Health

Health


N.L. privacy commissioner steps away from long awaited 2021 cyberattack probe

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The provincial official leading an investigation into the 2021 cyberattack that toppled much of Newfoundland and Labrador’s health-care system has begrudgingly stepped away from the probe after the province challenged his role in court. Information and privacy commissioner Michael Harvey said Tuesday that he rejects the province’s accusations of bias in […]

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Chinese SARS whistleblower Jiang Yanyong dies at 91

BEIJING (AP) — Jiang Yanyong, a Chinese military doctor who revealed the full extent of the 2003 SARS outbreak and was later placed under house arrest for his political outspokenness, has died, a long-time acquaintance and a Hong Kong newspaper said Tuesday. Jiang was 91 and died of pneumonia Saturday in Beijing, according to human […]

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Newfoundland and Labrador telehealth line advises most callers to go see a doctor

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Reports from the company running Newfoundland and Labrador’s public health line show more than three-quarters of callers looking for advice about symptoms are told to seek emergency services or see a family doctor. The reports filed last year by Fonemed, which operates the province’s 811 HealthLine, show the service grappling with […]

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Ransomware group behind 2021 cyberattack on Newfoundland and Labrador health network

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The Hive ransomware group was behind the cyberattack that brought Newfoundland and Labrador’s health-care system to its knees in October 2021, officials said Tuesday. The revelation was the first appreciable bit of information officials have provided about who or what was behind the attack since systems first crashed nearly a year […]

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Ontario study finds ‘circular hockey hub’ vaccine clinic most efficient model

TORONTO — Mass immunization clinics in which vaccinators and volunteers move around a circular set-up of chairs – with clients staying seated – was by far the most efficient model in an Ontario government study comparing different sites. The Ministry of Health study, obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request, looked at nine […]

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BetterHelp shared users’ sensitive health data, FTC says

The online counseling service BetterHelp has agreed to return $7.8 million to customers to settle with the Federal Trade Commission for sharing health data it had promised to keep private — including information about mental health challenges — with companies including Facebook and Snapchat. The proposed FTC order announced Thursday also limits how the California-based […]

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Bills would let transgender people seal name change requests

SEATTLE (AP) — You can change your name, but in many states you can’t completely shed your old one — something that’s of particular concern to transgender people and that legislators in at least two states are trying to change. A bill in Washington would allow gender expression and identity as reasons to seal, or […]

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Amazon closes $3.9B buyout of health company One Medical

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Wednesday it has closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary care organization One Medical. The e-commerce giant has said the buyout, which was announced in July, is a key component of its growing health care business, which includes its online drugstore Amazon Pharmacy and a patient to doctor […]

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Manitoba government’s cost of mailing out cheques continues to rise

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government has been mailing out cheques to people in recent years to help with issues ranging from property taxes to inflation to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the cost of printing those cheques and putting them in the mail — not including the cost of the benefits themselves — […]

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Florida backs off athlete menstrual data, but debate lingers

Florida has backed off its effort to force athletes to give their high schools information about their menstrual cycles after the debate sparked opposition nationwide, and now, the state is facing questions about whether the plan was based on politics or policy. Doctors often ask students about their periods to figure out whether they are […]

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Menstrual questions cut from athletic forms amid criticism

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Questions about female athletes’ menstrual history will no longer appear on the medical forms that Florida high school students have to fill out before participating in sports. The Florida High School Athletic Association axed the questions on Thursday after listening to a flood of complaints contained in letters read aloud during […]

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Saskatchewan underestimated need for rapid tests during fourth wave, emails indicate

SASKATOON — Saskatchewan underestimated how many rapid antigen tests were needed during the height of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also touting the tests as a key part of its plan to halt transmission of the virus, internal emails indicate. Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show the province emailing Health Canada in […]

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