Human Rights Commissioner troubled by end of mask mandates in healthcare settings – BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner

Vancouver B.C. – On April 12, 2023, B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender released the following statement on the recent announcement that universal mask mandates in healthcare settings would be eliminated. “As mask restrictions have been lifted in B.C., I have repeatedly expressed concerns about the human rights implications of these policy decisions: that the removal of mask mandates has a disproportionate impact on marginalized people, seniors, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. ThisContinue…

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UPDATE: Certain Philips Respironics Ventilators, BiPAP Machines, and CPAP Machines Recalled Due to Potential Health Risks: FDA Safety Communication | FDA

UPDATE – February 9, 2023: The FDA updated this safety communication to provide updated information about medical device reports (MDRs) that the FDA received from November 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, and are reportedly associated with the breakdown or suspected breakdown of the polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) foam used in the Philips Respironics ventilators, BiPAP machines, and CPAP machines included in the recall announced in June 2021. Source: UPDATE: Certain Philips Respironics Ventilators, BiPAP Machines,Continue…

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Filtration Efficiency of Hospital Face Mask Alternatives Available for Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Infectious Diseases | JAMA Internal Medicine | JAMA Network

Question: How effective are the aerosol filtration efficiencies for fitted face mask alternatives used during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic? Findings: In this quality-improvement study of 29 fitted face mask alternatives, expired N95 respirators with intact elastic bands and masks that had been subjected to ethylene oxide and hydrogen peroxide sterilization had unchanged fitted filtration efficiencies (FFEs) of more than 95%, while the performance of N95 respirators in the wrong size resulted in decreased FFEsContinue…

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Some lab techs refuse to take blood from possible monkeypox patients, raising concerns about stigma and testing delays – CNN

(CNN)Many technicians at Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics, two of the largest commercial labs in the US, have been refusing to draw blood from patients who might have monkeypox, CNN has learned.Labcorp and Quest don’t dispute that in many cases, their phlebotomists are not taking blood from possible monkeypox patients. What remains unclear, after company statements and follow-ups from CNN, is whether the phlebotomists are refusing on their own to take blood or if it isContinue…

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Hospital-acquired pneumonia is killing patients. There’s a simple way to stop it.

Brushing Teeth Saves Lives

Four years ago, when Karen Giuliano went to a Boston hospital for hip replacement surgery, she was given a pale-pink bucket of toiletries issued to patients in many hospitals. Inside were tissues, bar soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and, without a doubt, the worst toothbrush she’d ever seen.“I couldn’t believe it. I got a toothbrush with no bristles,” she said. “It must have not gone through the bristle machine. It was just a stick.”To most patients, aContinue…

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