Nova Scotia government signs agreements with universities to get doctors from Lebanon
The Nova Scotia government has signed agreements with two universities in Lebanon to bring family doctors to the province. Two Lebanese doctors pass an entrance of the hospital of the American University of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 14, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Hussein Malla HM HK**CAI** flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: pubinfo.section: cms.site.custom.site_domain : thestar.com sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false firstAuthor.avatar :
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Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
B.C.'s premier says measles spikes across Canada a result anti-vax ‘recklessness'
VANCOUVER – British Columbia Premier David Eby says the growing spread of measles across Canada is 'the sadly predictable outcome' of the 'recklessness' of anti-vaccination politicians. Eby says the disease is 'no joke,' given the potentially serious impact on those infected, and it's preventable with two vaccine shots. He told a Vancouver news conference that the focus for provincial public health authorities now is to make sure that people who are not protected receive full vaccination. The premier's response comes after Fraser Health said this week that three residents in Chilliwack have been confirmed as being infected and all appear to have contracted the disease locally since they have not recently travelled. Health authorities elsewhere in the province have also reported cases in Kamloops and the community of Wonowon in northeastern B.C., northwest of Fort St. John. Ontario reported its first death in the measles outbreak on June 5 when a premature baby died after being infected in the womb of its unvaccinated mother. Thousands in Ontario have been infected since October, while Alberta's government said last week that it has also surpassed a thousand confirmed measles cases, most of them in children age five to 17. Health Canada says measles was eliminated in the country in 1998, and the spike in Alberta has been the most severe in almost 40 years. 'This is the sadly predictable outcome of some recklessness, frankly, on the parts of some politicians in terms of questioning vaccine safety and ensuring that people are supported in accessing vaccines,' Eby said without naming people or provinces. 'I will encourage all British Columbians to ensure that they are vaccinated. Measles is no joke. It kills kids. It's a preventable disease, and we don't want that to be the story of the summer for our province.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
NBA players seem to tear their Achilles more frequently nowadays. Why is that?
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Durant and Tyrese Haliburton entered their respective NBA Finals elimination games with strained right calves. Each wound up leaving early with torn right Achilles tendons. Durant, a perennial All-Star and the league's 2014 MVP, missed the whole next season as he recovered from the injury and now Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers' two-time All-Star, could face a similar fate. Predictable? Perhaps. Both knew the risks when they opted to chase a championship, and both wound up paying the price when their tendons gave out on pro basketball's biggest stage. 'There's no question you're at a higher risk of worsening an injury or another injury occurring because maybe your gait is off a little bit or the muscle firing isn't as good,' said Dr. Kevin Farmer, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of sports medicine at the University of Florida. 'To Tyrese's credit, maybe he wasn't as healthy as he wanted to be, but he was willing to go out there and try to perform to win that championship for the team. 'He made a decision to take that risk, and I think there should be some credit there for trying.' Haliburton's injury reflects a new trend, though, one that has seen younger players become more susceptible to Achilles injuries that were traditionally more prevalent in athletes in their mid to late 30s and early 40s. Haliburton, 25, Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum, 27, and Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Damian Lillard, 34, all suffered Achilles injuries in the playoffs and each is expected to miss most if not all of next season. Farmer and Dr. James Borchers, president and CEO of the U.S. Council for Athletes Health and a longtime team physician for Ohio State football, have studied the changes. They attribute the increase in Achilles injuries to many factors from low-cut shoes to longer seasons to Fluoroquinolone, a class of antibiotics both acknowledge has been tied to ruptured tendons. Neither has examined Haliburton, Tatum or Lillard. But they believe the biggest factor may be younger athletes shedding the multi-sport label to specialize in a single sport year-round, creating more wear and tear on specific body parts, such as elbows and Achilles tendons, that are prone to break down based on workload. 'Athletes that are doing a a lot impact — so certainly jumping and putting a lot of stress across tendons — and those tendons over time can develop into micro damage and lead to weakening in the tendon,' Borchers said. 'I think there's a lot more activity that increases the risk of these types of injuries and it's the wear and tear. It's very rare we're going to look at an otherwise healthy tendon rupture just rupture because of an acute event.' It's not conjecture, either. Multiple studies from Farmer's medical team at Florida have researched whether today's overuse injuries in baseball occur because players are throwing harder for longer periods. Farmer said he considers the Achilles tendon in basketball to be comparable to the elbow in baseball. 'Instead of athletes getting (Achilles injuries) in their 30s or 40s because of wear and tear, we're seeing it now early on because of the excessive stress they've developed their whole lives,' Farmer said. 'I really think we're going to find out at some point that the way we've changed (youth sports), the risk, is why we're seeing these younger athletes injured.' The image of Haliburton crashing to the ground and agonizingly slapping the court in frustration may wind up as the most indelible image out of this year's NBA Finals. But he's already said he doesn't regret playing, and, like Durant, he doesn't intend to let that moment become the defining moment of his career. Instead, he plans to follow the example of Durant and others in the ever-expanding world of players who have overcome serious injuries to continue playing elite ball. The good news for Haliburton: Medical technology is helping athletes make quicker, more thorough recoveries. While a standard timetable for a return from Achilles injuries remains about 12 months, some NFL players have made it back in as few as nine and in 2023, former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers tried to do the unthinkable by returning for a playoff run less than four months after tearing his Achilles. Rodgers might have tried it — had the Jets been in the playoff hunt. Nobody expects Haliburton, Tatum or Lillard to push it that quickly, especially in a sport where running and jumping are so essential. Even Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has said he doesn't expect Haliburton to play next season. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Durant didn't return from his June 2019 injury until December 2020. And at least Haliburton and Tatum have one big advantage — age is on their side. 'The intensity and attention to rehabilitation is fantastic and you're also talking about world-class athletes who sometimes recover differently from average individuals,' Borchers said. 'We've seen some really amazing individuals come back from these injuries and with the expertise in rehab and recovery and the work they're putting in, it's pretty amazing to see them come back sooner than what the textbook might say. And there's a big difference between (age) 25 and 39 or 40.' ___ AP NBA:
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
FDA requires updated warning about rare heart risk with COVID shots
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has expanded existing warnings on the two leading COVID-19 vaccines about a rare heart side effect mainly seen in young men. Myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation that is usually mild, emerged as a complication after the first shots became widely available in 2021. Prescribing information from both Pfizer and Moderna already advises doctors about the issue. In April, the FDA sent letters to both drugmakers asking them to update and expand the warnings to add more detail about the problem and to cover a larger group of patients. While the FDA can mandate label changes, the process is often more of a negotiation with companies. Specifically, the new warning lists the risk of myocarditis as 8 cases per 1 million people who got the 2023-2024 COVID shots between the ages of 6 months and 64 years old. The label also notes that the problem has been most common among males ages 12 to 24. The previous label said the problem mostly occurs in 12- to 17-year-olds. The FDA's labeling change appears to conflict with some prior findings of scientists elsewhere in the U.S. government. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously concluded there was no increased risk of myocarditis detected in government vaccine injury databases for COVID-19 shots dating back to 2022. Officials also noted that cases tend to resolve quickly and are less severe that those associated with COVID-19 infection itself, which can also cause myocarditis. The FDA announcement came as new vaccine advisers appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met to debate the continuing use of COVID-19 vaccines for key groups, including pregnant women and children. It's the first meeting of the CDC advisory panel since Kennedy abruptly dismissed all 17 members of the group, naming a new panel that includes several members with a history of anti-vaccine statements. The FDA's label update is the latest step by officials working under Kennedy to restrict or undercut use of vaccines. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and a top deputy recently restricted annual COVID-19 shots to seniors and other Americans at higher risk from the virus. They've also suggested seasonal tweaks to match the latest circulating virus strains are new products that require extra testing. Outside experts said the new warning is the wrong approach. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'They are right to suggest that we need to consider myocarditis risks associated with the vaccine, but what they propose is exactly the wrong solution,' said Dr. Robert Morris of the University of Washington. 'We should be investigating who is prone to myocarditis to see if we can predict and mitigate that risk.' Makary and several other recent FDA appointees gained prominence during the pandemic by suggesting the federal government exaggerated the benefits of COVID-19 boosters and downplayed serious side effects, including myocarditis. Before joining the government, Makary and two of his current FDA deputies wrote a 2022 paper that said mandating booster shots in young people would cause more vaccine-related injuries than prevented hospitalizations from COVID-19 infections. The conclusion was contradicted by many leading vaccine and public health experts at the time, including at the CDC. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
