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Reposted by Bean & Sprout's Mom

Canada Healthwatch 🍁 @canadahealthwatch.ca · 1h

10K toenail clippings needed for Canadian study on potential lung cancer risk https://globalnews.ca/news/11469664/lung-cancer-study-radon-gas-toenails-calgary/

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 1d

E.g. contrast the misinformation memorized by UBC medical students in 2024 with the mechanistic understanding spelled out by the SARS commission in 2006 (quoting an older document), and the 1945 Duguid review (referencing a 1934 source).

It's no wonder hospitals botch COVID mitigations so badly.

Misinformation taught to medical students at UBC as part of their PPE training, reading:

"Why aren't N95 respirators recommended for non-AGMPs involving COVID-19-suspected or -confirmed patients?

Respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 viruses, are usually transported in large particle droplets (>5μm), which tend to fall rapidly to the ground, travelling only 1-3ft after being expelled into the air through sneezing, coughing, or exhaling (droplet transmission). These droplets can only infect others if they are loaded with infectious particles and if they contact another individual’s eyes, nose, or mouth.
droplet transmission

While N95 respirators can act as a physical barrier between the mouth and infectious droplets, they also filter the air of aerosolized infectious particles, a function which is not necessary for protection against droplet transmission. For this reason, N95 respirators offer no advantage over surgical/procedural masks for droplet transmission, and surgical/procedure masks with eye protection (face shield or goggles) are deemed sufficient when providing non-aerosolized care for a person suspected or confirmed with COVID-19."

One should be aware of the effects of droplet evaporation and the resultant diminution in size of ejected droplets. A 30 um droplet dries to a 5 um droplet within seconds under normal indoor air conditions. This means that a large droplet, as it evaporates, will not settle to the ground but become a free-floating entity.This has implications for the 3 foot rule, the basis for infection control precautionary measures, since it is commonly believed that large droplets ejected upon sneezing or coughing will follow Stoke’s Law and fall to ground within a 3 foot distance from the person’s face. It is evident that it is commonly believed that the 3 foot rule is a division between an unsafe and safe distance. There is no indication that the 3 foot rule takes into consideration the evaporation factor and the drift factor of airborne droplets, as discussed above. No scientific evidence is offered by WHO,DHHS-CDC,PCAH,or other medical authorities in explaining the rule. If large droplets quickly evaporate to free-floating small droplets, then the 3 foot rule applies only to droplets greater than about 50 – 100 um in diameter for which there is insufficient time chance for evaporation to take effect before they fall to the ground from a height of 5–6 feet. Free floating small droplets readily go beyond the 3 foot radius. Therefore, if the majority of ejected droplets following a sneeze are evaporated to a size that is free-floating after only seconds in air, the 3 foot rule becomes illogical and not particularly helpful from a disease transmission perspective.

Various techniques have been employed for counting droplets, but no one technique is adequate to demonstrate droplets of every size, some demonstrating only the large and some only the small. Wells (1934) showed that the large droplets and the small droplets have a different ætiological significance. Droplets larger than 100 microns in diameter fall to the ground within a few seconds; droplets initially smaller than 100 microns evaporate before falling to the ground and so form residues, or "droplet-nuclei," which are small enough to remain air-borne for many hours, or even days. Thus, while the large droplets may be responsible for dust-borne infection, it is the small droplets which produce directly true air-borne infection. For this reason, counts of the large droplets and counts of the small droplets are both required for a comprehensive account of droplet-spray.

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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 8h

For those who haven't been following this story, COVID is unambiguously airborne, routinely transmitted in tiny aerosols that float in the air for hours. Every relevant scientific body has known this for years, but some senior docs with ego problems blew the call in 2020, and now have *huge* COIs.

Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · May 12

(this very big mistake that killed an enormous number of people, if anyone's looking for the citation)

www.spiegel.de/internationa...

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/epidemiologist-jeremy-farrar-on-the-next-viral-threat-i-fear-we-are-at-the-beginning-of-an-era-of-pandemics-a-564b1dae-1c3d-4eb3-b76f-f3c5da6e8289#:~:text=DER%20SPIEGEL:%20But%20even%20the%20World%20Health%20Organization,enormous%20number%20of%20lives.

DER SPIEGEL: But even the World Health Organization didn't take the spread via aerosols seriously and didn’t issue a warning about it until the autumn of 2020 …

Farrar: Yes, you are right, that was a very big mistake. We could have prepared better if bigger decisions would have been made around aerosols, around face masks, around the best treatment options, personal protective equipment for nurses, doctors, about the capacity for intensive care units. That would have saved an enormous number of lives.

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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 2h

Why is it acceptable for these people to use our tax money as a PR slush fund to cover up the fact that they blew the call on COVID, and wasted an enormous number of lives?

At what point do their sycophants in the national media get up on their hind legs and start practicing journalism?

Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · May 12

(this very big mistake that killed an enormous number of people, if anyone's looking for the citation)

www.spiegel.de/internationa...

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 1h

Holy crap 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 2h

This is public health.

A few good people are desperately trying to keep the ship afloat, and carry their overpaid colleagues who are too busy looking out for #1 to live up to their responsibilities, but the silence from the field as a whole is deafening.

Step the 🤬 up or stop taking the cheques.

naberu 🇨🇦 @naberu.bsky.social · 9h

Five and half years since we’ve known covid is transmitted by aerosols and a provicial health authority has released an AI chat bot that disseminates droplet disinformation.

NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 16h

Asking NS’s official health AI about airborne transmission, aerosols, etc #NSPoli

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 1h

Source: Tactical Technical Communication as Expert Communication: Strategic Ethos in Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

tandfonline.com

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 3h

If we had responded to Covid by normalizing masking, providing respirators in healthcare & adopting clean air standards…we could have beaten the virus.

We would also be seeing less measles, colds & flu.

We would all be healthier.

I believe history will see it as one of our greatest failures.

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 6h

Not in Canada (or UK, or Sweden, or most of the world outside US, really). But we have the same attitude here. There is something fundamentally wrong with pediatrics as a whole (excepting some stars) that they are the strongest proponents of making kids sick.

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 8h

But, since the odds of one of our kids' hospitals testing (PCR) a kid NOT sick enough to admit, is close to zero, the curve for kids hospitalized and for kids test positivity very likely overlap.

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 8h

Correction - pediatric test positivity in hospital for Flu, COVID, RSV

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Linda Dalpé @dalpe.bsky.social · 12h

Finished the panel presentation with @jvipondmd.bsky.social @masknerd.bsky.social @jimrosenthal5.bsky.social and others and now reading about @novascotiahealth.bsky.social using AI stuck on droplet dogma, while Health Canada talks about masks and ventilation to stop the spread of resp viruses.

https://www.canada.ca/fr/sante-publique/services/publications/maladies-et-affections/briser-chaine-infection-maladies-infectieuses-respiratoires.html

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publications/diseases-conditions/help-reduce-spread-respiratory-infectious-diseases/aidez-reduire-transmission-maladies-respiratoires-infectieuses.pdf

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🇨🇦Joe Vipond🇨🇦 @jvipondmd.bsky.social · 12h

Our amazing organization @cape-acme.bsky.social the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment is looking for an new board treasurer!
If you have experience as a treasurer or are an accountant, and care about the world we live in, consider applying!
www.charityvillage.com/job/treasure...

Treasurer, board of directors - Canada | CharityVillage

Position Title: Treasurer, Board of Directors, Canadian Association of Physicians to the Environment Reports To: Chair of the Board Position Type: Voluntee

www.charityvillage.com

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 8h

I'm sorry. This is just GROSS. WTF is wrong with pediatrics??? My refrain since Jul 2020.

Could we take steps to stop making little kids sick all the time??

JFC. I cared if my little kid was sick. I wasn't magically reassured knowing there was a hospital bed for them.

WTF is wrong with people???

CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 9h

Data: Pediatric hospital strain amid 2022-23 respiratory virus season not tied to decline in beds

But there is 'substantial opportunity' for load-balancing strategies during future pediatric hospital surges to reduce bed strain and harm, the authors say.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/r...

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CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 9h

WHO #pertussis case definition misses many infections, needs revision, study suggests

Compared with WHO's definition, a modified definition including apnea but not cough duration boosted sensitivity but reduced specificity.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/p...

Photo: anjanettew / Flickr cc

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 8h

You can tell when I'm taking a few minutes to review some open tabs when I pump out several research paper / data posts 😁

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 8h

Pediatric hospitalizations for 'respiratory' viruses (Flu A/B, COVID, RSV).

Yes, kids are sick more often 😭

😡One more 'endemic' virus in mix;
😡High respiratory virus exposure ALL. DAMN YEAR;
😡COVID damage likely --> more susceptible to subsequent infections

Source: dashboard.sprint-kids.ca

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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 9h

Tactical Technical Communication as Expert Communication: Strategic Ethos in Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes

"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO and CDC incorrectly [🤬] made safety recommendations based on droplet transmission ..."

so REAL experts & better-educated citizens stepped in.

ABSTRACT
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO)
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) incorrectly made
safety recommendations based on droplet transmission instead of scientifically
accurate aerosol transmission. Therefore, experts in the Clean Air Movement
moved fluidly between strategies and tactics to produce tactical technical
communication that promotes Corsi-Rosenthal boxes as do-it-yourself air
f
iltration. Thus, the Clean Air Movement demonstrates how experts use tactics
to produce instructional documents that democratize health information,
building coalitions during times of public health crisis

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NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 10h

As far as I can Google, there has been no media coverage of the AI chat bot yet. This is a great opportunity for media in NS and Canada wide, especially independent media to ask some good questions and inform the public.

NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 16h

Holy F. NS health is using an AI chat bot called Nova and their recent Facebook post encourages people to ASK THE AI CHAT BOT about their SYMPTOMS. This is absolutely wild. www.yourhealthns.ca #nspoli

YourHealthNS

www.yourhealthns.ca

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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 9h

If you've fallen down inflammation-type wellness circle rabbit holes, hmu for a @motherjones.com essay I'm working on. My email is [email protected]. I can you your first name only.

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Sean Mullen, Ph.D. @drseanmullen.bsky.social · 9h

Exercise isn’t immune to misinformation. Our JMIR Infodemiology review: 9k+ papers screened → 33 included; 82% found misinfo; “immune-boosting workouts” in 30% of COVID results. Read/share: infodemiology.jmir.org/2025/1/e62760

Physical Activity Misinformation on Social Media: Systematic Review

Background: Social media is a prominent way in which health information is spread. The accuracy and credibility of such sources range widely, with misleading statements, misreported results of studies...

infodemiology.jmir.org

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NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 11h

NS is also home to one of the only clinical trials exploring UVC for infection prevention. Make it make sense. Dr. Rockwood is able to write in his trial protocol in 2021 about aerosols but NS health in late 2025 intentionally serves droplet dogma. 2/2 clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT050...

ClinicalTrials.gov

clinicaltrials.gov

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NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 11h

I hope people in NS fight back against this, and win. NS Health is marketing an AI chat bot as a RELIABLE source of info to PREVENT infection. This is straight from the marketing. But it was trained on droplet dogma and claims COVID spreads by droplets predominantly. This is unacceptable. /1

NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 16h

Holy F. NS health is using an AI chat bot called Nova and their recent Facebook post encourages people to ASK THE AI CHAT BOT about their SYMPTOMS. This is absolutely wild. www.yourhealthns.ca #nspoli

YourHealthNS

www.yourhealthns.ca

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Canada's National Observer @nationalobserver.com · 14h

We're going public today with a powerful new tool for researching, following and reporting on local governments across Canada.

It’s dragging cities and towns into the 21st century by making 550 municipalities’ public meetings easy to search, all in one place, for the first time.

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 14h

When medical influencers get after me for saying things like "medicine has no meaningful standards of competence for leadership", "COVID is the Dunning-Kruger pandemic", or "public health policy is routinely based on pseudoscience", this is why I am right.

It's a 🤬 gong show.

#StandUpForScience

NB COVID info @nbcovidinfo.bsky.social · 16h

Asking NS’s official health AI about airborne transmission, aerosols, etc #NSPoli

Screenshot of asking NS health AI if Covid is airborne. Is Covid airborne?
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
0 COPY
• Nova
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
The primary method of COVID-19 transmission is through droplets, which quickly settle on surfaces within two meters. However, airborne precautions are used during aerosol-generating medical procedures (AGMPs) to minimize the risk of transmission. More information on AGMPs can be found here.

Screenshot of asking NS health AI about aerosol transmission. Tell me about aerosol transmission
Nova
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m.
Airborne transmission occurs when airborne particles remain suspended in the air, travel on air currents, and are inhaled by others nearby or some distance away from the source. Control of airborne transmission requires control of airflow through special ventilation systems and the use of respiratory protection.
An aerosol-generating medical procedure (AGMP)
is any procedy
production of
+ Go to bottom
aerosols of va
roplet nuclei.
Examples of AGMPs include bronchoscopy

Screenshot of asking NS health AI if breathing generates aerosols You
Wednesday, 10:03 a.m.
Does breathing generate aerosols?
•Nova
Wednesday, 10:03 a.m.
While normal breathing does produce some droplets, activities like talking, screaming, coughing, or sneezing produce larger droplets.
Labour and delivery are also not considered aerosolized events. Aerosol Generating Medical Procedures (AGMPs) are specific medical procedures that generate aerosols.

The AI claimed that breathing generates fewer aerosols than AGMPs so I tried asking for more info. How many aerosols are generated by breathing compared to an AGMP?
0 coPY
Nova
Wednesday, 10:04 a.m.
To best answer your question, could you clarify what context you're interested in? For example, are you concerned about a specific medical setting or a particular activity? #NSPoli

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