Nick Tsergas's avatar

Nick Tsergas

@nicktsergas.bsky.social

2876 followers 1155 following 1534 posts

Health news editor @ canadahealthwatch.ca

Newsletter: CanadaHealthwatch.ca/subscribe

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

My IRL friends call me Chris's avatar My IRL friends call me Chris @christyceeck.bsky.social
[ View ]

Ontario College of Pharmacists:

Under Stress and Duress
The prevalence and impact of corporate influence on
pharmacy professional autonomy and wellbeing:
An analysis of OCP registrant survey and town hall responses

www.ocpinfo.com/wp-content/u...

0 replies 5 reposts 11 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

The Ontario College of Pharmacists released a report on corporate pressures in pharmacies.

85% report being subject to time limits, or pushed to meet quotas for taxpayer-funded services, with the vast majority working at Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws and Rexall.

canadahealthwatch.ca/newsletter/2...

0 replies 11 reposts 20 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

CPC attacks on Dr. Sereda are genuinely concerning. 🚨

It isn't just about one doctor, but a chilling effect on all experts who guide policy; on MAiD, vaccines, pandemics, abortion, etc, etc, etc.

Can we really afford to silence those who speak truth to power?

canadahealthwatch.ca/newsletter/2...

0 replies 9 reposts 16 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

This stuff seems to get more inaccessible by the day

3 replies 3 reposts 21 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

New research shows COVID’s impact is more prolonged than previously thought, with signs of inflammation and traces of virus detectable years after infection. The results raise uncomfortable questions about long-term health implications that we are only beginning to understand.

0 replies 18 reposts 39 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Charges to patients won't be allowed as of 2026, when changes are set to come into effect. The memo draft has industry and insurance groups worried over what they see as a possible end to employer-paid virtual care benefits. –fin

0 replies 0 reposts 6 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

According to the leaked memo, the federal government holds the position that patients shouldn't face fees for any health services that would be covered in-person at a doctor's office.

1 replies 0 reposts 5 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

<eye-catching phrase> 🚨 By now we've all seen stories of NP-run clinics charging patients membership fees. A leaked Health Canada memo suggests the federal government intends to end the practice. (cont'd in thread) Enjoy Canada Day everyone 😎 🍁

1 replies 8 reposts 19 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Canada Healthwatch 🍁's avatar Canada Healthwatch 🍁 @canadahealthwatch.bsky.social
[ View ]

📰🕑 This week:

A leaked Health Canada memo could reshape healthcare access around the country, hinting at a potential crackdown on patient fees charged by privately-run Nurse Practitioner clinics and virtual care platforms.

canadahealthwatch.ca/newsletter/2...

0 replies 11 reposts 20 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

The revolution may not be televised, but the slide into fascism most certainly will.

0 replies 1 reposts 25 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Immunizing expectant mothers against RSV will be hugely beneficial to babies and the health systems they're born into. It protects infants in their most vulnerable early months, reducing hospitalizations and easing healthcare burdens. Public health should promote it, governments should fund it.

1 replies 7 reposts 29 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

André Picard @picardonhealth 's avatar André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social
[ View ]

Some sensible advice on health spending, still ignored 50 years later. The Lalonde Report, which stressed investing in prevention not just more sickness care, is more relevant than ever. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

0 replies 7 reposts 14 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Hi friends. Newsletter time. ⏱️

These are the stories that stuck out to me this week.

First, an update on Ontario's plan to re-classify COVID-19, which will reduce the scope of data reporting and further diminish our surveillance capabilities.

canadahealthwatch.ca/newsletter/2...

1 replies 17 reposts 22 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Just as the highly cost-effective wastewater surveillance program winds down, more cuts to data collection and reporting are announced. With new variants (and new viruses) on the rise, reducing disease surveillance leaves us wide open to a "pants-down" scenario.

5 replies 38 reposts 93 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

This recent WHO report doesn’t hold back. It states in plain language that corporate practices are leading to millions of preventable deaths each year—in Europe alone. From strategic lobbying to weaken regulations to the subversion of science, there are many normally quiet parts spoken out loud.

1 replies 36 reposts 71 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

DontMakeMoi's avatar DontMakeMoi @dontmakemoi.bsky.social
[ View ]

This seems worth paying some attention to...

1 replies 5 reposts 3 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Bothered Boy 🚩🏴Back on my Bullshit's avatar Bothered Boy 🚩🏴Back on my Bullshit @botheredboy.bsky.social
[ View ]

Cool. Cool Cool Cool...

0 replies 3 reposts 6 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

It's newsletter time. ⏱️

Here’s our snapshot of stories from the week that are likely to have downstream impacts.

You’ll probably want to be aware of these. Starting with a bird flu update...

canadahealthwatch.ca/newsletter/2...

0 replies 4 reposts 13 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Ever wonder how safe the water is in your kids’ school? Or why we have a Lyme disease vaccine for dogs but not people?

This edition of my newsletter is packed with some pretty eye-opening stories. 👀

Here’s the news that hit hardest for me this week:

canadahealthwatch.ca/newsletter/2...

0 replies 13 reposts 33 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Ford's deregulation of alcohol sales will make buying booze more convenient—especially for people on their way to the cottage—but it will also increase taxpayer costs because of the downstream increases in alcohol-related harms.

0 replies 3 reposts 12 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

CORRECTION: Health Canada* (not PHAC)

0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

48% of Ontario public schools have drinking water exceeding federal safety guidelines for lead. For private schools, it's 6%. Responding to new evidence, PHAC halved the maximum acceptable lead level in drinking water to 5 ppb from 10, but ON, NB and SK have kept the old limit.

7 replies 32 reposts 54 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Cost, imo. I've seen w couple of cmohs make off the cuff comments about it over the past year

1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

A Sask man with multiple health conditions got COVID. 811/HealthLine told him to get a Paxlovid script from his doctor. The province now asks doctors to submit a 6-page form for Paxlovid approval—though this was never publicly announced. He missed the 5-day treatment window.

0 replies 16 reposts 28 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Michael Coulthart was barred from investigating a mysterious neurological illness in New Brunswick, likely for political reasons. Despite finding hundreds of people with unexplained cognitive symptoms, his research was cut off, leaving those affected without support or answers.

0 replies 10 reposts 14 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Had a wild time getting it last year while sick in the fall. So, so glad we were able to, and the stakes of avoiding infection are just that much higher now

0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes

Reposted by Nick Tsergas

Faine Greenwood's avatar Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social
[ View ]

It is just insane to me that it remains so hard for people to get Paxlovid. I’ve managed to use it both times I’ve had Covid, and I recovered completely within just a few days.

6 replies 28 reposts 115 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Ontario is discontinuing wastewater surveillance, just as measles, mpox and H5N1 pose credible threats to spark new pandemics. This cutback leaves us blind to both emerging outbreaks and the ongoing evolutions of COVID. It's a clear example of pandemic lessons not learned.

4 replies 17 reposts 41 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Findings from a new meta-analysis suggest that early use of antivirals (like Paxlovid) reduces the risk of developing long COVID by 23%. The findings come at a time when public access to these medicines is more restricted than ever.

4 replies 64 reposts 154 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

New research shows that higher CO2 levels can extend the viability of viruses suspended in the air, challenging the ideas that underpin outdated ventilation standards. This doubly reinforces our need for better indoor air quality.

2 replies 9 reposts 26 likes

Nick Tsergas's avatar Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.bsky.social
[ View ]

Hunter specs unknown. Assuming rifle + ability to set traps

0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes