Community News
A push for a Tuberculosis Vaccine; is this warranted, and if so why? The World Economic Forum returns to Davos
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
The World Economic Forum (WEF) returned to Davos for its first winter session in three years on January 16th, 2023. Record numbers of government officials and business leaders showed up at the elite annual affair. More than 600 CEOs were in Switzerland, including Wall Street executives such as: JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon, David Solomon from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman.
With climate change top of the agenda, chiefs of major energy companies are back after a COVID-related hiatus, and the claim is that climate change is increasing malaria, and tuberculosis infections, the executive director of the world’s biggest health fund said in Davos on Monday.
“Huge surges in malaria infections followed recent floods in Pakistan and cyclones in Mozambique in 2021,” said Peter Sands, the Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
“Whenever you have an extreme weather event it’s fairly common to have a surge of malaria,” he said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.
The panellists also warned that COVID-19 isn’t yet over and that we mustn’t get complacent. “The problem that we have right now is that since the beginning of 2022, we’ve had enough vaccines to provide whatever countries want. The challenge has been getting the demand,” said Seth F Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
“Part of it is the world says, ‘We’re done with COVID.’ Of course, the virus is not done with us, and what we really need to do is make sure that policy-makers understand that we’re continuing to see new variants and we’ve been lucky that we haven’t had one with very severe disease, or one that can escape existing immunity.
There’s no reason to think that may not happen. So, the best thing we can do is use prevention methods, but also make sure we vaccinate our high-risk populations so they’re protected against severe disease and death.”
We can say one thing, he is right; more and more people are starting to catch wind of the disastrous effects of the vaccine. It has nothing to do with complacency; people are noticing a trend of side effects, and deaths that are not sitting well for them, but I digress…
According to the WHO, in 2021 more than 10 million people fell ill from tuberculosis and 1.6 million people died.
I came across an article titled, “Tuberculosis in People with Compromised Immunity: A Review of Guidelines,” and I learned that Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is transmitted through the air by those who are infected with the bacteria (i.e., coughing).
Patients with compromised immunity have a higher risk of LTBI infection and developing active TB disease. For instance, people with HIV have a higher risk of developing active TB disease compared to HIV-uninfected people due to their compromised immune system and the inability to adequately fight off infection.
You know who else could possibly fit in that category; individuals who have been vaccinated and boosted. Let’s take a look at what science has to say about this.
In an article titled, “Vaccination Alters the Balance between Protective Immunity, Exhaustion, Escape, and Death in Chronic Infections,” they found that vaccination expands the numbers of lymphocytes specific for a given pathogen. However, in some circumstances, increasing the number of antigen-specific lymphocytes may fail to provide protection and instead lead to an adverse outcome following exposure to the pathogen, something they like to call vaccine-induced pathology.
Another article titled, “Vaccination Alters the Balance between Protective Immunity, Exhaustion, Escape, and Death in Chronic Infections,” they speak to the fact that vaccine-associated enhanced disease (VAED) is a rarely-observed phenomenon whereby vaccination promotes immune responses that exacerbate the disease caused by subsequent infection with the associated pathogen (meaning that your body will actually still catch the disease, because your immune system is compromised). VAED has been observed in humans in three vaccine trials, for vaccines against: dengue virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and measles.
Is it possible that the rise in tuberculosis has everything to do with the vaccine rollout? Timelines do seem to indicate this fact.
Regardless of the well documented science, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
(Director General of the World Health Organization) announced the creation of the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council at a high-level panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
During his opening remarks, he noted that one of the most important lessons from the COVID-19 response is that innovative health interventions can be delivered fast if they are prioritized politically and financed adequately. I want to make note here that no new TB vaccines have been licensed in a century, yet for some reason now, there is a push for them.
“The challenges presented by TB and COVID-19 are different, but the ingredients that accelerate science, research and innovation are the same: urgent, up-front public investment; support from philanthropy; and engagement of the private sector and communities,” said Tedros. “We believe the TB field will benefit from similar high-level coordination.”
WHO recently commissioned a study on investing in new TB vaccines, which estimates that over 25 years, a vaccine that is 50% effective in preventing disease among young people and adults could avert up to 76 million TB cases.
Furthermore, every dollar invested in a 50% effective vaccine could generate an economic return of $7 in terms of averted health costs and increased productivity. Additionally, some 8.5 million lives could be saved, as well as $6.5 billion in costs faced by TB-affected households, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable.
Hmmmmm! 50% effective; do we really want to take another gamble with our lives? I will let you think about that
Community News
Urban Alliance on Race Relations celebrates and highlights Racial Justice Award recipients
BY PAUL JUNOR
It has been almost 40 years since the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) has been at the forefront of: promoting tolerance, social justice, racial equity and fairness. Since it was formed in 1975, they have celebrated and recognized changemakers in the fight for racial justice in diverse sectors such as: health, labour, government, education, arts, media, environment, and justice.
On Saturday, December 7th, 2024, there was a great turnout at the 2024 Racial Justice Awards Night held at The Estate Banquet & Event Centre in Scarborough. In attendance were many community supporters, civic officials, long-time racial justice warriors, and individuals from diverse ethnic groups.
UARR is grateful for all the sponsors of the Racial Justice Awards Night Celebration. It notes in its email to its supporters on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024, the importance of its sponsors including:
- United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) of Canada, UFCW, Local 175
- The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 353
- Unite Here! Local 75
- Toronto & York Region Labour Council
- Canadian Labour Congress
- The Coalitions of Black Trade Union (CBTUL)
“Your sponsorship plays a vital role in shining a light on individuals and organizations driving equity, justice, and change in our communities. This celebration is more than an event, it’s a movement. Thanks to your support, we’re: honoring changemakers, amplifying unheard voices, and funding initiatives that break down systemic barriers.”
The categories and names of the awards and recipients were:
Racial Justice in Arts: Hannia Cheng
She is an artist and cultural worker who co-founded Unit 270, a DIY gallery and multi-purpose grassroots community hub in Chinatown Centre.
Racial Justice in Labour: Vanessa Story
She is the founder of the Black Youth York Region and co-founder of the York Communities for Public Education coalition.
Racial Justice in Education: Shannon Simpson
She is Senior Director of Indigenous Initiatives at the University of Toronto.
Racial Justice in Environment: Dr. Ingrid Waldron
She is a Professor and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health in the Global and Peace and Social Justice Program in the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University.
Urban Alliance of Race Relations Agent of Change Award: Kirk Mark
He is the Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Consultant at KIRK Mark & Associates.
Racial Justice in Media: Amanda Parris
She is an award-winning writer, tv host and producer, and former host of CBC Arts Exhibitionist.
Racial Justice in Health: Camille Orridge
She is former CEO of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (TCLHIN).
Racial Justice in Government: Amira Elghawaby
She is a journalist and human rights advocate who was appointed in January 2023 as Canada’s Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia.
Racial Justice in Justice: South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALC0)
This legal clinic supports low-income South Asian people in Canada.
The funds raised from the Awards night will be going toward the work of the Diversity Youth Fellowship Program. This innovative and creative program is directly involved in enabling racialized youth to get paid experience working in municipal governments and at various public policy making organizations across Canada.
The performers at the event included: Katheen Zaragosa (a Filipino music performer), Rithika Jeristus & Maya Jeristus (Bharatanatyam dancers) and Yasmin Said (spoken word artist)
UARR is looking forward to its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2025 and shared five of its strategic priorities for the next 10 years including:
- Employment and economic opportunity: The goal is to foster inclusive workspaces and economic opportunities.
- Education: The goal is to promote racial equity in education and research.
- Communication: The goal is to expand public awareness and reach to amplify our stories.
- Community engagement and outreach: The goal is building community capacity and convening towards change.
- Truth and reconciliation-relationship building and supporting calls to action. The goal is to strengthen our solidarity and action towards truth and reconciliation.
Community News
What is it about those short videos that keep us captivated? Oh! Yes! Our short attention span
BY KAHA GEDI
As our attention spans decrease, short form videos are becoming more popular. From TikTok, to YouTube Shorts, to Instagram Reels, these “snack sized” videos have positive qualities alongside the bad. Mainly we want to know what makes them so effective, and why are they becoming the go-to choice for both viewers and marketers? In this article, I will be discussing how these videos have received such popularity worldwide.
First, we need to understand what counts as and what is short-form content. According to blog.hubspot.com, “Short-form videos are videos that are less than 60 seconds long.” However, some marketers and content creators agree that short-form videos can be up to 3 minutes. “They are videos that deliver information in a ‘digestible’ format so that viewers can quickly watch and save content if they’re in a hurry or enjoy it.” Now, I’ll talk about the main reasons why these videos are so popular.
First, our attention spans have gone down exponentially. Dr Gloria Mark has written a book called “Attention Span,” and she says her research indicates people’s attention spans have been shrinking over the last 20 years. According to the same article Dr. Mark said that “Back in 2004, we found the average attention span on any screen to be two and a half minutes on average. Throughout the years, it became shorter. So, around 2012, we found it to be 75 seconds. Then in the last five, six years, we found it to average about 47 seconds.” So, it’s notable that our attention spans started out longer but then decreased over time.
Secondly, these videos have become cheaper and easier to make. Unlike long-form videos, which require extensive: planning, editing, and storytelling, short-form videos are simpler. To the point where they can even be shot on a smartphone. For example, DuoLingo, the app that helps learn new languages, went viral on TikTok a long time ago by posting funny, low-budget videos that resonate with millions. Like a video of a DuoLingo plus being: tossed down the stairs, sitting outside on a rainy day, or being soaked by the shower with the title “When you ignore my notifications.”
Lastly, they provide valuable information in a short amount of time, and they are easily accessible. According to a recent Adobe Survey, two in five Americans use TikTok as a search engine, and nearly one in 10 Gen Zeers are more likely to rely on TikTok than Google as a search engine. This isn’t always reliable for real news because anyone can claim to be an expert, and you wouldn’t know if they’re telling the truth. So, even though they give valuable information in a short time, they can also give misinformation or mislead you.
Short-form videos have changed how we watch and learn things. They fit our short attention spans, are easy to make, and share information quickly. Even though they’re fun and helpful, they can also spread false information or leave out important details. Even with these problems, short-form videos are here to stay, so we should use them in proportion, but also enjoy the benefits.
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