When I was 12, a friend offered to teach me a new card game. After explaining the basics, we started to play and I lost, as he mentioned another rule he had forgotten. I continued to lose as new and increasingly obscure rules surfaced. This is how I feel about COVID-19. New rules keep extending this grey fog that has become our lives. … [Read more...] about Exaggerations of vaccine risk dangerous
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A Nobel Price for methods, not results
This year’s Nobel laureates in economics received the award for coming up with creative methods for extracting causal insight from observational data. That may sound underwhelming but the three economists who were recognized have helped free us from the tyranny of randomized control trials (RCTs) as being the only route to understanding cause and effect. … [Read more...] about A Nobel Price for methods, not results
Want a COVID booster? Maybe you should pay for it.
Though disheartening, the emerging consensus that the COVID vaccines offer declining immunity is hardly surprising. Some vaccines, such as those for polio, do offer long-term immunity; in contrast, influenza shots have become an annual ritual in many households. The possibility that COVID vaccines would require an annual booster has always been on the table. With a fourth COVID … [Read more...] about Want a COVID booster? Maybe you should pay for it.
Some problems with “evidence based” policy
One of the effects of COVID, is the ubiquity of evidence-based policy. Aside from coronavirus cranks, most accept that public health directives rest on science. However, evidence can be a cudgel when used to promote a specific policy and limit discussion under the assertion that “the science is settled.” This seems to have happened with Biden’s proposing to raise the Federal … [Read more...] about Some problems with “evidence based” policy
Vaccine plan in peril as third wave looms
A week before New Year’s Eve, I started to receive promotional material from restaurants, my gym and arts groups, gushing about how 2021 will be different. Life will be good again, and 2020 will be but a dream. That was then; this is now. The vaccine rollout has gone poorly, in Manitoba and elsewhere in North America. Compared to the U.K. and especially Israel, Canada’s … [Read more...] about Vaccine plan in peril as third wave looms
Economic principles apply to the pandemic
Two weeks before Christmas, as a gift I needed to wrap and send a wooden kit for my nephew. Of course, the kit did not include the required glue … that was customer-supplied. No worries, I thought, I would just pick some up at the supermarket on my next grocery run; after all, it had a small home-improvement section and I recalled seeing glue there. Read the fill article … [Read more...] about Economic principles apply to the pandemic
The moral hazard of public health measures
Ten years ago, I purchased as SUV, with “state-of-the-art” all wheel drive, at least according to the sales person, who stated “you will not need snow tires with this baby!” And indeed, the traction was impressive. But after the first snow, I took a corner too fast and slammed into the curb bending the wheel and ruining the tire. Chagrined, I had the wheel repaired and … [Read more...] about The moral hazard of public health measures
Living with COVID requires choices
In early April, we had about 100 active cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, and the city was a ghost town. Today, we have more than 350 active cases and Kenaston Boulevard is a traffic jam. What gives? The push to open in the economy in Manitoba and elsewhere in spite of “upticks” in COVID-19 cases reflects the belief that a tradeoff exists between health and economics. According … [Read more...] about Living with COVID requires choices
Virtual care will revolutionize Canadian health care
The forced adoption of virtual health care caused by the pandemic has most observers extolling the value of patient-provider consultations via real-time streaming platforms. Not many seem to recognize several other trends that will disrupt Canadian health care. Combined with telehealth, wearable diagnostics, artificial intelligence-enabled decisions, cloud storage, and … [Read more...] about Virtual care will revolutionize Canadian health care
Canada needs a pandemic DEW Line
Public health experts and politicians are suggesting that we can see a point when pandemic-related restrictions could relax. But any relaxation must be careful and measured, quickly reversible if COVID-19 reappears. Everyone maintains that wide-scale testing is a key to controlling the reopening of the economy. Read the full article … [Read more...] about Canada needs a pandemic DEW Line
