Q&A: Climate change and health care—how individuals and institutions can help

Unseasonably mild winters. Forest fires and smoke. More reports of catastrophic storms. We've experienced increasingly extreme weather changes in the past few years, and the intersection between environmental issues and health is a pressing concern.

Myles Sergeant is an assistant clinical professor in McMaster's Department of Family Medicine who is deeply involved in efforts locally, provincially and nationally to reverse the effects of climate change. ...

We spoke with Sergeant about the dangers of climate change, the power individuals and the health care sector have to make more sustainable choices, and why he hasn't lost hope to save our "frail planet."

...

Dengue cases top 5.2 million in the Americas as outbreak passes yearly record, PAHO says | CNN Dengue cases are surging in the Americas, with cases reported topping 5.2 million as of this week, surpassing a yearly record set in 2023, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Michael Rios CNN

...

Long COVID patients show immunological improvement two years after infection Biomarkers for long COVID that were present in patients at eight months have largely resolved by 24 months among a cohort of people who contracted COVID-19 during Australia's first wave. Science X Medical Xpress

...

Study Finds Adult Vaccination Programs Deliver 19x Returns - Health Policy Watch The research, carried out by the Office of Health Economics (OHE) and funded by IFPMA, revealed that adult vaccination programs can deliver a return of up to Health Policy Watch

Amidst the anticipated increase in vaccine-preventable diseases as the global population ages, a first-of-its-kind study has underscored the dual benefits of adult immunization programs.

COVID-19 booster immunity lasts much longer than primary series alone, study shows

A new study coming out of York University's Centre for Disease Modelling in the Faculty of Science shows that immunity after a COVID-19 booster lasts much longer than the primary series alone. These findings are among other—sometimes "unintuitive"—revelations of how factors like age, sex and comorbidities do and don't affect immune response.

The work is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

...

Risk of bird flu spreading to humans is ‘enormous concern’, says WHO Chief scientist voices fears about H5N1 variant that has ‘extraordinarily high’ mortality rate in humans The Guardian

...