It’s easy to feel helpless while the world braces for cases of the COVID-19 disease to swell and for the economic and social impacts to fully make themselves known. Read on for ways to do something about it. And please, share your stories and additional suggestions in the comments below.
Making even a $1 monetary donation to your local food bank or soup kitchen can provide up to five meals, according to the Food Bank for New York City.
Offer to pick up groceries for your neighbors.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Feeding America is another source for food banks across the country that are seeking financial support as part of its response to COVID-19.
You can also donate canned or other shelf-stable foods like dried beans and pasta, but check your local food bank’s protocols first. For example, the SF Marin Food Bank asks that you use your own collection containers and that you deliver the food to one of its warehouses in person. They won’t be picking up donations at this time.
Food banks and soup kitchens also need volunteers to pack and serve food and clean the facilities. If you’re in a low-risk demographic and don’t have contact with people over 60 years old and those with underlying health conditions, signing up for shifts (with the proper precautions) is a significant way to help.
Donate blood the safe way
The Red Cross is facing a “severe” blood shortage as a result of mass donor cancellations during the coronavirus outbreak. There’s also a concern that as the number of people with COVID-19 increases, the fewer eligible donors will be able to give, a representative told CNET through email.
While millions of people across the country have been instructed to avoid nonessential errands, the Red Cross and other blood banks have put precautions put in place.
For example, the Red Cross is checking each person’s temperature before they enter the building and keeping donors six feet apart. The staff follows protocol by wearing gloves throughout the process and is cleaning surfaces between donors.
One blood bank in Kentucky is following suit, as well as assessing donor health changes since their last visit. They disinfect the donor screening areas, donation beds and equipment throughout the day, and also have a professional thoroughly clean the surfaces each night.
Give to organizations helping with medical costs
The HealthWell Foundation is one nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to help with prescription co-pays, health insurance premiums, deductibles and coinsurance.
GlobalGiving has a coronavirus relief fund that you can donate to as well. Donations go towards medical supplies, delivering essential items to struggling families and older individuals in quarantined cities, feeding children that rely on school meals and more.
Support local businesses
Throughout the country, millions of restaurants and bars have been instructed to close their doors to in-person visits — many are still open for takeout and delivery. The impact on employment is already being felt.
The concept is that cash infusions now will help businesses weather the storm. You can also search a business’s website to look for ways to buy gift cards or make donations.
Buy gift cards to local businesses to help keep them afloat while they’re closed down.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Help your neighbors: Groceries, babysitting, video calls
If you’ve got elderly neighbors who can’t make it to the store, check on them regularly by calling, video chatting or sending a text. Offer to pick up groceries and other supplies and offer to bring them meals several times a week — you can arrange to leave them on the porch so you don’t risk spreading germs.
You can also offer to take them to doctor appointments (sanitize your car first and have them sit in the back to practice social distancing) or ask if they need you to go to the pharmacy to fill their prescriptions (they’ll need to give the pharmacist their permission).
If your neighbors have kids at home and need babysitting help due to work or appointments, consider making an offer to help, whatever that is — watching them for an hour, loaning them board games or even helping your neighbor with errands. Note that not everyone feels comfortable asking for help, so approach the subject lightly.
How you can help the elderly in care homes
Individuals over 60 years old and those with underlying medical conditions are at the highest risk for developing severe reactions to the COVID-19 disease. These groups are increasingly self-quarantined. Many nursing homes and other care facilities are now closed to visitors as a measure to protect the residents.
You can help alleviate loneliness with regular phone calls, video calls, video messages and text-based chats. Send photos, fun articles, puzzles, adult coloring books and other items to help keep your loved ones and neighbors feeling connected. Consider establishing an upbeat daily call.
If you don’t have a relative living in a nursing home, but would still like to help, you can send flowers, cards or other items to your local care home. Call first to see what their protocol is on outside cookie delivery and hand-drawings from kids. You can also send a letter through an organization called Love For The Elderly.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
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.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
