BretCB 🇨🇦
@bretcb.bsky.social
😷 Wear a mask 😷💉
🟣☮️⚛️✝️🔯☪️☸️☯️🕉️💟🟣
🩷❤️🧡💛💚💙🩵💜🤍🤎🩶
Random thoughts and interests
All disclaimers apply (opinions mine alone, reposts & comments not an endorsement, etc.)
🟣☮️⚛️✝️🔯☪️☸️☯️🕉️💟🟣
🩷❤️🧡💛💚💙🩵💜🤍🤎🩶
Random thoughts and interests
All disclaimers apply (opinions mine alone, reposts & comments not an endorsement, etc.)
Pinned
BretCB 🇨🇦
@bretcb.bsky.social
· Dec 11
People who go out unmasked when they know they're sick epically suck. But because you can spread flu - and especially covid - before you're symptomatic it's important to mask regardless. Covid is still hospitalizing and killing people. CDC 2024/2025 estimates: www.cdc.gov/covid/php/su...
Let's explicitly connect the two: if you spread the flu or covid, and "it" hospitalizes or kills a person, *you* bear significant responsibility in that hospitalization and death. It's on you: a simple, accessible, painless, minimal-impact prevention exists, and you chose not to use it.
😷
😷
"You ain’t nothin' but a hedgehog
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t nothing but a hedgehog
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t never pricked a predator
"You ain’t no Porcupine"
~John Cooper Clark
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t nothing but a hedgehog
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t never pricked a predator
"You ain’t no Porcupine"
~John Cooper Clark
December 21, 2025 at 7:03 PM
"You ain’t nothin' but a hedgehog
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t nothing but a hedgehog
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t never pricked a predator
"You ain’t no Porcupine"
~John Cooper Clark
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t nothing but a hedgehog
"Foragin’ all the time
"You ain’t never pricked a predator
"You ain’t no Porcupine"
~John Cooper Clark
"Maybe I'm not broken, maybe I′m just bent
Maybe all this struggle's just the way that life was meant"
~ HC, 'Breaking Point'
Maybe all this struggle's just the way that life was meant"
~ HC, 'Breaking Point'
November 28, 2025 at 9:12 PM
"Maybe I'm not broken, maybe I′m just bent
Maybe all this struggle's just the way that life was meant"
~ HC, 'Breaking Point'
Maybe all this struggle's just the way that life was meant"
~ HC, 'Breaking Point'
I wear a mask. I minimize my interactions. I refuse to talk about the pandemic in the past tense. I use openings in conversation to remind others about it all.
But I'm just one guy. And most people just dgaf.
We haven't been in this together for like 3 years. I feel stressed, tired, and alone.
But I'm just one guy. And most people just dgaf.
We haven't been in this together for like 3 years. I feel stressed, tired, and alone.
Drive-by likes & reposts aren't enough. Thinking about 'holidays'? Think harder.
MAKE CHANGES. Now is the time to do MORE to stop the spread. #CdnHealth
MAKE CHANGES. Now is the time to do MORE to stop the spread. #CdnHealth
November 25, 2025 at 3:09 AM
I wear a mask. I minimize my interactions. I refuse to talk about the pandemic in the past tense. I use openings in conversation to remind others about it all.
But I'm just one guy. And most people just dgaf.
We haven't been in this together for like 3 years. I feel stressed, tired, and alone.
But I'm just one guy. And most people just dgaf.
We haven't been in this together for like 3 years. I feel stressed, tired, and alone.
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
Canadian COVID Forecast Nov 22 - Dec 5, 2025
ONTARIO
HIGH [no change]
About 1 of every 184 people is infected.
Compared to lowest point of pandemic in Canada:
-Infections: 7.8 x higher
-Long COVID: 5.9 x higher
-Hospitalizations: 6.7 x higher
-Deaths: 10.2 x higher
ONTARIO
HIGH [no change]
About 1 of every 184 people is infected.
Compared to lowest point of pandemic in Canada:
-Infections: 7.8 x higher
-Long COVID: 5.9 x higher
-Hospitalizations: 6.7 x higher
-Deaths: 10.2 x higher
![This image describes the Canadian COVID Forecast for the fourteen-day period between Nov 22 - Dec 5, 2025, which is produced by COVID-19 Resources Canada. Ontario's COVID Forecast outlook is HIGH [no change] with a COVID INDEX SCORE of 8.2
About 1 of every 184 people is infected.
Estimated infections this week: 194,400-251,500
What these numbers mean: MODERATE 1-5, HIGH 5-10, VERY HIGH 10-15, SEVERE >15 COMPARED TO THE LOWEST POINT IN THE COVID PANDEMIC IN CANADA
How much higher are key indicators compared to the lowest point in the COVID pandemic in Canada?
Waste water, infections: HIGH; 7.8X higher
Long COVID: HIGH; 5.9X higher
Hospitalizations: HIGH; 6.7X higher
Deaths: VERY HIGH; 10.2X higher
HOW TO HELP:
EVERYONE:
UPDATE vaccines every 6 months
WEAR N95-type masks
Who is HIGH RISK?
People 60 and older, babies < 1 year, pregnant
ALL AGES: immunocompromised OR medically at-risk OR no vaccine or infection in the last 6 months
Recommendations are based on the COVID-19 Risk Index from the Peterborough ON Public Health Unit
COVID-19 Resources Canada is a grassroots organization of volunteer scientists supporting Canadian COVID responses. Sources, data and methods for the COVID Index are available at www.Covid19Resources.ca](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qbuobwdie7rzq4fburk63aft/bafkreiabigavkwkehfegceh27nnmiegioef7wqoc3eo5owasyslglxlm6y@jpeg)
November 25, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Canadian COVID Forecast Nov 22 - Dec 5, 2025
ONTARIO
HIGH [no change]
About 1 of every 184 people is infected.
Compared to lowest point of pandemic in Canada:
-Infections: 7.8 x higher
-Long COVID: 5.9 x higher
-Hospitalizations: 6.7 x higher
-Deaths: 10.2 x higher
ONTARIO
HIGH [no change]
About 1 of every 184 people is infected.
Compared to lowest point of pandemic in Canada:
-Infections: 7.8 x higher
-Long COVID: 5.9 x higher
-Hospitalizations: 6.7 x higher
-Deaths: 10.2 x higher
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
Canadian COVID Forecast: Nov 22 - Dec 5, 2025
SEVERE: AB
VERY HIGH: MB, NB, North, NS, SK
HIGH: CAN, BC, NL, ON, PEI, QC
MODERATE: none
About 1 in 161 people in Canada are CURRENTLY infected.
SEVERE: AB
VERY HIGH: MB, NB, North, NS, SK
HIGH: CAN, BC, NL, ON, PEI, QC
MODERATE: none
About 1 in 161 people in Canada are CURRENTLY infected.
November 25, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Canadian COVID Forecast: Nov 22 - Dec 5, 2025
SEVERE: AB
VERY HIGH: MB, NB, North, NS, SK
HIGH: CAN, BC, NL, ON, PEI, QC
MODERATE: none
About 1 in 161 people in Canada are CURRENTLY infected.
SEVERE: AB
VERY HIGH: MB, NB, North, NS, SK
HIGH: CAN, BC, NL, ON, PEI, QC
MODERATE: none
About 1 in 161 people in Canada are CURRENTLY infected.
"The bigger my toothy grin is, the smaller my troubles grow
"The louder I say I'm happy, the more I believe it's so"
~ Patience and Prudence, 'A Smile and a Ribbon', 1956
"The louder I say I'm happy, the more I believe it's so"
~ Patience and Prudence, 'A Smile and a Ribbon', 1956
November 19, 2025 at 1:38 AM
"The bigger my toothy grin is, the smaller my troubles grow
"The louder I say I'm happy, the more I believe it's so"
~ Patience and Prudence, 'A Smile and a Ribbon', 1956
"The louder I say I'm happy, the more I believe it's so"
~ Patience and Prudence, 'A Smile and a Ribbon', 1956
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
Convince me I'm wrong: Food price levels in Canada and the US are primarily the result of pandemic disruptions and the food supply chain greedily avoiding cuts in inflated prices once the pandemic subsided. Anti-government populist politicians prefer to blame the government.
November 15, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Convince me I'm wrong: Food price levels in Canada and the US are primarily the result of pandemic disruptions and the food supply chain greedily avoiding cuts in inflated prices once the pandemic subsided. Anti-government populist politicians prefer to blame the government.
I wish I could help people understand this, and just wear a mask most of the time in public. But maybe that's hypocritical of me given the number of years I smoked while knowing the same deferred impacts existed.
We’re five years into the pandemic, and the science is telling a very different story than “just a cold.” COVID affects blood vessels, organs, metabolism, and cognition — and the impacts compound with each infection.
November 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
I wish I could help people understand this, and just wear a mask most of the time in public. But maybe that's hypocritical of me given the number of years I smoked while knowing the same deferred impacts existed.
"You want to make the world a better place? Stop making it worse."
~Selena Gomez as Mabel, 'Only Murders in the Building' S05E09
~Selena Gomez as Mabel, 'Only Murders in the Building' S05E09
November 15, 2025 at 1:28 AM
"You want to make the world a better place? Stop making it worse."
~Selena Gomez as Mabel, 'Only Murders in the Building' S05E09
~Selena Gomez as Mabel, 'Only Murders in the Building' S05E09
"It's a strain of influenza A that's typically known for more severe infections. [...] It recently started showing more dramatic structural changes which could mean it’s likely 'mismatched' to our latest vaccine."
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Canada could face ‘worst kind’ of flu season as experts warn evolving strain may be mismatch for vaccine | CBC News
With flu cases now rising in Canada, medical experts are bracing for a difficult influenza season linked to the global spread of an evolving H3N2 strain that could be a mismatch for this year’s vaccin...
www.cbc.ca
November 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
"It's a strain of influenza A that's typically known for more severe infections. [...] It recently started showing more dramatic structural changes which could mean it’s likely 'mismatched' to our latest vaccine."
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Maybe I can take solace in the fact it's supposed to go out like a lamb now. 🥶
November 10, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Maybe I can take solace in the fact it's supposed to go out like a lamb now. 🥶
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
After years of denial the international consensus is now shifting. Covid "causes system-wide injury that accumulates with each infection": brain damage, immune dysregulation leading to infections and cardiac injury with accelerated aging. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
This Physicist Says We Don’t Take COVID Seriously Enough | The Tyee
We downplay the virus at our peril, warns Yaneer Bar-Yam. And children are more at risk than we thought.
thetyee.ca
October 31, 2025 at 9:50 PM
After years of denial the international consensus is now shifting. Covid "causes system-wide injury that accumulates with each infection": brain damage, immune dysregulation leading to infections and cardiac injury with accelerated aging. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
"200 people in that room and each one wants me to be somebody else. They should just fuck off and let me be."
~Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, 'A Complete Unknown'
~Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, 'A Complete Unknown'
October 26, 2025 at 2:06 AM
"200 people in that room and each one wants me to be somebody else. They should just fuck off and let me be."
~Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, 'A Complete Unknown'
~Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, 'A Complete Unknown'
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
It’s more than just bad priorities. It’s about lack of basic decency.
October 25, 2025 at 8:30 PM
It’s more than just bad priorities. It’s about lack of basic decency.
And what do we learn from Trump? That level of power is much lower than we might think it is, if someone decides to flex it.
What do we learn from Epstein and Andrew? There’s a level of power at which right and wrong no longer exist | Zoe Williams
What do we learn from Epstein and Andrew? There’s a level of power at which right and wrong no longer exist | Zoe Williams
Prince Andrew has finally decided to give up his titles – but we have known the shape of the allegations against him for years. Why was there a collective decision to look away, asks Zoe Williams
www.theguardian.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:33 PM
And what do we learn from Trump? That level of power is much lower than we might think it is, if someone decides to flex it.
Warning: There's likely been measles around Ottawa for over 3 weeks. Symptoms take up to 21 days to appear.
Saint Anne Church, Sun 12 Oct
St. George's Parish, Mon 29 Sept
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Saint Anne Church, Sun 12 Oct
St. George's Parish, Mon 29 Sept
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
OPH warns of possible measles exposure at 2 Ottawa churches | CBC News
People who attended two Ottawa churches recently may have been exposed to measles, the city's public health agency warned Tuesday.
www.cbc.ca
October 22, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Warning: There's likely been measles around Ottawa for over 3 weeks. Symptoms take up to 21 days to appear.
Saint Anne Church, Sun 12 Oct
St. George's Parish, Mon 29 Sept
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Saint Anne Church, Sun 12 Oct
St. George's Parish, Mon 29 Sept
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Long live the kings
Death to tyrants
Death to tyrants
October 19, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Long live the kings
Death to tyrants
Death to tyrants
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
In the second instalment of Who To Call, I feature the homelessness outreach van that is available by calling 311 in Ottawa.
If you see someone sleeping rough or in a tent, you can call 24/7 (anywhere in the city). These folks will come and help people access shelter and permanent housing.
If you see someone sleeping rough or in a tent, you can call 24/7 (anywhere in the city). These folks will come and help people access shelter and permanent housing.
October 16, 2025 at 8:12 PM
In the second instalment of Who To Call, I feature the homelessness outreach van that is available by calling 311 in Ottawa.
If you see someone sleeping rough or in a tent, you can call 24/7 (anywhere in the city). These folks will come and help people access shelter and permanent housing.
If you see someone sleeping rough or in a tent, you can call 24/7 (anywhere in the city). These folks will come and help people access shelter and permanent housing.
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
About 2.7% of people are infected and/or experiencing daily life activity-limiting long COVID.
Hospitalizations are expected to cost $34.5M and require 6.8% of staffed hospital beds for three weeks.
Hospitalizations are expected to cost $34.5M and require 6.8% of staffed hospital beds for three weeks.
October 15, 2025 at 1:08 AM
About 2.7% of people are infected and/or experiencing daily life activity-limiting long COVID.
Hospitalizations are expected to cost $34.5M and require 6.8% of staffed hospital beds for three weeks.
Hospitalizations are expected to cost $34.5M and require 6.8% of staffed hospital beds for three weeks.
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
FOCUS ON PROVINCES: ONTARIO
The Forecast score this week is 8 (HIGH).
Infections this week are expected to result in 300 deaths, 1,600 hospital admissions and 8,900 new daily life activity-limiting long COVID cases.
The Forecast score this week is 8 (HIGH).
Infections this week are expected to result in 300 deaths, 1,600 hospital admissions and 8,900 new daily life activity-limiting long COVID cases.
October 15, 2025 at 1:08 AM
FOCUS ON PROVINCES: ONTARIO
The Forecast score this week is 8 (HIGH).
Infections this week are expected to result in 300 deaths, 1,600 hospital admissions and 8,900 new daily life activity-limiting long COVID cases.
The Forecast score this week is 8 (HIGH).
Infections this week are expected to result in 300 deaths, 1,600 hospital admissions and 8,900 new daily life activity-limiting long COVID cases.
Reposted by BretCB 🇨🇦
WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK?
About 1 in 95 people in Canada is currently infected (559,000-966,000 infections/week).
The most recent estimate for the United States (Oct 6) is 1 in 81 infected (www.pmc19.com/data/index.php).
About 1 in 95 people in Canada is currently infected (559,000-966,000 infections/week).
The most recent estimate for the United States (Oct 6) is 1 in 81 infected (www.pmc19.com/data/index.php).
October 15, 2025 at 1:08 AM
WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK?
About 1 in 95 people in Canada is currently infected (559,000-966,000 infections/week).
The most recent estimate for the United States (Oct 6) is 1 in 81 infected (www.pmc19.com/data/index.php).
About 1 in 95 people in Canada is currently infected (559,000-966,000 infections/week).
The most recent estimate for the United States (Oct 6) is 1 in 81 infected (www.pmc19.com/data/index.php).
All around me darkness gathers,
Fading is the sun that shone,
We must speak of other matters,
You can be me when I'm gone
Flowers gathered in the morning,
Afternoon they blossom on,
Still are withered in the evening,
You can be me when I'm gone.
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
Fading is the sun that shone,
We must speak of other matters,
You can be me when I'm gone
Flowers gathered in the morning,
Afternoon they blossom on,
Still are withered in the evening,
You can be me when I'm gone.
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
October 15, 2025 at 2:08 AM
All around me darkness gathers,
Fading is the sun that shone,
We must speak of other matters,
You can be me when I'm gone
Flowers gathered in the morning,
Afternoon they blossom on,
Still are withered in the evening,
You can be me when I'm gone.
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
Fading is the sun that shone,
We must speak of other matters,
You can be me when I'm gone
Flowers gathered in the morning,
Afternoon they blossom on,
Still are withered in the evening,
You can be me when I'm gone.
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
Seriously. I understand, unfortunately, that the general public are willing blind and encouraged by our leaders to be so, but medical professionals should know better. I'm baffled that this needs to be a "rule". I just hope P.E.I. starts a trend that goes viral. Pun intended.
October 15, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Seriously. I understand, unfortunately, that the general public are willing blind and encouraged by our leaders to be so, but medical professionals should know better. I'm baffled that this needs to be a "rule". I just hope P.E.I. starts a trend that goes viral. Pun intended.
If you see this, quote post with your favourite Pokémon (wrong answers only)
October 15, 2025 at 1:35 AM
If you see this, quote post with your favourite Pokémon (wrong answers only)
"people in the azelastine group were about three times less likely to contract COVID-19"
"People in the azelastine group also had a positive test for less time"
"People in the azelastine group were also less likely to get any type of virus"
www.prevention.com/health/healt...
"People in the azelastine group also had a positive test for less time"
"People in the azelastine group were also less likely to get any type of virus"
www.prevention.com/health/healt...
Scientists Find Common Nasal Spray Lowers Risk of COVID and the Common Cold
Research suggests it could shorten how long you’re sick, too.
www.prevention.com
October 13, 2025 at 12:23 AM
"people in the azelastine group were about three times less likely to contract COVID-19"
"People in the azelastine group also had a positive test for less time"
"People in the azelastine group were also less likely to get any type of virus"
www.prevention.com/health/healt...
"People in the azelastine group also had a positive test for less time"
"People in the azelastine group were also less likely to get any type of virus"
www.prevention.com/health/healt...