Ninety-six year old Rejeanne Fairhead, left, says until two years ago the most athletic things she had ever done involved bowling and horse shoes. Now she is a world-record holding racer.HO/The Canadian Press
In May, 2022, when Rejeanne Fairhead was 95 years old, she finished the five-kilometre Ottawa Race for ages 95 to 99 in 58 minutes and 52 seconds, a Canadian record. Participating in the challenge – let alone smashing a record – wasn’t a goal of hers; she didn’t do any training in advance. She was there simply to accompany a friend.
But, as it turned out, the 5K was a walk in the park for Fairhead, who treated it like any other stroll around her neighbourhood, stopping occasionally to chat with her pal. The next year, she thought: “Oh, I can beat that record,” she says. And, with a little determination, she shaved more than seven minutes off her time, finishing in 51 minutes and nine seconds– cinching the world record.
Fairhead credits her good health to a collection of little habits, not any kind of special exercise regime or diet. She walks in her neighbourhood, makes sure she stretches and keeps her brain sharp with puzzles and reading.
Here’s more on how the now 97-year-old stays fit.
Get your steps in
Even before she had her eyes set on the Ottawa Race, Fairhead went for a stroll nearly every day. She’s an active volunteer in her community, frequently walking to and from Perley Health, a long-term care home in her neighbourhood, to play cards or bingo with residents – who are sometimes decades younger. When the weather is nice, she’ll walk laps around the building.
Fairhead also gets her step count up by helping workers at the home with simple tasks. For example, during bingo, she’ll retrieve the cards from the players, going between them and the caller. “I’m up and down and back and forth – it’s a lot of walking,” she says.
Don’t look down on the power of simply walking: A 2022 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that for every 2,000 steps the risk of heart disease, cancer and premature death decreases by 10 per cent, peaking at 10,000 daily steps.
Small functional exercises go a long way
Though Fairhead didn’t meet with a trainer or hit the gym to prepare for her record-breaking walk last May, she did work with physiotherapist Richelle Weeks, who taught her some easy-to-do exercises. “They weren’t very difficult,” Fairhead says. “Just simple everyday exercises you can do all the time.” She never spent much time on the routine: just five minutes, every other day.
The moves were functional, focused on keeping Fairhead’s joints limber and maintaining her muscle strength. One was simply sitting down in a chair and standing up again, over and over. Basic, yes, but studies have shown that for older people, practising sit-to-stand repeatedly can be an effective way to improve muscle strength. It’s also a great way to improve mobility and balance, which can help decrease the risk of falls.
Stay busy
More than any other factor, Fairhead attributes her good health to always being on the go. Ruth McMahon, her daughter-in-law, says that the 97-year-old says “yes” to almost everything. “We recently had a family event at a pool hall and she was right in there with a cue, having fun.”
Fairhead also leads an active social life. She spends a lot of time chatting on the phone, with everyone from great-nieces and nephews to the adult children of her old friends. She often plays cards with a group of nearby women, or visits them for dinner.
Socializing and staying busy is integral to keeping seniors healthy, research shows. Aside from maintaining fitness levels, certain activities may improve older adults’ cognitive function. A study out of Penn State found that social interactions immediately affect cognitive performance that same day and for days later – which is important for staving off diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Ultimately, Fairhead doesn’t see anything she does as extraordinary: She lives an active lifestyle that enables her to stay healthy with very little added effort. “People have stopped me and said I inspired them to get out there and do something, no matter their age, I’m very proud of that,” she says. “Age is just a number.”
TORONTO – Health Canada has authorized Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus.
The mRNA vaccine, called Spikevax, has been reformulated to target the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron.
It will replace the previous version of the vaccine that was released a year ago, which targeted the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron.
Health Canada recently asked provinces and territories to get rid of their older COVID-19 vaccines to ensure the most current vaccine will be used during this fall’s respiratory virus season.
Health Canada is also reviewing two other updated COVID-19 vaccines but has not yet authorized them.
They are Pfizer’s Comirnaty, which is also an mRNA vaccine, as well as Novavax’s protein-based vaccine.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
