Dr. Anna Wolak
Family Physician. Wife & mom. Broadway fan. 🇵🇭🇨🇦. Clinical Asst Professor @ UBC Posts are my own opinions & not medical advice. #MedSky
- In the aftermath of the Lapu Lapu Festival tragedy, it is worth sharing that research suggests playing Tetris shortly after witnessing trauma may reduce the risk of PTSD by disrupting visual memory consolidation. It’s not a treatment, but could help survivors & witnesses. t.co/xgSaTST1JX
- Pagdadalamhati. It’s the Tagalog word for grief & mourning. The Lapu Lapu Day Festival was meant to be a celebration of 🇵🇭 spirit & culture, but it ended in a senseless tragedy. I mourn with my kababayan, grieving the lives taken too soon. Matatag ang Pilipino. Even in tragedy, we stand strong.
- Horrified. Praying for everyone. This was a joyful celebration of Philippine culture that has ended in tragedy. t.co/3yNgB5elNy
- Civic duty done!
- Measles was eradicated in Canada(1998) & the US(2000), but ⬇️ vaccination rates have led to outbreaks. A child in TX has died from measles complications. Please. Get yourselves & your children vaccinated. No one should die from a vaccine-preventable illness. @DoctorsOfBC #bcpoli
- Please make sure you and your children are up to date with your measles vaccines. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases and is not always benign. It can lead to long term disability and can even be fatal. Please protect yourselves & the vulnerable. #bced www.vch.ca/en/news/meas...
- Influenza is on the rise in Canada. We know how to deal with this Get vaccinated. Stay home when sick. Ventilation and air purification. Mask in crowded indoor public spaces and transit. Wash your hands. Protect yourselves and your kids. Data from BC shows ⬆️influenza A #bcpoli
- Happy Women Physicians Day to a fantastic group of people!
- It’s been 5 years since BC’s first covid pt. I spoke w/ @CKNW about some lessons learned since then including Masking, ventilation, air purification, staying home when sick, fixing the health care system before the next pandemic. Also spoke a bit about long COVID. #bcpoli bit.ly/3WzugF2
- Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. On this day, I like to remind everyone about the Philippines’ actions. In 1930, Pres. Quezon welcomed 1,200 Jewish refugees (his “Open Doors Policy”) to Manila. We took them in, while the world was looking away. #NeverAgain youtu.be/a157JgY3xW4?...
- I spoke with Global News today about the state of respiratory illnesses in BC. Key points: Influenza & RSV numbers are high & are rising Covid is present but stable Get vaccinated Large % of healthcare visits are for respiratory illnesses ➡️ mask mandate in health care globalnews.ca/news/1095180...
- Confirmed H5N1, same clade as the one affecting migratory birds. The child is hospitalized, in critical condition. It is still not known how they caught it. Layers of protection: clean the air, vaccinate, stay home when 🤒Smart masking with N95. #bcpoli t.co/Y7NxF3nevn
- Also, stay away from sick/dead birds. Keep pets away from sick/dead birds.
- I spoke with @EmilyLazatin about Avian flu. While not a cause for panic yet, preparation is key. Schools should improve ventilation. Parents, ensure kids' vaccines are up to date. Stay home when sick. Stay away from sick/dead birds. @GlobalBC #bcpoli globalnews.ca/news/1086417...
- This is not good. I really hope schools have updated their air purification & ventilation systems so that our kids go back to clean air in their learning environments. In the meantime: make sure your vaccines are up to date, stay home when sick, clean the air. #bcpoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
- As an HCW in #bcpoli, I got my invite for a Covid💉today. When I went to schedule it, I noticed that only a handful of pharmacies indicated that they had the updated XBB💉 Maybe the others hadn’t updated yet, but when booking, it’s prudent to ensure you’re getting the correct💉
- Covid numbers are starting to rise & kids are back at school. I spoke on the Steele and Vance show about this. Key phrase: layers of protection! Vaccinate when available. Ventilation. Stay home when sick. Hand hygiene. Smart masking with N95. Stay safe!
- Amber Alert.
- I spoke with Stirling Faux about the fall covid shots. Key messages: covid shots need to be updated annually, don't rely on the strategy of infection-induced immunity, vaccinate kids. #bcpoli open.spotify.com/episode/7z0s8QBNgj4…
- Medical practices cannot run on “IOUs”. Bills must be paid. But a raise negotiated in 2022 won’t be paid to BC doctors until late 2023/early 2024. If you want to know why doctors are leaving practice, maybe they just can’t afford to stay. Much less want to stay in a province that disrespects them.
- I spoke with Global BC about the Covid-19 vaccine fall rollout. NACI's message is clear: a dose of the new vaccine formulation in the fall will increase protection against severe illness. I hope that BC has learned from previous rollouts & will make access as easy as possible. bit.ly/3D7LIqd
- NACI releases new COVID-19💉 recommendations bit.ly/44BNEmr NACI recommends Canadians in authorized age groups get an updated COVID-19💉this fall (6 mos since last dose/infection). It remains to be seen what ages fall in the “authorized age groups”, but one hopes they include school age kids.
- I've noticed that samples have been coming back as reported by Quest. While I've also noticed that we're catching up with the backlog & results are coming in weeks, not months, I hope this doesn't become standard practice. However, I implore women not to delay getting their pap.
- BC isn’t just sending some cancer patients to the US for treatment The govt is also outsourcing some cancer screening to an American company by quietly sending pap samples across the border — for the past year My latest #bcpoli scoop for @CTVVancouver ⬇️
- I do want this new registry to work. But I don't know if there are enough physicians with the capacity to accept more pts. What I see is an unbalanced seesaw, where 900,000 pts sign up hoping to be matched on one side & not enough doctors with spaces on the other side. bit.ly/3D3rWvK
- Reposted by Dr. Anna WolakThe currently approved childhood vaccine schedule is safe and effective.
