But first…
If you haven’t seen Jon Stewart’s monologue this week on The Daily Show, I do highly recommend it. He captures the feeling too many of us have right now about the Trump-afflicted news that has unfolded over the past week, from Minnesota to Venezuela to Greenland. Stewart calls it a “whole mukbang of catastrophic possibilities” – and we, the helpless masses, have very little we can do but wait, watch, and have our minds melted by it all.
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling rather numb. How can any one person feel the true humanity of all these crises developing at once? I sure can’t. Maybe that’s why Trump wanders away from his meeting with oil executives to stare out the window. He’s broke his own brain with the chaos he’s created.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, again, check out The Daily Show. It’s a good time.
Anyway, let’s talk vaccines!
- Stephen Smysnuik
When the U.S. sneezes, Canada gets sick
The U.S. has reduced the number of routine childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, prompting a response from Canada’s Health Minister Marjorie Michel, who said that Canada can no longer rely on its neighbour as a source of public health guidance.
The concern is, in part, if fewer Americans are immunized, and those Americans travel to Canada, it could result in the spread of disease north of the border. There’s also concern that Canadians may rethink their own immunization recommendations now that changes are being made south of the border.
Canada calls its own shots
On the other hand, Health Canada has always made its own decisions, despite taking cues from the U.S., and there are unlikely to be any changes to its vaccination recommendations.
And yes, there is a growing skepticism of vaccines generally in Canada – due, in part to growing distrust of government – but that’s a very Canadian problem to solve that has little to do with RFK Jr. or the new CDC guidelines.
In other news
The family of a dying woman who was forced to transfer facilities due to religious reasons in order to receive MAID has taken their case to the B.C. Supreme Court (CBC)
The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities are suing the Trump Administration to court over the ICE raids throughout the state, calling them a “federal invasion” (CNN)
Senator Mark Kelly is suing both the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for retaliating against him for his involvement in a video to U.S. troops encouraging them to defy illegal orders (CNBC)
And in case you missed it, check out our previous story exploring the pros and cons of return-to-work mandates
Hang in there, friends!