CATEGORY / COVID-19

On Aug 1, 2020, I wrote a Facebook post that went a little bit viral. Remember, this was the 5th or 6th month of the acknowledged COVID pandemic, and still four months away from an authorized vaccine, and almost a year away from widespread vaccination.

I wanted to revisit this post, as it listed 33 thoughts about the pandemic, which I had just expressed as the guest speaker on a popular video podcast called, “Dave’s Digital Cafe.”

I’m curious about whether readers think any of this is relevant today. Back then, it’s clear I was concerned about IP issues constraining vaccine development, and the zoonotic extent of the virus. Neither of those has emerged as something we think about a lot today.

On the other hand, I think my observations about political tribalism, the failure of communication, and the importance of infrastructure investment are even more poignant now than they were at the start of the pandemic.

Hideous AI-generated image based on prompt, “create an image called ‘memories of 2020′”

In any case, let me know in the comments what you think.

Here are the 33 thoughts, reposted verbatim from four years ago: (more…)

by Raywat Deonandan, PhD
Epidemiologist & Associate Professor
University of Ottawa
(I add my credentials to these COVID-19 blog posts in case they get shared. I want readers to know that my opinion is supposedly an educated and informed one)

A common question I am asked is, “Are COVID-19 vaccine mandates still justified in 2023?”

There is a lot to unpack in that question.  First, were COVID vaccine mandates ever justified? That depends on your institution’s values. But strictly from an epidemiological perspective –and not a rights perspective– I believe that workplace mandates were largely justified in the pre-Omicron era, so long as accommodations were made for those unable/unwilling to comply (like mandatory testing).

Second, what would make mandates justified, again strictly from an epidemiological lens? Well, in most cases, the mandates were meant to accomplish two goals and possibly a third: (a) to slow transmission of the disease, (b) to get us closer to herd immunity, and (c) to keep people out of the hospital and morgue. (more…)

Back in 2013, I received a humbling email. I was being invited to be a guest on “The Joe Rogan Experience”. Unlike other guests who are brought on for a free-wheeling three hour conversation, however, I was being invited to engage in a specific task: to debate a man named Dr. Peter Duesberg, who was famous for refusing to accept the causal link between infection with the HIV virus and contracting the disease AIDS.

At the time, I was a fan of Rogan’s show. I appreciated his open format, his conversation style, his selection of guests, his open-mindedness, and his intellectual humility. I was also a fan of Rogan the comedian, martial arts commentator, the marijuana liberalization activist, and Rogan the navigator of various self-development strategies about which I would otherwise not know.

Fast forward 10 years and Rogan is now a media behemoth, his podcast attracting more listeners and viewers than does CNN. In the era of COVID, the show seems to have embraced and championed some troubling anti-science positions, has platformed some truly rancid characters, seems to revel in amplifying some tiresome talking points from a particular political ideology, and Rogan himself has made some public statements that make me uncomfortable. (more…)