why so many of their contemporaries aren’t 4/4
July 1, 2025 at 4:19 PM
i’m sure both my late dad and his hero dr. semmelweis would be glad to find handwashing is still an established and recommended practice during an ongoing pandemic. but i’m as certain they’d both be sporting n95s and wondering why so many of their contemporaries aren’t 4/4
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
November 16, 2025 at 11:43 PM
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
My opinion on the decline of our national pandemic preparedness and risks to biosecurity in @issuesinst.bsky.social @nationalacademies.org
issues.org/unprepared-p...
issues.org/unprepared-p...
October 28, 2025 at 9:18 PM
My opinion on the decline of our national pandemic preparedness and risks to biosecurity in @issuesinst.bsky.social @nationalacademies.org
issues.org/unprepared-p...
issues.org/unprepared-p...
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
“What we saw, once again, were self-centred claims that public-health measures that protect the larger population somehow oppress individuals who essentially think that laws they don’t like don’t apply to them.”
The ostrich saga was for the birds. The decision to cull the big birds exposed to avian influenza was a good one and the histrionics unhelpful, by @picardonhealth.bsky.social
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com #H5N1
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com #H5N1
Opinion: The ostrich saga was for the birds
Government’s decision to cull 300 birds in B.C. was for the public good
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:38 AM
“What we saw, once again, were self-centred claims that public-health measures that protect the larger population somehow oppress individuals who essentially think that laws they don’t like don’t apply to them.”
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
I am sincerely thankful to @arleneharris.bsky.social and Yvonne Hogan @independent.ie for covering this story. I have had messages of relief from Long Coviders in Ireland and abroad - our voices are being heard. Thank you!
@newstalkfm.bsky.social @hselive.bsky.social @roinnslainte.bsky.social
@newstalkfm.bsky.social @hselive.bsky.social @roinnslainte.bsky.social
Long-Covid is still here. I can’t walk, cook, work, socialise or live independently – and I am not alone
The country, and the rest of the world, was in the grip of a global pandemic, so when Lydia Fischer Dooley, developed a dry cough, fatigue, weakness and lack of appetite at the start of 2022, she righ...
www.independent.ie
November 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM
I am sincerely thankful to @arleneharris.bsky.social and Yvonne Hogan @independent.ie for covering this story. I have had messages of relief from Long Coviders in Ireland and abroad - our voices are being heard. Thank you!
@newstalkfm.bsky.social @hselive.bsky.social @roinnslainte.bsky.social
@newstalkfm.bsky.social @hselive.bsky.social @roinnslainte.bsky.social
Well, we’ve tried the “let everything rip” approach to public health…perhaps we can now return to the days of evidence-based decisions. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t much care for the idea of kids dying from more preventable illnesses.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Canada officially loses its measles elimination status
The return of measles in the country has been largely attributed to lower childhood vaccination rates
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Well, we’ve tried the “let everything rip” approach to public health…perhaps we can now return to the days of evidence-based decisions. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t much care for the idea of kids dying from more preventable illnesses.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
Despite Conservatives’ best efforts, the vast majority of Canadians remain united against Trump.
cultmtl.com/2025/11/50-o...
cultmtl.com/2025/11/50-o...
November 8, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Despite Conservatives’ best efforts, the vast majority of Canadians remain united against Trump.
cultmtl.com/2025/11/50-o...
cultmtl.com/2025/11/50-o...
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
If only there was something public health could recommend that would be effective at stopping influenza transmission regardless of strain...
If it doesn't get inside you, it can't make you sick. It's amazing that they still have trouble understanding that concept.
If it doesn't get inside you, it can't make you sick. It's amazing that they still have trouble understanding that concept.
Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a
state of the science review | Clinical Microbiology Reviews
SUMMARY This narrative review and meta-analysis summarizes a broad evidence base on the benefits—and
also the practicalities, disbenefits, harms and personal, sociocultural and environmental
impacts—o...
journals.asm.org
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
If only there was something public health could recommend that would be effective at stopping influenza transmission regardless of strain...
If it doesn't get inside you, it can't make you sick. It's amazing that they still have trouble understanding that concept.
If it doesn't get inside you, it can't make you sick. It's amazing that they still have trouble understanding that concept.
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
The big science accounts are talking about immune dysregulation due to COVID-19 now.
I. Told. You. So.
Infection does confer antibodies and T cells against C19… but it also takes a wrecking ball to the immune system as a whole.
Stop burning down your house. (Metaphorically.)
I. Told. You. So.
Infection does confer antibodies and T cells against C19… but it also takes a wrecking ball to the immune system as a whole.
Stop burning down your house. (Metaphorically.)
November 8, 2025 at 3:13 AM
The big science accounts are talking about immune dysregulation due to COVID-19 now.
I. Told. You. So.
Infection does confer antibodies and T cells against C19… but it also takes a wrecking ball to the immune system as a whole.
Stop burning down your house. (Metaphorically.)
I. Told. You. So.
Infection does confer antibodies and T cells against C19… but it also takes a wrecking ball to the immune system as a whole.
Stop burning down your house. (Metaphorically.)
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
What we must confront: Living with Long COVID
The Peak
November 3, 2025
By Ashima Shukla
stillcoviding.ca/en/news/what...
#COVID #LongCovid #CovidIsNotOver
The Peak
November 3, 2025
By Ashima Shukla
stillcoviding.ca/en/news/what...
#COVID #LongCovid #CovidIsNotOver
What we must confront: Living with Long COVID
stillcoviding.ca
November 7, 2025 at 1:31 PM
What we must confront: Living with Long COVID
The Peak
November 3, 2025
By Ashima Shukla
stillcoviding.ca/en/news/what...
#COVID #LongCovid #CovidIsNotOver
The Peak
November 3, 2025
By Ashima Shukla
stillcoviding.ca/en/news/what...
#COVID #LongCovid #CovidIsNotOver
Sign by Nov 10th
"The open letter to the World Health Organization urging them to recommend true respiratory protection (N95/FFP2–3) for all healthcare workers is still accepting signatures until November 10th.”
Add your name here⤵️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#Covid2025
"The open letter to the World Health Organization urging them to recommend true respiratory protection (N95/FFP2–3) for all healthcare workers is still accepting signatures until November 10th.”
Add your name here⤵️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#Covid2025
A Call for the Universal Use of Respirators in Healthcare - Add Your Name
In an effort to advance global public health through turbulent times, a group of experts from around the globe in medicine, public health, law, industrial hygiene, and other disciplines, met at the Un...
docs.google.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Sign by Nov 10th
"The open letter to the World Health Organization urging them to recommend true respiratory protection (N95/FFP2–3) for all healthcare workers is still accepting signatures until November 10th.”
Add your name here⤵️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#Covid2025
"The open letter to the World Health Organization urging them to recommend true respiratory protection (N95/FFP2–3) for all healthcare workers is still accepting signatures until November 10th.”
Add your name here⤵️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#Covid2025
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
Strict school vaccine mandates work, and parents don’t game the system − new research theconversation.com/strict-schoo...
"...policy-level solutions work. But they require comprehensive implementation and adequate enforcement mechanisms."
"...policy-level solutions work. But they require comprehensive implementation and adequate enforcement mechanisms."
Strict school vaccine mandates work, and parents don’t game the system − new research
When states prohibit parents from opting their kids out of vaccines for religious, philosophical or other nonmedical reasons, communities stay better protected against infectious diseases.
theconversation.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Strict school vaccine mandates work, and parents don’t game the system − new research theconversation.com/strict-schoo...
"...policy-level solutions work. But they require comprehensive implementation and adequate enforcement mechanisms."
"...policy-level solutions work. But they require comprehensive implementation and adequate enforcement mechanisms."
Reposted by Dr. Jen Irwin
New data from The Lancet on sepsis (a life-threatening dysregulated host immune response to infection leading to organ dysfunction) shows that in 2021 alone, 166 million sepsis cases and 21.4 million deaths were estimated globally.
That's nearly 1/3 of all global deaths for the year.
🧵1/4
That's nearly 1/3 of all global deaths for the year.
🧵1/4
Global, regional, and national sepsis incidence and mortality, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis
The global burden of sepsis increased in 2020 and 2021, reversing progress from 1990.
Sepsis incidence and mortality increased in people aged 15 years and older, especially
those aged 70 years and old...
www.thelancet.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:44 PM
New data from The Lancet on sepsis (a life-threatening dysregulated host immune response to infection leading to organ dysfunction) shows that in 2021 alone, 166 million sepsis cases and 21.4 million deaths were estimated globally.
That's nearly 1/3 of all global deaths for the year.
🧵1/4
That's nearly 1/3 of all global deaths for the year.
🧵1/4