When it comes to COVID-19, it is a virus that can affect individuals of all walks of life – regardless of age, gender, or where they live in the world. However, what we’ve also learned since living with this virus for the past 18 months is that there are certain individuals who may be at increased susceptibility for COVID-19 than others. While age is something that certainly plays a role (with those over the age of 60 being the most impacted by this virus with severe illness, hospitalization and death), we also know that individuals with certain pre-existing medical conditions are also more likely to contract COVID-19 and develop severe…

One of the most common questions that healthcare professionals are asked lately, is how can someone tell the difference between COVID-19, the common cold, and flu. While these are all considered respiratory illnesses, there are some differences in the way they are clinically diagnosed, as the symptoms of each illness will also slightly differ while sharing some similarities at the same time. First, we’ll start with the common cold. Common colds are viral in nature, meaning that there are no antibiotics that will act as a magic cure, and you unfortunately just have to let nature take its course and deal with those aggravating (and sometimes uncomfortable) symptoms, such as…

You’ve likely heard the term PPE – otherwise known as Personal Protective Equipment – talked about a lot in relation to COVID-19. PPE refers to protective clothing and other items, such as: • Gloves • Face masks (surgical masks, N95 respirators) • Face shields • Hair covers • Goggles • Gowns • Other equipment designed to protect the wearer’s body from injury/infection Because frontline workers, such as nurses and physicians, come into extremely close contact with patients who are ill, and because COVID-19 is an extremely contagious virus, these frontline workers need this protective equipment to not only protect themselves from developing the virus, but to also stop it from…

One of the most common questions that people are asking in relation to COVID-19 is, “What do I do if I think I have the virus?” It can be particularly difficult to self-diagnose based on symptoms, simply due to the fact that the symptoms associated with COVID-19 are very similar in nature to other types of illnesses such as the common cold or influenza. Symptoms, for example, that can include things like fatigue, fever, coughing, sore throat, nasal congestion, and general body aches and pains. This is why, whether you have a confirmed case of COVID-19 or if you’re still awaiting test results, it is important that you self-isolate until…

Like any medication that someone might be prescribed, people will no doubt have questions about any potential side effects that may be attributed to them. That is also no different when it comes to the vaccines that are available to help prevent COVID-19. While there are certain risks that have been associated with the vaccines – most notably AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, where there have been reported cases of rare blood clots associated with both – the vaccines are, overall, generally well-tolerated, and health officials worldwide continue to watch for any reports of adverse events associated with these particular vaccines (in addition to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines) and…

On March 11th, 2020, the WHO (World Health Organization) officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Below is some insight into how the virus has impacted Canadians, how it has shaped the way we live our lives, how vaccines are now crucial in helping prevent transmission, and what we can take from everything we’ve learned in the last year as we move forward. First Case of COVID-19 in Canada The first case of SARS-CoV-2 was found in a Toronto man who had recently travelled to Wuhan, China – the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak – and was announced by Health Canada on January 25th, 2020. As a result, new screening measures…

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists all over the world have been hard at work studying the virus, how it impacts individuals of all ages, races and genders, and creating vaccines to help prevent infection and transmission. To date, Health Canada has approved the use of the following vaccines: • Pfizer-BioNTech • Moderna • AstraZeneca • Johnson & Johnson   Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Vaccines Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are what’s known as messenger RNA vaccines (also referred to as mRna.) These particular vaccines work by teaching our tells to create proteins which trigger an immune response. Once that immune response is triggered, your body will then…

In recent months, news of variants of the SARS-CoV-2 have been making waves. A strain of a virus is considered a variant when it has mutations that change its genetic code. Variants of a virus can affect who is most impacted by it, the symptoms that one might experience, how quickly the virus spreads, how deadly it may be, as well as its response to vaccines. Currently, the known variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus include: • B.1.1.7 (first identified in the United Kingdom) • B.1.351 (first identified in South Africa) • P.1 (first identified in Brazil) In British Columbia, we have so far seen a total of 25 cases of…