Julia Wong

Author Archives

• Nurses, doctors struggle with low morale during 4th COVID-19 wave: ‘Everybody is shattered’

  Dr. Peter Brindley, an ICU doctor at the University of Alberta Hospital, said health-care professionals are taking the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic one day at a time.

  Health

  Aug 23, 2021
• Criticism fired at province for not releasing data to support changing Alberta’s COVID-19 protocols

  Dr. Deena Hinshaw told a town hall that the information that explains why the province is shifting away from testing, tracing and isolating was not yet ready to be released.

  Health

  Aug 19, 2021
• Advertisement
• Hinshaw says data that justified changing Alberta’s COVID-19 protocols still not public

  Dr. Deena Hinshaw held a town hall with physicians and pharmacists on Wednesday night. Several hundred health-care professionals were in attendance.

  Health

  Aug 18, 2021
• Advertisement
• Doctors stress COVID-19 cases in fully vaccinated Albertans are to be expected

  More than 15 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in Alberta are in fully vaccinated people, but experts say that number is nothing to be alarmed about.

  Health

  Aug 18, 2021
• University of Calgary researchers develop COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Guide for family physicians

  Alberta has among the lowest vaccination rates in the country. As of Sunday, just under 68 per cent of the eligible population in the province was fully vaccinated.

  Health

  Aug 17, 2021
• What can be done about Alberta’s sluggish COVID-19 vaccination rate? Experts weigh in

  There are a range of ideas to boost rates, ranging from vaccine passports to battling misinformation to leaning on family doctors’ relationships with patients.

  Health

  Aug 16, 2021
• Alberta rejects idea of federal vaccine passport being used as proof of COVID-19 vaccination

  On Wednesday, it was announced Canada is getting a vaccine passport for international travel, which could also be used as domestic proof of vaccination.

  Health

  Aug 12, 2021
• Concerns over long COVID as Alberta winds down testing, isolating and tracing

  Alberta will be adjusting to new COVID-19 protocols on Monday, but there are concerns about what those changes could mean for the numbers of those living with long COVID.

  Health

  Aug 11, 2021
• Advertisement
• Rural Alberta health-care providers sign letter of concern over elimination of COVID-19 measures

  The letter is signed by healthcare professionals who say they are expressing their “professional concerns that the risk of the COVID-19 Delta variant should not be underestimated.”

  Health

  Aug 10, 2021
• Advertisement
• Sparse COVID-19 data could lead Alberta to ‘fly blind’ in pandemic: experts

  Alberta will be winding down mass coronavirus testing this month, and there are worries over the future of COVID-19 data in the province.

  Health

  Aug 10, 2021
• Should you get an antibody test after COVID-19 vaccine? Doctors say it’s complicated

  Three-quarters of eligible Albertans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and some are wondering whether to take an antibody test to verify they have protection.

  Health

  Jul 23, 2021
• Concerns raised over travel based on type of COVID-19 vaccine received

  Leisure international travellers will be allowed in starting Sept. 7, if they have been vaccinated with one of the four vaccines approved by Health Canada.

  Health

  Jul 22, 2021
• Canadian travellers frustrated as U.S. cruise lines won’t recognize mixing-and-matching COVID-19 vaccines

  Kerry Bowman, a professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto, said variation of vaccination policies in different countries is 'very, very problematic.'

  Consumer

  Jul 21, 2021
• Alberta ‘hitting a wall’ when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations: epidemiologists

  As of Monday, 74.8 per cent of those eligible have received one dose of vaccine; 59.7 per cent of those eligible are fully vaccinated.

  Health

  Jul 19, 2021
• Advertisement
• COVID-19 testing may have to be scaled back in Alberta in the future: experts

  Right now, any Albertan with symptoms, who is a close contact or is connected to an outbreak can get tested for COVID-19 at assessment centres across the province.

  Health

  Jul 16, 2021
• Advertisement
• Alberta doctors cautiously optimistic 2 weeks after nearly all COVID-19 restrictions lifted

  On July 1, the province removed nearly all COVID-19 public health measures, though it kept mandatory masks in certain facilities and modes of transportation.

  Health

  Jul 15, 2021
• More blue-green algae blooms in Alberta after record heat

  Recent scorching temperatures are contributing to more blue-green algae blooms in Alberta lakes, and one expert says Albertans may want to plan trips to the lake sooner.

  Environment

  Jul 12, 2021
• Conversations continue over whether Alberta will sign on to federal child-care program

  The federal Liberals committed to bringing child-care fees to an average of $10 a day in regulated centres by 2025-26, at a cost of $30 billion over the next five years.

  Economy

  Jul 9, 2021
• Work begins on South Edmonton Hospital set to open in 2030

  Work is underway on the much-anticipated South Edmonton Hospital, which has been years in the making, but the COVID-19 pandemic could affect the bottom line.

  Health

  Jul 8, 2021
• Challenges with communication during COVID-19 show need for changes: experts

  The pandemic reinforced how critical communication is during a public health crisis where a person’s actions can affect not only their health but the health of their loved ones.

  Health

  Jul 6, 2021
• Advertisement
• Doctors on what they’re watching for now that Alberta is fully open

  The province has lifted nearly all COVID-19 public health measures, including the provincial mask mandate, though masks will still be required in certain settings.

  Health

  Jul 2, 2021
• Advertisement
• COVID-19: As Alberta prepares to peel back public health measures, doctors offer advice

  Nearly all public health measures will be lifted across the province, including the provincial mask mandate, though masks will still be required in certain circumstances.

  Health

  Jun 30, 2021
• Calls for more Alberta youth-focused COVID immunization clinics as rates plateau

  As of June 24, 59.2 per cent of Albertans 12 to 19 have been vaccinated with one dose; in comparison, 83.5 per cent of Albertans 60 to 74 had received one dose.

  Health

  Jun 28, 2021
• Alberta’s COVID-19 hotel isolation program has $10M price tag, so far

  The program was created during the pandemic so Albertans could isolate safely; household spread had been identified by the province as one way the virus was spreading.

  Health

  Jun 28, 2021
• COVID-19: Immunocompromised Albertans waiting for details about booster shots amid reopening

  There are questions about what level of immunity immunocompromised Albertans have, even if they are fully vaccinated, and if, or when, they will need a booster shot.

  Health

  Jun 26, 2021