covid-19 daily update: biden has covid
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biden said on july 21, 2022, he was "doing great" after the white house announced he had contracted covid-19 and was isolating with mild symptoms. (photo by mandel ngan/afp via getty images)
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joe biden just one of many world leaders who have had covid
u.s. president joe biden has covid and is experiencing mild symptoms. he’s currently being treated with the antiviral pill paxlovid.
certainly, as a world leader, it’s hard to avoid the virus what with all the travel and meetings. biden’s predecessor donald trump also got covid while in office, and prime minister justin trudeau has had the virus twice, as has mexican president andres manuel lopez obrado. other world leaders who can count covid infection as part of their time in office include former u.k. prime minister boris johnson, brazilian president jair bolsonaro, french president emmanuel macron, and algerian president abdelmadjid tebboune are among the other world leaders who have gotten covid while in office, according to reuters.
are covid tests at the airport a good idea?
mandated covid testing at canadian airports hasn’t been consistent since june. but this week, government officials reinstated random testing of passengers at airports in toronto, montreal, calgary and vancouver. chief public health officer dr. theresa tam said airport tests are “an early warning system” of new variants.
but not all infectious disease experts agree, according to a report by the canadian press. delays, cancelled flights and lost luggage are already making airports chaotic — toronto’s pearson airport, one of the four where random testing will take place, recently ranked number four on a list of the world’s worst airports for flight delays and cancellations.
one of the experts the canadian press spoke to — an infectious disease physician — suggested that testing airport wastewater could provide a similar “warning system” without inconveniencing travellers.
kids: to vaccinate, or not to vaccinate
new research from the university of alberta suggests that the younger kids are, the more hesitant their parents are to vaccinate them against covid.
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while more than half of parents surveyed — 56 per cent — said they planned to get their children between the ages of five and 11 the covid vaccine, when they were asked about younger children, just 45 per cent planned to vaccinate their child against covid if their child was between ages two and four. if their child was between six months and 23 months old, the number was only 42 per cent.
one of the study’s co-authors, nursing phd candidate robin humble, told cbc news that new parents likely need more information and more reassurance about vaccination.
“it just speaks to an opportunity for vaccine providers, who have that one-on-one contact when administering routine vaccines for younger kids, to talk about covid vaccination with parents and promote it as well,” she said.
the roughriders cancel practice — again
after several players and staff for the saskatchewan roughriders contracted covid, the cfl team cancelled a game and suspended practice earlier this week. practice was expected to resume wednesday — but it was cancelled again, after another six players contracted the virus. there are now a total of ten players “in various stages of covid protocol,” the team said.
the roughriders were scheduled to host the toronto argonauts for a game on saturday, but it has been postponed to sunday.
“to have to move our game is a worst-case scenario for us and something we never want to have to do,” president and ceo craig reynolds said in a statement.
maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com
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