Click here to download and read an open letter from a large group of University of Guelph faculty concerned about COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.
With freedom comes responsibility.
That applies to academic freedom too. It should not be used to provide cover for misrepresentation and misinformation.
The latest version of A Guide to Mitigating the Risk of Infection in Veterinary Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic (15-Jun-2021) has been released. It can also be accessed through the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association Coronavirus FAQ webpage (member login required).
The main changes are a new section summarizing various considerations for re-opening of veterinary practices
I get asked about this topic a lot. Early in the pandemic, I wrote a post about options for caring for pets of people with COVID-19. Some things have changed a bit now that we know more know about SARS-CoV-2 in animals and the associated zoonotic risks, and we have a vaccine for people.
We have a lot of different concerns about SARS-CoV-2 on mink farms. Mink are really susceptible to this virus, and human-to-mink transmission isn’t uncommon, so if we continue to farm mink, we will continue to expose mink to SARS-CoV-2 as long as the virus is still circulating in people.
Two of the biggest concerns relate
As we start seeing a light at the end of the (long) tunnel, we have to think about how and when to restart various activities. One particular activity that I get a lot of emails about is pet therapy/visitation programs. These are great programs, where animals (usually, and ideally, dogs) are taken into facilities to
I’ve written before about animal vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 with regard to mink, but with Russia having recently licensed its Carnivac-Cov vaccine for use in several species (namely dogs, cats, foxes and mink) and Zoetis developing a vaccine in the US for mink, there’s continued interest in the subject, so I’ll revisit it.
I’m glad
Ivermectin is a commonly used anti-parasitic in animals, and it’s also used in people to treat some parasitic diseases. Additionally, it’s still widely discussed in some internet circles for treatment or prevention of COVID-19. That’s based on mainly anecdotes, some in vitro study, and very poor quality “clinical trials”.
It’s led to stories of people
I’ve had a blog writing dry spell lately (too much other stuff to catch up on), so I’ll jump back with a quick summary of some recent papers on SARS-CoV-2 in animals. There isn’t really anything surprising here, but it’s a continuation of what we’ve been learning and saying for a while.
We’ve once again updated the Guide to Mitigating the Risk of Infection in Veterinary Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic (14-Apr-2021). It can also be accessed through the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association Coronavirus FAQ webpage (member login required).
I’ll be happy when we can stop updating these guidelines. Progress is good and adding new information
I’ve taken a look back at some posts from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, to see how my thoughts have evolved, what I got right and what I screwed up. We have a lot of COVID-19 posts (starting from when we called it “novel coronavirus” or “Wuhan coronavirus” before the SARS-CoV-2 terminology existed).
