COVID-19

[BLOGS]

Premier Legault comes to his senses

Françoise Baylis  | February 3, 2022

Thankfully, Québec Premier François Legault has abandoned his controversial plan to tax those who refuse COVID-19 vaccination. Instead, Legault now says that he wants to “extend a hand to the unvaccinated.”

Nope. A Covid-19 Travel Pass isn't Just Like The Yellow Card

Natalie Kofler & Françoise Baylis  | May 13, 2021

Citing the Yellow Card as precedent for Covid-19 travel passes that exempt those with proof of vaccination from testing and quarantine mandates when crossing certain borders is an erroneous policy assumption that could prolong the pandemic and imperil global health.

What Canada needs to consider in its plan for vaccination certificates

Françoise Baylis & Natalie Kofler | May 7, 2021

Canada should advocate for and endorse only a policy that protects public health. In support of global public health, Canada should at a minimum continue to support COVAX. If vaccination certificates are to be used for international travel, the legislation authorizing such use should include a sunset clause.

Challenge studies for COVID-19: Now is still not the time

Françoise Baylis & Landon Getz  | April 27, 2021

Our most recent arguments against the first study were published about a month ago in the Journal of Medical Ethics blog.  Rohrig and Manheim contest our position. While there is much in their commentary that deserves a response, a comprehensive rebuttal would require an article of considerable length and so we restrict our comments to a few salient points.

Challenge studies for COVID-19: Now is not the time

Landon Getz & Françoise Baylis  | April 6, 2021

hVIVO, a for-profit clinical research organization in London, in collaboration with Imperial College London, has initiated a human challenge study in youth between the ages of 18 and 30 to determine the dose at which individuals become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Covid-19 vaccination certificates: prospects and problems

Natalie Kofler & Françoise Baylis  | March 10, 2021

In the early days of the pandemic, Covid-19 immunity passports were proposed as a useful tool to allow some individuals to return to work, shopping, cultural events, and travel… Immunity passports were to help reopen economies and allow individuals to resume normal activities …

COVID-19 vaccine certification: a contentious proposal

Françoise Baylis | January 8, 2021

In early Spring 2020, with the first wave of the pandemic, there was considerable enthusiasm for so-called “immunity passports” for people who had survived COVID-19 and were presumed immune to the coronavirus.

Françoise Baylis highlights some of the limitations of COVID-19 vaccine certificates.

Canada should reject the idea of deliberately infecting vaccine volunteers

Landon Getz & Françoise Baylis  | November 19, 2020

Human challenge trials for the COVID-19 vaccine raise a number of ethical issues. They should not be entertained in Canada.

 

excluding pregnant women from covid-19 vaccine trials puts their health at risk

Angela Ballantyne & Françoise Baylis | October 14, 2020

With no effective cure and limited treatment options, the development of safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 is a high priority. Vaccines both protect individuals against infection and reduce community spread of the virus by interrupting transmission pathways.

 

Rush to risky challenge trials is unethical

Françoise Baylis & Landon Getz | October 7, 2020

The people and financial resources invested in developing a vaccine against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 are staggering; the results to date unprecedented.

 

Immunity passports – reopening the economy and repackaging racism

Natalie Kofler & Françoise Baylis | July 1, 2020

In the midst of worldwide protests against anti-Black racism and violent policing, private companies and governments are developing a novel platform for discrimination that would effectively increase the reach of law enforcement into public society – so called, digital “immunity passports”.

 

Immunity passports highlight inequities among races and classes

Françoise Baylis & Natalie Kofler | June 3, 2020

Many have suggested that COVID-19 is the great equalizer. […] SARS-CoV2 can infect anyone – rich or poor, young or old, White or Black. Everyone is at risk of contracting the virus and passing it on to someone else. The data, however, belie this truth.

 

Reopening Canada while protecting public health

Natalie Kofler & Françoise Baylis | June 1, 2020

Natalie Kofler and Françoise Baylis remind us that everyone must be protected during this pandemic. […] As the Canadian economy begins to reopen, it is imperative that the already marginalized not be placed at increased risk.

 

What counts as adequate access to abortion care in a pandemic? A perspective from Canada

Martha Paynter & Françoise Baylis | May 29, 2020

Longstanding challenges in access to abortion include important differences in provincial regulations and lack of willing providers outside of major urban centres. These challenges have been exacerbated by COVID-19.

 

U.S. and Canada: being good neighbors in the pandemic

Françoise Baylis | April 14, 2020

The ever-increasing number of deaths in the U.S. is of great concern to Canadians. Many Canadians have close personal ties with Americans–some are family, some are friends. Many of us work across the border and sojourn there in the winter months. […] In these and many other ways the lives of Canadians are intertwined with the lives of Americans.

 

COVID-19 reaffirms that abortion is an essential service

Martha Paynter & Françoise Baylis | April 14, 2020

Leaders across Canada have affirmed that abortion is an essential service to be maintained throughout the pandemic. This is because abortion, unlike many other interventions, cannot reasonably be delayed.

 

Coronavirus: The watchword is solidarity, not autonomy

Françoise Baylis | March 24, 2020

Much of what I am reading and watching is deeply concerning. There are, for example, videos of massive crowds of young people frolicking at the beaches in Florida. […] Françoise Baylis asks everyone to do their part to protect each other during this pandemic.

 

Coronavirus: When Canadian compassion requires social distancing

Françoise Baylis | March 16, 2020

Canadians are well known for their reserved politeness. […] We are also widely known as a compassionate people — we value personal autonomy, but also embrace collective responsibility. In times of trouble, we can usually be counted on to reach out in an effort to help others at home and around the world.

 

Coronavirus in Vietnam: Observations from a Canadian

Françoise Baylis | March 10, 2020

Françoise Baylis describes her experience of public health measures to counter coronavirus in Vietnam.