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Karuna S

@karunas.bsky.social
2.3K followers 2.7K following 807 posts
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Reposted by Karuna S
Crawford Kilian @crof.bsky.social · 11h
climateinstitute.ca/news/estimat...
climateinstitute.ca
Estimates show Canada's emissions went up in 2025, emphasizing need for electrification
Canadian Climate Institute’s early analysis finds emissions are headed in the wrong direction, largely driven by an uptick in gas for ...
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Reposted by Karuna S
Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 11h
Announced this morning, @cycletoronto.bsky.social is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada
thestar.com
Toronto cyclists ask Canada’s top court to weigh in on Ford’s bike lane removal plan
TORONTO - Cyclists challenging Ontario's plan to remove major Toronto bike lanes are asking Canada's top court to hear their appeal.
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Long Covid Advocacy @longcovidadvoc.com · 13h
Our Psychologisation infographic is out! By coincidence, The Guardian published an article today reporting that women with autoimmunity are 74% more likely to be told their symptoms are psychological than men. Psychologisation is still a huge problem in medicine. Our article & The Gs 🖇️👇️
Long Covid Advocacy infographic on psychologisation, with pastel boxes, icons, and text on harms, myths, and evidence-based care.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Linda Holmes @lindaholmes.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
I realize it often feels like nothing matters anymore, but a comedian going on SNL and calling women whores— calling the ordinary women he sees at the gym *whores* — because of their clothes matters to me. It’s really gross, and I’m glad Levy said something.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Steve Darnall @stevedarnall.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
It is offensive when a comedian says it, but it's just as bad when it's said by Shane Gillis.
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Reposted by Karuna S
J. Offir, PhD @joffirphd.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
There's a diphtheria case in NY. Let's hope it's a one-off; diphtheria is deadly (1 in 10) & highly contagious (transmission is respiratory or cutaneous - via skin contact), but very rare in the US - just 10 cases in the last 20 years. The last respiratory case... 🧵 www.btpm.org/local/2026-1...
btpm.org
Erie County Health Department reports case of diphtheria in local school district
Diphtheria cases are extremely rare but officials in the West Seneca Central School District are acting “out of abundance of caution” to alert families.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Judy Stone @drjudystone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
FDA again weakening #FoodSafety by allowing toxic chemicals www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
FDA may allow some toxic chemicals to be added to food without safety review. Experts are alarmed
Regulator looks to expand loophole to allow dangerous compounds in food as long as they’re not carcinogenic
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Reposted by Karuna S
Christophe Veltsos @drinfosec.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
🚨🧵by Zdenek Vrozina on XTwitter: "A study in Scientific Reports scanned the hearts of people two years after COVID. The title says long COVID population, but most participants had no symptoms. This is a study of COVID survivors, mostly symptom free..." 11-tweet🧵 threadreaderapp.com/thread/21082...
A study in Scientific Reports scanned the hearts of people two years after COVID. The title says long COVID population, but most participants had no symptoms. This is a study of COVID survivors, mostly symptom free. And 39% of them had a blood-flow defect on heart imaging🧵
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Reposted by Karuna S
Dick Zoutman @dickzoutman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Wonderful lecture by Dr. King from AirClub on indoor air quality in schools presented at the UN General Assembly.
webtv.un.org
Healthy Indoor Air in Schools: Every Breath Shapes Learning
Co-sponsored by the Governments of Montenegro, France, and Eswatini this event will highlight one of the most overlooked levers in children's health and learning: the quality of the air they breathe i...
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Reposted by Karuna S
Dustin Poppendieck @poppendieck.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
CR box air cleaners reduce particles in classrooms by 61%. pubs.acs.org/aeacd5/artic...
pubs.acs.org
Performance and Practical Considerations of Deploying Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Air Purifiers in Occupied Classrooms
Abstract. Poor classroom ventilation allows airborne particles to build up, leading to suboptimal indoor air quality (IAQ) and increased risk of airborne v
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Reposted by Karuna S
David Elfstrom 🍁 @davidelfstrom.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Another one to add to the list of studies of CR boxes! The supplemental data includes inferred CADR for each unit deployed as well as sound pressure measurements in two classrooms at several distances.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Mike Honey @mikehoney.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
PJ.2.1 was first detected in Ontario. Unfortunately the clinical sample data from Ontario (which was the world's best) is now thin and lagging.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Ryan Hisner @ryanhisner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
And suppose we find out that PJ.2.1 was circulating among immunosenescent individuals in some relatively isolated nursing home in Ontario—and that its circulation could've been prevented with efficient ventilation and air filtration? I think this would be an important revelation for public health.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Ryan Hisner @ryanhisner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Second, it seems this person is continuing to shed diverse variants, some of which have the potential to spread and possibly cause an increase in Covid cases worldwide. Not an ideal situation for society, so there's a global public health interest here, in my opinion.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Ryan Hisner @ryanhisner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Large upload from Ontario yesterday, providing some striking revelations about the evolution of PJ.2.1. First, there is yet another strikingly divergent branch of PJ.2.1. This isn't one variant: it's four. More and more, this resembles the emergence of BA.1/2/3. What is happening? 1/
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Reposted by Karuna S
Prof Brendan Crabb AC @brendancrabb.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Fascinating thread from Ryan. Below is an explainer of what is likely going on with these v different looking variants, except in this new PJ case the chronically infected person seems to be continually transmitting infections that establish themselves in others. theconversation.com/the-emergenc...
theconversation.com
The emergence of JN.1 is an evolutionary ‘step change’ in the COVID pandemic. Why is this significant?
The JN.1 variant has become dominant in Australia and around the world, causing large waves of infections. Here’s what we know about it so far – and why it’s so important.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This is a disaster. The ethics committee in Denmark that approved the Guinea-Bissau study which will withhold the birth dose of HepB vaccine “had never considered medical studies before but it changed the rules in order to vote on this one”. Four members of the committee have resigned in protest.
theguardian.com
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
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Reposted by Karuna S
Denise Balkissoon @balkissoon.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"No one really controls the Great Lakes. That’s a massive piece of water — you can’t control that. What you can do is make it better or worse on your side of the border." A Great Lakes expert on the real threat facing Lake Ontario & friends: weakened enviro protections. thenarwhal.ca/lake-ontario...
thenarwhal.ca
Lake Ontario: Donald Trump and the great distraction
‘If you can’t understand the lakes, you can’t protect the lakes’: a former director of the committee overseeing Canada-U.S. water relations says the real threat to the Great Lakes is a shift away from research and monitoring
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Reposted by Karuna S
My IRL friends call me Chris @christyceeck.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"at a HarperCollins AI "brainstorming" session, staff say they raised legal, ethical, & environmental concerns & were told that's “the cost of doing business.” The employee portal was updated to say AI's environmental impact is "a small part of most individuals’ total digital carbon footprint." 👀
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Reposted by Karuna S
CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Here's what HHS changed in the COVID-19 vaccine guidance for clinicians on CDC’s website in Sept. Green=similar wording/no change Purple=new wording, w/ an explanation Red=removed entirely This update is from HHS leadership. This post isn’t a critique of the staff still at CDC.
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Reposted by Karuna S
Markham Hislop @markhamhislop.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The Yes Agenda: Canada Has 110 Clean Energy Projects Ottawa Should Hear About Markham speaks with Ami Gagné, Manager of Clean Energy Initiatives at Climate Action Network Canada #cdnpoli youtu.be/Op6uWn5ROe0
youtu.be
The Yes Agenda: Canada Has 110 Clean Energy Projects Ottawa Should Hear About
YouTube video by Energi Media
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Reposted by Karuna S
Scott Robertson @sarobertson.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Chantal Hébert on Bill C-39: "You need to pick a lane. If it's emergency legislation for a specific situation, then it needs to be reviewed or have an expiry date. And if it isn't, then you're basically sidelining Parliament for all times, including for government that is not the Liberals."
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Reposted by Karuna S
Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. @drgorfinkel.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I’m a bit frustrated. High-risk patients are in my clinic, wanting to get vaccinated … but I won’t receive Covid or flu shots in until October 26 😠 Argh !
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Reposted by Karuna S
Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🍁🍁 @minibubbly.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Just don’t go!! Global Affairs #Canada says the number of arrest and detention cases involving Canadians citizens has jumped 60%. The department’s annual report on consular cases, published today, tracks an increase in arrests between /1 thread www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...
ctvnews.ca
Canada records 60 per cent spike in arrests, detentions of Canadians in United States
Global Affairs Canada says the number of arrest and detention cases involving Canadians citizens has jumped 60 per cent.
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Reposted by Karuna S
TheTrillium.ca @thetrillium.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
‘Communication is gone’: School councils launch complaints against TDSB supervisor
dlvr.it
‘Communication is gone’: School councils launch complaints against TDSB supervisor
A coalition of Toronto District School Board school councils has turned to the Ontario Ombudsman after receiving no response from ministry-appointed supervisor Rohit Gupta
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Reposted by Karuna S
The Safer Air Project @saferairproject.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
From evidence to national reform: delivering a National Healthy Air Strategy Join us in Canberra or online for Safer shared air 2026. In the final session of the day we will look at what leadership on indoor air quality could look like in Australia. Register: ssa2026.saferairproj...
From evidence to reform: delivering a National Healthy Air StrategyFrom evidence to reform: delivering a National Healthy Air Strategy
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Karuna S @karunas.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Yeah see, way more Covid than flu out there. bsky.app/profile/youn...
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Reposted by Karuna S
Andrew Young 🇨🇦 @young.me · 07/10/2026
#Ontario #wastewater graph updated with September 27 data - Kingston, London, Peel, Toronto updated: wwater.ca/Ontario - Also updated: AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, PEI, QC, SK, YT wwater.ca Source: health-infobase.canada.ca/wastewater/
Wastewater Virus Signals graph for Ontario
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Hazel Newlevant @newlevant.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New study suggests that raising school ventilation levels to ASHRAE 241 targets could reduce flu cases by 33% for the WHOLE POPULATION! We need clean air in schools so bad!!! www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Climate-Ready Buildings: Insights from U.S. Schools in a Global Context

Climate Week NYC • Sept 23
Projected Health Impacts of Cleaner Air in NYC Schools 
Geetha Jeyapragasan and Charlie Whittaker I University of California, Berkeley
We modelled the projected impact of higher levels of ventilation and filtration in NYC schools. We did this by assessing the impact of achieving a field-recognized standard for healthy indoor air (ASHRAE Standard 241), developed by the American Society for Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, the professional association of ventilation engineers. Adopting it in schools would reduce the burden of seasonal respiratory illness and improve preparedness for future epidemics.
We developed an epidemiological modelling framework to estimate how improving building air quality affects airborne disease transmission in schools. Here, using seasonal influenza as a case study, we share results about the potential public health impact of raising ventilation such that all schools met ASHRAE 241 targets, approximately 9 equivalent air changes per hour (ACH).
INFLUENZA INFECTIONS AVERTED
PER YEAR
54%
IN CHILDREN
33%
IN OVERALL POPULATION
Share of influenza infections averted in children and the general population if all schools achieved ASHRAE 241 filtration targets. This also results in 30% reduction in hospitalizations across all ages.
IMPACTS
261K
SCHOOL ABSENTEE DAYS
ELIMINATED PER YEAR
$25M
IN PARENTAL
PRODUCTIVITY LOSSES
SAVED
Days of school absenteeism prevented each year through reduced influenza transmission, and the value of the parental working time no longer lost to caring for sick children.

Why This Matters for New York City
ALL FLU CASES
New York City operates the largest public school system in the United States, with approximately 880,000 students across 1,800 schools. A large portion of this infrastructure predates modern ventilation standards, with the average school building around 70 years old. An inspection of NYC schools i…
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Reposted by Karuna S
Scott Robertson @sarobertson.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Emilie Nicolas: "People are not understanding the American threat of interference in Canadian affairs in the same way [as China]. People are just like frogs in water that is slowly heating it up and not realizing that they're being boiled alive."
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TheTrillium.ca @thetrillium.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Postmedia ex-CEO alleges Doug Ford’s office used ‘leverage’ over son’s company to get newspaper chain to publish pre-election letter
dlvr.it
Postmedia ex-CEO alleges Doug Ford’s office used ‘leverage’ over son’s company to get newspaper chain to publish pre-election letter
Premier Ford’s office calls the claims ‘categorically untrue and completely disconnected from reality’
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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"The investigation could have a chilling effect on pediatricians, making them think twice about urging vaccinations."
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Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
What Happened to the Children of Pregnant Women Who Got a COVID Vaccine? We are tracking them in multiple ways. So far, after many studies? "no evidence of adverse developmental effects from getting a COVID vaccine during pregnancy." open.substack.com/pub/stopanti... via @aboutpediatrics.bsky.social
open.substack.com
What Happened to the Children of Pregnant Women Who Got a COVID Vaccine?
While Dawn Michael is just asking questions about COVID vaccines in pregnancy, she will be surprised by the answers!
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Karuna S @karunas.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
My kid just had it. Guess where he got it 😡 🏫
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Karuna S @karunas.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Also annoying they made no mention of Covid which is also going around 🙈🙉 Ask me how I know 😕
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Sphagnum Moss @mosssphagnum.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Reports last month revealed that human contractors reviewing Microsoft #Copilot 's image editor can see users' prompts, uploaded photos and AI-generated edits" www.techspot.com/news/114091-...
techspot.com
Florida woman used Claude as a diary, then Anthropic reported an entry to police
According to the arrest report, Carli Michelle Heller, of Bonita Springs, Florida, wrote on September 26 that she would attack the Sheriff's office. She later said that...
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Isaac Callan @isaaccallan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
NEW: All of the leading candidates to be Toronto’s next mayor say they can address homelessness in the city without spending substantially more, even as a poll suggests voters think money from property taxes should be spent addressing it. #ToPoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Toronto mayoral candidates pitch homelessness solutions without new money | CBC News
Olivia Chow, Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander are all touting homelessness plans that don’t come with major spending boosts — but experts are skeptical.
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David Keegan @drdavidkeegan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Men, it’s time to stand up against sexual violence and gender-based hatred. Plan a demonstration for Saturday, October 24, wherever you are. Sign this change.org page to show that you are a stand-up man. StandUpMen.ca c.org/DkMrTmz6Dk
c.org
This campaign needs you now
Stand Up Men
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Karuna S @karunas.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
💯 just like they’re doing with spec ed in public schools.
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CCPA — Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives @policyalternatives.ca · 03/10/2026
“When you’ve spent $4.1 billion over eight years (on private health care) and wait times are going up, we’ve got a serious problem,” @alonghurst.bsky.social said. #onpoli @policyalternatives.ca www.theobserver.ca/news/funding...
theobserver.ca
Funding private health care in Ontario costs more and leads to longer waits
Amid belt-tightening at Sarnia's hospital, and others in Ontario, provincial investment in for-profit clinics has been on the rise.
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dave1agar @dave1agar.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
McMaster study finds forcing employees back to the office harms productivity Researchers parsed through 82 studies to determine a hybrid model has the most benefits for both employers and employees. www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...
thespec.com
Hybrid work from home best option for productivity: study
Researchers parsed through 82 studies to determine a hybrid model has the most benefits for both employers and employees
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
As an expert on sexual violence, I have to add that these ethical violations are a nightmare for interviews on sensitive subjects. I would never recommend ANY survivor goes public with their story at an outlet that would do this to them.
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
While digging around their website, I found their ethics policy—including a section on AI-generated content. I suspect that’s a part of what happened here. And I’m upset about that too! I did NOT speak to a journalist with the assumption that my interview would be funneled into producing AI slop.
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
As an update for anyone who isn’t digging through the comments: I found more articles by USA Today journalists I’ve never met. There are THREE that used quotes from my interview recording—including many quotes that were never publicly published anywhere else.
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The primary objective of journalism is supposed to be telling the truth. It is a DECISION on the part of USA Today to know that new details have emerged about this case and to refuse to update an old story that is still circulating and still shaming Jane Doe.
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Once I found out about it, I contacted the reporter and asked him to retract the piece--or at minimum add an editor's note acknowledging the NYT reporting about how Jane Doe did NOT tell police that she consented to her rape. Thus far, the publication has refused to do so.
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I'm the token expert voice saying that inconsistencies in victim's narratives are common in an otherwise brutally bad piece of journalism full of tropes about how not to report on sexual assault.
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
And that led to my words appearing in a victim-blaming article written by a journalist I have never met about how Jane Doe's story was "inconsistent."
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Patient-Led Research Collaborative @patientled.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"In addition, teachers’ unions should advocate for more teachers living with #LongCovid to receive all necessary accommodations and supports to continue to serve as educators, including being able to teach part-time." journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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