Maxwell Smith, PhD
@maxwellsmith.bsky.social
Bioethicist, Associate Professor, & CIHR Applied Public Health Chair at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. Also Director, Western's Centre for Bioethics and Associate Director, Rotman Institute of Philosophy. Views are my own.
maxwellsmith.ca
maxwellsmith.ca
This is absolutely just one metric of the burden caused by COVID. On its own, it is significant and should be cause for action. When you consider the totality of the burden of this disease, it's a no-brainer.
January 13, 2026 at 2:26 PM
This is absolutely just one metric of the burden caused by COVID. On its own, it is significant and should be cause for action. When you consider the totality of the burden of this disease, it's a no-brainer.
Compare COVID's rank as the 9th leading cause of death in Canada in 2024 with other leading causes we tend to take seriously:
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 10
Parkinson's: 12
Suicide: 13
Sepsis: 14
HIV: 32
Meningitis: 33
Tuberculosis: 34
Measles: 48
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 10
Parkinson's: 12
Suicide: 13
Sepsis: 14
HIV: 32
Meningitis: 33
Tuberculosis: 34
Measles: 48
January 13, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Compare COVID's rank as the 9th leading cause of death in Canada in 2024 with other leading causes we tend to take seriously:
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 10
Parkinson's: 12
Suicide: 13
Sepsis: 14
HIV: 32
Meningitis: 33
Tuberculosis: 34
Measles: 48
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 10
Parkinson's: 12
Suicide: 13
Sepsis: 14
HIV: 32
Meningitis: 33
Tuberculosis: 34
Measles: 48
"Just asking questions" rather than engaging with the answers to those questions version 1,000,000
January 10, 2026 at 4:44 PM
"Just asking questions" rather than engaging with the answers to those questions version 1,000,000
That's kind of you to say - thank you!
Not to my recollection, but this is almost certainly because the document was restricted to the allocation decision-making for medical countermeasures.
Not to my recollection, but this is almost certainly because the document was restricted to the allocation decision-making for medical countermeasures.
December 18, 2025 at 7:59 PM
That's kind of you to say - thank you!
Not to my recollection, but this is almost certainly because the document was restricted to the allocation decision-making for medical countermeasures.
Not to my recollection, but this is almost certainly because the document was restricted to the allocation decision-making for medical countermeasures.