iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

" #MSF launches Ebola disease vaccination study among DRC frontline workers" www.msf.org/msf-launches...

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Conflict underpins the challenges of the #Bundibugyo #Ebola outbreak. Canada "rebalancing" its armed forces to "better align...with current defence priorities" means it will pull its (already paltry) #peacekeeping contribution to MONUSCO in DRC (in Ituri & North Kivu...) & UNMISS in South Sudan.

Screenshot of the press release found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2026/07/canadian-armed-forces-rebalances-operations-to-strengthen-global-footprint.html

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

The right job for someone: " @msfaccess.org Campaign Officer with experience to design the development and implementation of an international public-facing campaign to improve access to health products for people living with #diabetes" www.msf.org/internationa...

Screenshot from the job description reading "MSF Access Campaign Officer
Description
Contract: Short-term contract with potential extension - full time

Duration: 12 months

Stating Date: ASAP

Deadline to apply: July 03, 2026

Location: Any MSF office

Reporting to: Head of Advocacy & Communication

Compensation and benefits: MSF practice is to offer the C&B package current in the MSF entity establishing the contract."

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

#Ebola update: as of June 18, DRC had confirmed 933 cases; 245 of those people are dead. 80 have recovered. DRC reports it is now following 72% of known case contacts, but with only 7094 contacts identified, contact tracing is still lagging in ways that will prolong efforts to control this outbreak.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Is anyone else getting this page from what appears to be September 2013 when they try and go to the main CBC News site?

A screenshot of the CBC News webpage apparently from September 14, 2013 which includes headlines such as "Syria chemical weapons deal reached by US and Russia" and "Harper cabinet readies major BC pipelines push".

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

So... Is there no PDF of the AI strategy? Like, I have to read the whole AI strategy on a webpage, is that correct?

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Why is there so much Evanescence music in this hockey game

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

“no reasonable alternatives to prevent the introduction or spread of the disease in Canada are available”… “So we’ve decided to ignore the advice of public health experts and do the thing that they say is unnecessary, I guess” Ok cool 👍👌 Good job, folks.

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

The "Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to Ebola Disease in Canada Order, 2026" Order in Council establishing the new public health rules for people entering Canada under the Quarantine Act is out: 🛬🛂🦠⚖️ orders-in-council.canada.ca/attachment.p...

Partial screenshot reading "PC Number: 2026-0522

Date: 2026-05-29

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that there is an outbreak of a communicable disease, namely Ebola disease, in a foreign country;

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the introduction or spread of the disease would pose an imminent and severe risk to public health in Canada;

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the entry of persons into Canada who have recently been in that foreign country may introduce or contribute to the spread of the disease in Canada;

And whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that no reasonable alternatives to prevent the introduction or spread of the disease in Canada are available;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Health, makes the annexed Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to Ebola Disease in Canada Order, 2026 under section 58 of the Quarantine Act."

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Ebola is unlikely to trigger an outbreak at the World Cup. Anyone saying otherwise doesn't understand the epidemiology of Ebola. I agree with this article - we have other pathogens that warrant more worry and planning at large events like this: measles, norovirus, etc.

statnews.com

Ebola at the World Cup? Here’s what we should actually worry about

“Infectious disease threats during the World Cup will almost certainly look much more familiar than frightening headlines suggest,” writes Krutika Kuppalli.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Canada is restricting immigration into Canada for citizens from DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan because of Ebola, and also will require Canadians returning from these countries to self-isolate for 21 days. This is not sound public health science and will ultimately hamper outbreak response.

cbc.ca

Canada clamping down on travel, immigration from central Africa amid Ebola outbreak | CBC News

Canadian officials are clamping down on both travel and immigration from multiple countries in central Africa as the region continues to face a fast-spreading outbreak of Ebola.

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Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Still not totally clear how Canada's federal budget that explicitly singles out global health programming for cuts will help protect Canadians and the world...🤔

Screenshot of the heading and subheading of this article, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-budget-international-development-assistance-9.6971350 reading "Budget's $2.7B cut to foreign aid leaves international development in limbo, say NGOs
Liberal budget cuts target for global health program funding" with the last sentence highlighted.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Africa CDC is convening an urgent regional meeting today after an outbreak of Ebola was confirmed in Ituri province, DRC. There are many unknowns but several points in the Africa CDC update are concerning but need to be confirmed - more information should be available in 24 hours.

africacdc.org

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

👀c/o the Public Health Agency of Canada: "Risk assessment: Importation of infectious disease pathogens related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup" ⚽🦠😷 www.canada.ca/en/public-he...

Screenshot of the category 2 and category 3 disease tables from the link

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

This is a breathtakingly stupid assessment of the problem of public health credibility and health communication. I actually believe that a lot of the public health talking heads did a lot of damage during COVID, but putting up these “examples” is ridiculous.

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

I really think we need to address the fact that many people and publications are accepting the absolute shittiest AI generated photos being posted in articles to illustrate a point. Just saw a “tired doctor” with a laptop screen facing outward instead of towards them. Absolute brain rot stuff.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Good to see Powlowski's bill to reform the deeply flawed Special Access Program at 2nd reading, but it remains odd that despite being a doc who practiced both up North & in multiple low-income countries, his💊examples so far don't incl. basic global health (albendazole ffs) or TB #EssentialMedicines.

Screenshot from House of Commons schedule reading:

1:30 p.m.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

C-265 — Marcus Powlowski (Thunder Bay—Rainy River) — An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (List of Therapeutic Products Pre-approved for Special Access) — Second reading (first time debated)

Length of speeches, pursuant to Standing Order 95(1):

Member moving motion — 15 minutes maximum and the speech is subject to a five-minute question and comment period.

All other members — 10 minutes maximum.

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Since there's taboo around this, suggesting that cases of Andes virus may be caused by human-to-human transmission on a cruise ship is entirely uncontroversial: 1️⃣ We already know it's able to. 2️⃣ Conditions are "optimal". 3️⃣ This doesn't change the fact that a larger outbreak is extremely unlikely.

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

I've spent yesterday and today talking to researchers across the globe trying to understand the hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius. My story in @science.org is here (and some threaded thoughts coming): www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪 #IDsky

science.org

Cruise ship’s hantavirus outbreak puts researchers in uncharted territory

Questions about the culprit virus and its route of spread remain as health officials make plans for stranded passengers

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Hantavirus is, thankfully rare - that means that most clinicians have never encountered a case or have much knowledge of the disease. Here’s a solid summary from an infectious disease expert actually working on hantavirus. If you’re curious, start here.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Respiratory therapist, here. You already know that smoking is bad for you. You know this, but increasingly I've noticed that (in particular) younger folks don't KNOW this. Because people don't KNOW how bad smoking is for you, it's being romanticized as this quasi-benign thing. What do I mean?

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

The Trandalorian @charliejaneanders.com · 29/04/2026

When people ask, "How can I promote my art when the world is going to shit" I hear that as, "How do I have the right to make art when the world is going to shit" And... We need art more than ever during such times. You need to be making art more than ever during such times.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Has anyone else noticed a huge volume of AI generated clinical “fact” sheets showing up in their LinkedIn that are just AI slop? Care guidelines that are incorrect, advice that makes no sense, etc. Perhaps naively, I didn’t expect this but this is the new strategy of medical influencers it seems.

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

There are big problems with Canada’s half baked pharmacare program. But scrapping the whole program, instead of expanding it, will leave patients and employers in a far worse place. Medicines are increasingly unaffordable and this simplistic editorial doesn’t address this.

theglobeandmail.com

Globe editorial: Ottawa’s misguided prescription for pharmacare

The Carney government should cashier the cumbersome and costly scheme of its predecessor

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Medical researchers say that cancer is typically caused by a complex combination of factors. A guy who snorts cocaine off toilet seats says it's mostly caused by the radiation from offshore windmill farms. For busy Americans, it can be hard to know who to trust.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

theglobeandmail.com

Globe editorial: Ottawa’s misguided prescription for pharmacare

The Carney government should cashier the cumbersome and costly scheme of its predecessor

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

I’m at Canada’s Drug Agency Symposium in Ottawa today. We just kicked off with a panel on what’s coming for pharmaceutical policy and health systems. Pretty clear an emerging issue is going to be the US Most Favored Nation policy.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

How can we make better decisions under pressure, especially when uncertainty is high? This is such a great question - yet many of us working in high-consequence environments never actually receive training on how to make decisions. A great podcast on human factors and decision-making in crises.👇

open.spotify.com

Dr. Andrew Petrosoniak. The Moment of Choice: How to Make Better Decisions

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

The Charter of Rights & Freedoms deserves celebration. But the decision not to include socio-economic rights or explicitly positive rights is lamentable. Inequality has only 📈 since the Charter & today's affordability & housing crisis can't be properly addressed as a human rights issue bc of it.

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Earlier this year, Canada introduced the Connected Care for Canadians Act, to improve interoperability of health records systems. We asked respiratory therapists what challenges they're having accessing the patient information they need to provide safe respiratory care. Here's what we heard:

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

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Reposted by Jason Nickerson

I Scare You Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 05/04/2026

“military aged males” got normalized as a viable target for war and it’s pretty much a racialized fiction meant to justify indiscriminate murder.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

The Pasteur Network research facilities around the world are essential for bringing high-quality laboratory infrastructure to resource-challenged countries, essential for monitoring infectious diseases, providing patient care, and responding to outbreaks.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Very sad to learn that Stephen Lewis died today. Stephen was a remarkable person, and someone that very likely changed the trajectory of the global response to HIV/AIDS, not only saving lives but empowering people who are too often marginalized by the structures and systems he pushed back on.

cbc.ca

Stephen Lewis, Canadian politician, diplomat and journalist, dead at 88 | CBC News

Former politician, diplomat and activist Stephen Lewis has died at age 88.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

No rules of engagement. No "nation building... no democracy building exercise" So, a tacit endorsement of war crimes with no particular end game or objective of what they're seeking to accomplish.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Countering the misinformation & disinformation ecosystem needs to involve more than debunking bad information that's circulating - we need evidence-based medicine to answer questions that people have about their every day health needs, no matter how mundane or esoteric. My letter in the @bmj.com

bmj.com

Closing the evidence gap for everyday health and wellness to tackle misinformation

Heiss and colleagues rightly flag the rise and power of social media influencers on health discourse.1 But a deeper structural matter warrants attention: the gap between evidence based clinical medici...

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

I realize this is newsworthy (to some degree, I guess?), because we live in the absolute stupidest timeline right now, but I can't make it through this article. I have a PhD and I can't make sense of what's going on here (I also just don't care). Go outside, folks. Have a coffee with another human.

Screenshot from a Globe and Mail online headline that reads "Who is Clavicular, the 20-year-old influencer going viral for looksmaxxing and more?" by Samantha Edwards.

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Stephanie Nolen @stephanienolen.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Reporting in northern Cameroon, I noticed a few people sitting at the back of a hospital compound. They had drug-resistant TB. They weren't there to get meds or see a doctor: they LIVE there. For months. In isolation. That's government policy. Sanitarium throwback. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/h...

nytimes.com

4 Months Trapped in a Hospital for an Obsolete Way of Treating Their Disease

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Detour from posting about health and foreign policy In my not-work life, I run and hike and explore. This June: We're organizing 360 Ottawa. A race around the entire perimeter of #Ottawa. Team relay. Whole city. Slightly unhinged. Very fun. Registration's open. Come run with us. DM for details.

360ottawa.run

360 Ottawa | A Perimeter Race

Get your team together for 360 Ottawa, 2025! 360 km (ish) relay race around the perimeter of the city of Ottawa. Registration opens soon.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

This article is intellectually lazy and mischaracterizes how drug prices in Canada are set and regulated. It uses data that stop in 2002 - decades before today’s extraordinarily high drug prices - to justify its claims. Nonsense.

theglobeandmail.com

Opinion: Canada’s too-strict drug price controls are a health hazard

Canada rates 19th out of 20 OECD countries in making innovative new drugs available to patients

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Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

New from @srinmurthy.bsky.social and I at @healthydebate.bsky.social re: studies on university R&D + the private sector (SRSR) & "Canada's pharmaceutical sovereignty" (HESA). "These parliamentary studies are low-profile but have implications for access to medicines" healthydebate.ca/2026/02/topi...

healthydebate.ca

These parliamentary studies are low-profile but have implications for access to medicines - Healthy Debate

Two studies by Parliamentary Standing Committees each have potentially serious implications for medical innovation, pandemic preparedness and access to medicines.

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Jason Nickerson @jwnickerson.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Horrific. Medical staff are working under impossible circumstances to provide care to patients during an ongoing genocide, where much of the health system has been systematically destroyed. Warring parties have an obligation to protect medical staff. The fighting needs to end immediately.

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