Warm Wishes For a Safe Holiday Season
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Curated Articles:
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Team Toronto working through the holidays to provide vaccination opportunities
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Why your rapid test negative doesn't necessarily mean it's safe to go to that holiday dinner
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With the Omicron variant on the rise, should you attend your work Christmas party?
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Taking care of your mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic
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COVID-19's sudden resurgence is fuelling pandemic fatigue. These free mental health resources can help
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Will COVID-19 boosters be required to be considered 'fully vaccinated? Expert weighs in
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We have the tools to combat Omicron and preserve personal freedoms. Now we need the political will
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Will we need COVID-19 vaccine booster shots forever?
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Safeguarding people living in vulnerable conditions in the COVID-19 era through universal health coverage and social protection
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What's the difference between a rapid COVID-19 test and a PCR test, and which one is best?
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Everything you need to know about where to get a rapid COVID-19 test kit in Ontario
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WSPS: Supervising employees remotely? Get 7 tips to boost your effectiveness
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Is that COVID-19 mask you're wearing good enough amid Omicron? Here's what the experts say
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Omicron symptoms mirror the flu and common cold. What should I do if I feel sick?
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A Webinar on Everything You Need to Know about Omicron, Booster Shot, Kids’ Vaccines and More 华裔免疫专家线上做新冠疫情最新解读：奥密克戎、加强针和儿童疫苗
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Community Story: For half-vaccinated couples, the relationship status is doubly complicated
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Petition: To Support Newmarket Nurses
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Holiday Greeting Message from the PROTECH Team
Dear Community Partners and Friends:
The holiday season is a time for us to connect with our family and friends, reflect on past events, and contemplate on possible actions in the new year. As we reflect, it is clear that COVID-19 has changed many facets of our lives.
When our team started Project PROTECH 2o months ago, we anticipated the resurgence of collective challenges faced by Chinese and East Asian communities, frontline healthcare providers and vulnerable groups. However, the unprecedented magnitude and impact of COVID-19 were beyond anticipation. To date, Canada and the world have witnessed the importance of social justice and equity within and across countries if we were to successfully overcome COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Over the course of PROTECH, your support and commitment, together with the tireless efforts of our staff, had made it possible for us to launch and maintain our community-centred Information-Hub, deliver the evidence-informed online PACER to reduce stress and promote resilience and mobilize multi-sectoral community engagement responses to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19 on our affected communities.
To date, we have delivered 177 sessions of Live Chat, 9 Mental Health Webinars, 21 Community Partners’ Showcase with 44 recordings, 18 Resilience Dialogues, and 4 Townhall Forums. You may visit our YouTube Channel for the event recordings. Our PACER program has trained 191 healthcare providers and 137 community members/advocates, with evidence of effectiveness. We have published more than 190 pages and 1300 posts on our projectprotech.ca website; We shared timely and pertinent information through our social media platforms and our semi-monthly newsletter that is subscribed by more than 600 people.
Last December, amidst multiple lockdowns and social isolation, the COVID-19 vaccines gave Canadians a sense of hope. PROTECH contributed to providing accurate and up-to-date news about vaccination and keeping safe. This December, we are faced with some uncertainties related to the Omicron variant, but collectively we have learned strategies to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We have also learned that equitable distribution of protective resources and vaccines locally and across the globe is key to combatting pandemics.
During this holiday season, once again we are given the opportunities and demands to find creative ways to connect with our loved ones, families and friends, to express our warm wishes, to give and receive support, and to celebrate our holiday traditions. We can experience joyful memorable moments, whether we are indoor, outdoor or in virtual space. You may find happiness in some quiet ME-time or doing mindfulness with a loved one virtually. You may also aspire to start a petition and/or write the Prime Minister, the Ontario Premier, and your local politicians to advocate for social justice and equity.
Happy holidays!! We wish you many moments of discovery, and connection to creativity, endurance, strength, health, and happiness!! We look forward to our ongoing connections!!
May 2022 bring us collective wisdom, compassion, inspiration, and courage to co-create a world in which all people flourish!!
Josephine P. Wong
On behalf of the PROTECH Team.
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PROTECH Updates
Curated Articles: Team Toronto working through the holidays to provide vaccination opportunities
Team Toronto is working hard to offer opportunities for all residents to get their first, second or third (booster) dose of COVID-19 vaccine over the holidays. To make it as convenient as possible for all eligible Torontonians to get vaccinated, there will be a number of clinic options from Saturday, December 25 through Monday, December 27. Check more details and the locations here.
Curated Articles: Why your rapid test negative doesn't necessarily mean it's safe to go to that holiday dinner
With rapid COVID-19 tests, a positive is positive but a negative result one day is not a guarantee you don’t have the virus, or won’t spread it to others at a later date, experts caution. If you plan on taking a rapid COVID test for peace of mind before heading to a holiday party or family dinner this week, experts urge you not to drop your guard if you see a negative result. See the whole article here.
Curated Articles: With the Omicron variant on the rise, should you attend your work Christmas party?
A problem inherent in exponential growth is that it’s often hard to grasp exactly how bad things can become in just a few weeks, or even a few days after relatively slow increases. And now, Canadians are having a hard look at whether the worsening COVID-19 situation will mean a second year of having to scale down or cancel holiday gatherings and travel. Click here to access the full article.
Curated Articles: Taking care of your mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Taking care of your mental and physical health during the prolonged pandemic is critical. If you are not feeling well mentally, please check the official resources to see how you can look for help. You may also access support workers, social workers, psychologists and other professionals for confidential chat sessions or phone calls by texting WELLNESS to 686868 for youth; 741741 for adults. There are also more free sources that you can have access to by checking here.
Curated Articles: COVID-19’s sudden resurgence is fuelling pandemic fatigue. These free mental health resources can help
After months of optimism fuelled by lower case numbers and rising vaccination rates, Canada appears to have entered a fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, one marked by the highest daily case numbers seen yet. Now, as a growing number of stricter restrictions are introduced country-wide, many Canadians are struggling with feelings of anxiety, isolation and depression, adding to the mental health crisis experts say is largely driven by “COVID-fatigue.”Click here to read the full article.
Curated Articles: Will COVID-19 boosters be required to be considered 'fully vaccinated?Expert weighs in
As provinces and territories work to inoculate their populations against COVID-19, questions are swirling over whether booster shots will soon be required for individuals to be considered "fully vaccinated." Read the full article here.
Curated Articles: We have the tools to combat Omicron and preserve personal freedoms. Now we need the political will
The author Brooks Fallis is a critical care physician and the former medical director and division head of critical care at the William Osler Health System. "It's just like the flu. About 99% of people are fine after infection. It does not spread in schools. It does not hurt children. The vaccine will end the pandemic. Herd immunity is nearly here. Only hospitalizations really matter. All mainstream messages. All wrong." Finish Brooks Fallis' article here.
Curated Articles: Will we need COVID-19 vaccine booster shots forever?
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization, a federal panel that provides advice to provinces on new vaccines, has strongly recommended that people 50 and older get a COVID-19 booster shot at least six months after their second dose. It has also said people 18 to 49 may receive a booster depending on various risk factors, such as local transmission rates, evidence of waning immunity or certain medical conditions. Read the answer here.
Curated Articles: Safeguarding people living in vulnerable conditions in the COVID-19 era through universal health coverage and social protection
The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. The pandemic not only induced a public health crisis, but has led to severe economic, social, and educational crises. Across economies and societies, the distributional consequences of the pandemic have been uneven. Among groups living in vulnerable conditions, the pandemic substantially magnified the inequality gaps, with possible negative implications for these individuals’ long-term physical, socioeconomic, and mental wellbeing. Finish reading the article here.
Curated Articles: What's the difference between a rapid COVID-19 test and a PCR test, and which one is best?
I've been reading in the news about all the different tests for COVID-19. Some are done in labs, some are done in schools and some are done at home. Which one is best? The two main COVID-19 assessment tools are the PCR test and the rapid antigen test. Click here to read what's the difference between the two and which one is better.
Curated Articles: Everything you need to know about where to get a rapid COVID-19 test kit in Ontario
While Ontarians prepare for another pandemic holiday — this time with the uber-contagious Omicron variant hastily spreading across the province — the race for the RATs (rapid antigen tests) is on. To help curb transmission and “provide an additional layer of protection” the government has begun distributing the rapid tests at high-traffic locations including malls, libraries and transit hubs as part of its blitz for residents to easily test themselves over the holidays. Get more detailed information here.
Curated Articles: WSPS: Supervising employees remotely? Get 7 tips to boost your effectiveness
New research shows that supervisors are doing a good job overall at managing those who work remotely, but there is room for improvement in four key areas. More than three quarters (76%) of Canadian workers surveyed felt their boss was a good remote manager, but also pointed out they could do a better job at communicating (29%), promoting work-life balance (21%), giving recognition (20%), and offering support in difficult situations (12%). Click here to read the full tips.
Curated Articles: Is that COVID-19 mask you're wearing good enough amid Omicron? Here's what the experts say
Less than two years ago, the majority of Canadians had never donned a face mask. We'd had no need. We didn’t much think about spreading sicknesses; the flu season came and went each year without most of us paying much attention; and the people we saw wearing masks in public might be written off as holdovers from the 2003 SARS epidemic. How times have changed. Access the full article here.
Curated Articles: Omicron symptoms mirror the flu and common cold. What should I do if I feel sick?
In Canada, the seven-day rolling average of confirmed COVID-19 cases is up 107% from the previous period, as the Omicron variant surges through the country ahead of the Christmas holidays. Preliminary data say that Omicron is more transmissible than other variants, and spreading fast wherever it goes. Less hindered by vaccines, COVID-19 cases of the Omicron variant can also spread more easily through a vaccinated population than other variants, as The Globe’s science reporter Ivan Semeniuk reports. Finish your reading here.
A Webinar on Everything You Need to Know about Omicron, Booster Shot, Kids’ Vaccines and More 华裔免疫专家线上做新冠疫情最新解读：奥密克戎、加强针和儿童疫苗
加拿大中国专业人士协会(CPAC)将于12月29日晚8点邀请曼尼托巴大学免疫学系和医学微生物学与传染病学系终身教授，前曼尼托巴大学免疫学系主任、加拿大感染免疫首席科学家，杨熙博士做线上中文讲座，全面介绍奥米克戎（Omicron) 新变异株新冠病毒，加强针（booster）以及针对5至11岁儿童的新冠疫苗。杨教授届时还将在线上为大家现场答疑。点击这里了解免费注册的详情。
Community Story: For half-vaccinated couples, the relationship status is doubly complicated
Before hosting a Hanukkah dinner at her home late last month, Elana felt obligated to text her guests that the man she's dating would be joining – and that he's unvaccinated." I recognize that not everybody's comfortable with it," said Elana, a 46-year-old Vancouver business owner who is vaccinated. Elana met the man in August through the dating app Hinge. They'd spoken for weeks and been on two dates before she learned he is a vaccine skeptic. "I was like, 'I don't know if I can do this,'" Elana said. Finish reading the story here.
Petition: To Support Newmarket Nurses
Ontario nurses need your support and solidarity as they fight to protect quality patient care. This petition calls for a number of specific measures to be taken at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, where ICU nurses have been and continue to work in desperately understaffed conditions. Add your voice here.
We Are In This Together
Sharing Your Events and News with PROTECH
Check our event calendar to stay tuned for more of our events and other community partners. Our community partners are welcome to share their events with us by following the on-screen instructions. If you have community news that you would like to share, please email us at content@projectprotech.ca to have your news spread out through our network! Together, we are stronger!
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