COVID-19 infections are increasing in many places, including — it looks pretty clear now from the wastewater levels — in BC. The absolute rates are low, but disease spread is always exponential — which means that it can appear that the levels can switch from low to high very quickly. Based on the province’s modelling… Continue reading 2026-07-17 General
Category: Influenza (non-bird)
2026-07-10 General
There are a number of places around the world which are starting to see an increase in cases, e.g. Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, parts of Australia, and parts of the USA. They are starting from a very low base, but infectious diseases can spread exponentially. 😕 I would like to point out that the BC Provincial… Continue reading 2026-07-10 General
2026-06-26 General
Canadian Respiratory Viruses 🦠 We don’t have data from the province, but the all-Canada data on the big three “kick-your-ass” viruses are all really really low right now. From the Canadian Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report (2026-06-26) with data through June 20th: Even measles is down (see way below). Also per the Canadian Respiratory Virus Surveillance… Continue reading 2026-06-26 General
2026-06-19 General
Reminder: there’s no BC-specific post this week because the province is only providing most data on the first Thursday of the month. The wastewater chart is in the General post when there is no BC post. Bundibugyo Recommended Reading 😬 This interview with the head of the World Health Organization (2026-06-13) is really sobering. He… Continue reading 2026-06-19 General
2026-06-12 General
There’s no BC-specific post this week because the province is only providing most data on the first Thursday of the month. They are still providing wastewater information — and even a bit more because of the World Cup — so I have added BC wastewater measurements into the General post. COVID-19 COVID-Related Excess Death and… Continue reading 2026-06-12 General
2026-06-06 General
COVID-19 Long COVID ‼️‼️ This paper from USA (2026-05-28) reports evidence that Long COVID — at least with with neurocognitive symptoms — is an autoimmune disease. They first used flourescently-tagged antibodies to find ones that looked like they were attacking the self. Next, they tested they extracted these autoantibodies and tested them against human cell… Continue reading 2026-06-06 General
2026-05-22 General
COVID-19 Long COVID 💊🎉 This paper from Japan (2026-05-15) reports that outpatients with confirmed COVID-19 who took ensitrelvir/Xocova were 14% less likely to get Long COVID than controls who took placebos. Patients who took molnupiravir had a 19% lower risk, but the change in risk was not statistically significant for nirmatrelvir+ritonavir/Paxlovid. (Editor’s Note: Xocova has… Continue reading 2026-05-22 General
2026-05-08 General
COVID-19 Long COVID This conference presentation (which I think is from China) (2026-05-03) reports that SIM01, a mix of pre- and probiotics, significantly helped Long COVID patients compared to placebo. SIM01 reduced fatigue, insomnia, memory loss, and shortness of breath. (Unfortunately, there’s very little details or information, so this is only slightly more convincing than… Continue reading 2026-05-08 General
2026-04-10 General
Multiple Pathogens 💊 Metformin seems to be a bit of a wonder drug. It helps Type 2 diabetics, people with polycystic ovary syndrome, and it inhibits weight gain. Studies of using metformin to treat or prevent COVID-19 and Long COVID are mixed, but on balance it tends to help, and it helps some groups with… Continue reading 2026-04-10 General
2026-04-03 General
COVID-19 Treatments 🎉 This paper from Israel (2026-03-25) reports that they’ve isolated a monoclonal antibody from recovered COVID-19 patients which works against all variants known so far! The antibody works against a highly-conserved area, and makes the top part of the spike fall off prematurely. Without the top part, the virus can’t dock with the… Continue reading 2026-04-03 General