September

An estimated 115 000 British Columbians have become addicted to opioids (oral communication, Bohdan Nosyk, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, 1 August 2018) as a result of unsafe opioid prescribing and the illicit opioid market.

Children are widely recognized as a vulnerable population during disasters and public health emergencies such as pandemics.[1,2] Despite this, their needs are often overlooked.[3] Emerging data from the ongoing pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, the causal agent of the acute respiratory distress syndrome COVID-19, suggest that severe illness in children is uncommon and mortality is rare.[4-6] However, the nature and extent of secondary effects of the pandemic on children are not yet well established.

The earth is mounting an immune response against the human species,” wrote Richard Preston, author of the 1994 best seller The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story.[1] The book is a nonfiction account of how researchers, locals, and governments fought one of the deadliest known viruses—the Ebola virus.

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References

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Health inequity arising from personal and systemic bias against Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color is a pressing issue in Canada, but resources for addressing this in Canadian medical practice are limited in number.

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