Join us to demand that BC keep & strengthen mask protections in healthcare! Vulnerable patients and frontline workers need consistent, evidence-based safety measures year round - not policies that change with the weather.

Take action at https://donoharmbc.ca/masks-in-healthcare/ to call for year-round mask requirements, proper implementation, N95s, and closing key loopholes:

Send emails to dozens of policy-makers at once
Flood the lines with calls
Send faxes online (no fax machine needed)
Send #Postcards4PublicHealth (mail to MLAs and Ministers is free)
Share your story at https://bit.ly/have-your-say-masks2025 by Mar 15
Reshare and spread the word

Let's GET LOUD! Take action ASAP, by April 1st.

#KeepMasksInHealthcare #BCHealthcare
#CovidIsNotOver #H5N1 #BirdFlu #Measles
#VulnerabilityIsntSeasonal #COVIDisAirborne

This is cool.
At the Hospital (NRGH) as support person/driver.
They gave me this little note with a number to follow the patient’s progress. In the waiting room there is a screen where you can see the progress. Very cool.

Information is good. It helps people deal with stress. (I am not stressed, thankfully). And this is a good use of relatively simple technology to give people information.

Already emailed BC policy-makers about the need for healthcare mask requirements? Take the next step and leave some phone messages

It just takes a few seconds. You can use our quick script:

“Hello, this is ——— from postal code ———. I’m calling to urge you to help restore mask requirements in healthcare. We’ve entered fall and winter with widespread COVID infections, healthcare outbreaks, and now avian influenza. Without consistent healthcare protections, [I can’t safely get medical care / my vulnerable loved one is at risk / as a healthcare worker I face unnecessary risks.] You can learn more about these impacts at DoNoHarmBC.ca.

“There’s no need to call me back/I’d appreciate a callback about next steps. My number is —-————.”

You can get more contact deets at http://donoharmbc.ca/contact-list/ Let’s do this

Thank you to @stillcovidingcanada for featuring the story of our campaign! We’re thrilled that @protect_bc and @cancovsoc are joining forces with us calling for mask requirements in healthcare.

Check out the story at https://stillcoviding.ca/en/communities/british-columbia/advocates-urge-bc-to-reinstate-healthcare-mask-protections-amid-rising-risks/ - then take action today at https://donoharmbc.ca/masks-in-healthcare/.

Let’s do this!

I have requested doctor be masked before we enter examination room.

I'm now on 5 different waiting lists to obtain a new family doctor. 1 BC government waiting list & 4 local medical clinic lists. I've been waiting for about a year now. Some of my increased stress is due to not having a GP & having to jump through multiple hoops to obtain essential medical services.

New hazard index from the team at Covid-19 Resources Canada, based on federal wastewater data: around 1 in 35 British Columbians have COVID-19 right now, meaning there are an estimated 119,900-169,300 infections THIS WEEK.

Some of those infections are in hospitals - the very places people go to get care, not COVID. There are multiple healthcare outbreaks declared right now for both COVID-19 and unspecified “respiratory infections”.

Email, call, fax & write to BC policymakers, demanding our province require masks in healthcare to protect the most vulnerable - and to catch up with places like Ontario, Newfoundland & Labrador, where mask requirements are already returning! http://donoharmbc.ca/vulnerability-isnt-seasonal/ (NB: contact info at places like the BCCDC and various health authorities should not be affected by any changes due to the recent election)

Hearts Based #Education and #AntiColonial #Learning in #Healthcare (H.E.A.L) Project is using the #arts to combat #HealthcareBiases.

“The H.E.A.L. #HealthcareProject provides #SystemicChange that is long overdue. I often think about the extractive ways that we talk about #CulturalSensitivity and #CulturalCompetency,” said Nicole Halbauer, H.E.A.L. Healthcare Project Manager.

The project will use #poetry, #storytelling, and #VisualArts to better understand patient experiences with a goal of #humanizing the healthcare system by bringing together #FirstNations #creators and #activists based in #PrinceGeorge.

They will work to create #ArtsBased and #AntiOppressive learning materials for healthcare staff including #nurses and #doctors.

The #FreeLessons will be available on the H.E.A.L Healthcare website.

The program is being organized by the Health Arts Research Centre in partnership with the Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health.

The project is part of the federal government’s plan to create better and safer health systems for Indigenous people with $126.7 million being committed to the project over three years.

https://healhealthcare.ca/

*Me, my Mom & my youngest brother are some of the many thousands of patients in #BritishColumbia who have been on the #WaitingList for a new family #doctor since our previous GPs retired.*

When the province introduced its #HealthConnectRegistry in 2021, we were told this would help #patients to find a #FamilyPhysician.

About 900,000 #BritishColumbians have no doctor, and while the #Health Ministry continues to announce the recruitment of new #physicians, that number has remained fairly constant for years.

Yet the #inability of the Registry to make meaningful progress is only one of its failings.

More troubling is that the Registry makes no attempt to place patients based on their age or #medical condition. This conflicts with one of the basic principles underlying medical practice, that faced with an inability to treat everyone who needs help, those with the most pressing requirements should come first.

https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/editorial-tell-us-where-we-stand-in-queue-for-a-doctor-9358753?utm_source=Times+Colonist+Headline+News&utm_campaign=b06b386dfc-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d22ba5c6e6-a978a9ba3c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=b06b386dfc&mc_eid=48512ab3b3

The first #COVID19 #data released by the #BritishColumbia for #Disease Control since the official end of the province's #PublicHealthEmergency shows #hospitalizations decreasing, but still near their highs for the year.

There were 175 test-positive #COVID patients in #BChospitals as of Thursday, according to the #BCCDC. That's down from 204 at the start of last month, but still the fourth-highest total of 2024, and more than double the 76 people #hospitalized at this time last year.

The BCCDC's most recent update showed 368 new, lab-confirmed #COVIDinfections in the province, though that number significantly #underestimates the spread of the #virus because most people in the province do not qualify for lab-based testing.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/175-in-hospital-with-covid-19-in-bccdc-s-first-update-since-end-of-public-health-emergency-1.6986823?cache=/13-canadian-bucket-list-sights-for-the-nature-lover-1.2378214

From @thetyee

Gregory said the database is a good idea for some diseases, in particular for some vaccines that do protect people from infection. But when it comes to COVID-19, he said, the vaccine doesn’t prevent transmission.

“Relying on vaccinations as the measure of whether people are likely or not to transmit [COVID] to vulnerable patients is a very dangerous strategy,” Gregory said.

Instead, he added, it would be best if everyone wore masks in public health settings whenever possible.

Mitigation measures such as properly worn N95s, HEPA air filtration, ventilation and avoiding high-risk areas like indoor crowded spaces are “all variant proof,” Gregory said. “No variant has evolved to circumvent an N95.”

https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/08/05/No-Longer-Official-Emergency-COVID-Remains-Crisis/

The entire staff at #Agora, in #ViewRoyal, #VictoriaBC won't mask up so I'm not going In there. Changed my appointment today to phone appointment instead.

They're a privatized franchise with locations in #Vancouver, #Brampton & #Kingston - #Ontario. You should know that their staff don't wear #CovidSafety masks.

https://www.aroga.com/contact/

The new osteoporosis doctor I was referred to is trying to get clinic staff to force me to use #Telus #CorporateRun #health phone system for first intake appointment on Thursday morning. I'm calling them tomorrow & telling them I'm not downloading an app when the doctor can use a phone to call me.

I'm going to tell whomever is unlucky enough to picks up the phone at their office in the morning - that I'm recording the entire phone call for my personal security records & for evidence that I refused to be forced into enabling public health care be destroyed. I'm not a YES GIRL for that sleazy evil.

I won't be bullied into enabling the #BCNDP #BonnieHenry push towards privatized health care by shitbuckets of any stripes. I'm fighting it, however personally possible.