Menu Close

Articles on COVID-19 response

Displaying all articles

Public health measures such as vaccine and mask mandates, lockdowns and school closures have been widely discussed in scientific and popular media. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Public health errors: Why it’s crucial to understand what they are before assessing COVID-19 responses

As the COVID-19 pandemic fades, we may debate whether public health responses could have been better. But first we need to understand what public health errors are — and are not.
The psychosocial impact of the pandemic and responses to it have been immense, but the Canadian government’s approach to COVID-19 remains divisive. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Restoring community dialogue and resilience: The next COVID-19 emergency

Canada’s ‘us against them’ COVID-19 strategy is amplifying social division, creating major psychosocial impacts, and has resulted in a significant decrease in trust toward authorities.
Policy-makers lack an understanding of how to assess research and the quality of that research. We need to do better during the COVID-19 pandemic and during future health crises. (Louis Reed/Unsplash)

5 ways to tackle ignorance about evidence during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

In most countries, ignorance about how to use evidence properly to inform decision-making has led to missteps during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s how to do better.
A ‘Freedom Convoy’ has been protesting vaccine mandates at Parliament Hill, but most Canadians don’t share their views on COVID-19 restrictions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Majority of Canadians disagree with ‘freedom convoy’ on vaccine mandates and lockdowns

Most Canadians support government measures to help control the spread of COVID-19, according to a public opinion study. But they’re growing weary of the pandemic.
A crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic lends urgency to scientific research, putting researchers under pressure to produce. janiecbros/E+ via Getty Images

Pandemic, war and environmental disaster push scientists to deliver quick answers – here’s what it takes to do good science under pressure

Scientists can be asked to help find solutions during disasters. A study of how archaeologists worked on the problem of looting during the Syrian war offers lessons for science done during crisis.
As governments depend on multinational consulting firms not just for advice on COVID-19 but for core policy-making functions, we should question the extent to which such partnerships have really augmented government capacities — or hollowed them out. (Shutterstock)

Consulting firms are the ‘shadow public service’ managing the response to COVID-19

Since the beginning of the pandemic, governments in Canada have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on outside consulting firms like McKinsey, Deloitte and EY with almost no public oversight.
A garment worker walks through a clothing factory in Montréal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. did not collect adequate information about workplace transmission. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes 

Lessons from COVID-19 for the next pandemic: We need better data on workplace transmission

Routine collection of work information from people testing positive for COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic would have enabled better understanding of the role of workplaces in transmission.
Australia has housed rough sleepers during the pandemic, unlike the US, but it’s a temporary fix. Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA/AAP

COVID spurred action on rough sleepers but greater homelessness challenges lie ahead

Australia found shelter for more than 33,000 rough sleepers and other homeless people during the pandemic, but a coming surge in homelessness demands a comprehensive national housing strategy.
Wheelchairs sit behind Camilla Care in Mississauga, Ont., on May 12, 2020. Fifty residents from the long-term care home have died from COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

We need inquiries into why coronavirus is ravaging long-term care homes

The extraordinary scope and scale of the COVID-19 disaster at Canada’s long-term care centres would seem to warrant a public inquiry. But there are no guarantees there will actually be one.

Top contributors

More