Public Health, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University
1465 Richmond St. N6G 2M1 London, ON, Canada

Happy Lunar New Year! This year we are celebrating the Year Of The Ox. Maybe you’re trading virtual red envelopes, putting on a red outfit, trying a new recipe or sharing a meal virtually. We know celebrations look different this year, but we hope this year is full of new opportunities and meaningful connections.

"It's not a question of if another pandemic will occur it's when. And we need to be prepared now so that we can protect ourselves and don't fall into the same situation as we are in right now." Virologist Stephen Barr, PhD, is part of Western University's vaccine research team.

The light is near, friends. But we need to keep rowing together. MPH adjunct faculty members Dr. Chris Mackie, Medical Officer of Health and Dr. Alex Summers, Associate Medical Officer of Health at the Middlesex-London Health Unit sing their version of the Sea Shanty with a COVID-19 twist.

In lab tests with dummies, a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that exposure to potentially infectious aerosols decreased by about 95% when they both wore tightly fitted masks, a mask that fits tightly to your face to stop the spread of COVID-19. Article link: http://bit.ly/MMWR21021.

MPH Class of 2021 learner, Aaraf Ahmed has been recognized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as one of the 30 people to have made a difference during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. He is the co-founder of a youth-based expatriate social movement in Bangladesh called 'BacharLorai' which aims to connect expatriates and other international people with people who need the help.

Join the CANVax webinar 'Midwives and Vaccinations: Delivering Informed Choice Discussions', which will describe the challenges and opportunities faced by midwives when discussing vaccination through a midwifery informed choice lens and the role of midwives in immunization decision-making and service delivery Register: https://us02web.zoom.us//5216124/WN_wkh7X4o7Rn-eTlKbs3BOpg

Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black culture and accomplishments, understand the history of Black people in Canada, and most importantly at Western, to support and recognize the contributions our Black community is making every day. The UWO Black Students' Association (BSA) has planned a series of online events to showcase the talents and the art of Black students and local community members, along with panel discussions and special guest speakers. We would like ...to encourage everyone in our community to participate and support their incredible work. Today, Western’s BSA kicks off Black History Month with a virtual opening ceremony that begins at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Please find more information about today’s ceremony and future events by visiting their Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/bsawestern/ See more

Food is an important part of our physical, family, social, and cultural lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, being stuck at home has made the action of cooking food critical to our mental and physical well-being. SOGS wants to know what kinds of food you love to make and eat so that we can share your culinary culture(s) with our members and the WesternU community! Submit a recipe, culinary tip, and/or food resources at http://ow.ly/XoBK50Co5Wp by December 3, 2020 and be ...entered to win 1 of 2 $50 Loblaws gift cards ! *Note: SOGS Alumnx and UWO staff/faculty/stakeholders can also submit! Learn more: sogs.ca/cookbook/

Western experts Eric Arts, Kate Choi, and Prachi Srivastava discuss the inequalities that have caused vulnerable populations to be hit the hardest by COVID-19, and the many ways that the pandemic is taking global - and local - inequalities to even greater heights. When: Tomorrow, November 18, 7.00 pm - 8.00 pm. Registration required: https://westernuniversity.zoom.us//WN_fyf8GK11SWKfmeZljjXw

Raveen Bahniwal, MPH'20 created a playlist of three short videos in Punjabi, in which she shares information about COVID-19, for the benefit of her Punjabi speaking parents, family, and the wider community. Listen to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist

Middlesex-London community is now in the protect (yellow) level of Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework. Under the protect (yellow) level, strengthened public health measures will provide more protection in high risk settings https://www.healthunit.com/covid-19-response-framework

MPH faculty member Lloy Wylie, PhD provided a short explanation on "National Media Coverage in the Pandemic" as part of Western's recent Global Health Day. Check out the video at https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/pgh_videos/7/.

ETIO Public Health Consultants, an MPH alum-founded public health consulting firm, shares that it has been over 9 months since COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. After so many months of quarantining, hand washing, and disinfecting, it is not a surprise that many people have reached COVID fatigue. Adapting to new behaviours can be hard, but with time can be sustained. As we observe COVID resurgence in many countries, we must remain vigilant and keep up with pand...emic precautions in order to keep ourselves and those around us safe and healthy. Check out these effortless tips that can help you overcome COVID fatigue and find out more here https://bit.ly/3pyKQTc! #COVID19 #secondwave #COVID19resurgence #cautionfatigue #COVIDfatigue #prevention #preventativemeasures #mindfulness #mentalhealth #physicalactivity #meditation #publichealth #publichealthmatters

MPH'19 alum, faculty member and physician epidemiologist, Dr. Nitin Mohan worries that circuit breaker lockdowns, touted as a way to quickly bring down #COVID19 case counts, leave essential workers at risk. "Our economies are held together by essential workers who are often the most vulnerable members of society."

MPH alum and PhD candidate Hoda Herati has had her article entitled: "Mental health interventions for immigrant-refugee children and youth living in Canada: a scoping review and way forward" published in the Taylor and Francis Online Journal of Mental Health. Read the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/epri/XTGYBWGB93FZFR2TSE8H/full

MPH'19 alum and medical student Aman Sayal has published a first author paper entitled, The Attitudes of Canadian Ophthalmology Residents and Pre-Clerkship Medical Students at an Ontario Medical School Towards Homeless Individuals: A Cross-Sectional Study' in Ophthalmic Epidemiology". Aman's study assessed the attitudes of Canadian ophthalmology residents (PGY1-5) and pre-clerkship medical students (year 1 and 2) at the University of Toronto towards individuals experiencing homelessness. Link to the paper: https://www.tandfonline.com//full/10/09286586.2020.1846759

MPH Class of 2021 learners are tackling their first Integrative Workshop on the sensitive and difficult subject matter of 'COVID and its impact on Mental Health', organized by faculty members, Drs. Ava John-Baptiste and Lloy Wylie, today. The aim of the workshop is to offer the cohort the opportunity to apply the learnings from the MPH coursework to a real world problem, namely how can the mental health needs of various groups that are suffering due to social isolation be assessed.