Jason Nickerson

@jwnickerson.bsky.social

375

Followers

198

Following

137

Posts

Humanitarian Representative to Canada for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) 🌎
Respiratory Therapist 🫁
Trail runner and adventurer🏃‍♂️
PhD and health researcher ☣️

Posts Replies Media

The world desperately needs to do better, more coordinated, and more equitable work in preparing for and responding to disease outbreaks and pandemics. That countries are unable to agree on many common-sense and reasonable proposals is, frankly, shameful. MedSky 🧪 www.nytimes.com/2024/05/24/h...

Countries Fail to Agree on Treaty to Prepare the World for the Next Pandemicwww.nytimes.com Negotiators plan to ask for more time. Among the sticking points are equitable access to vaccines and financing to set up surveillance systems.

Depressing state of the art, film, and streaming industry: “Studios can work very hard to hold your attention before deciding, at the last possible moment, that they’re better off throwing out artists’ work than letting you pay money to see it.” www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/m...

Want to See This Film? Movie Studios Won’t Let You.www.nytimes.com As in the case of ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ sometimes an entertainment company sees more value in not selling you its products.

Reposted by

Jason Nickerson

No matter how bad you think this will be just from the post and headline, you will not be prepared for how bad it is when you click on the link

This whole thing continues to be so weird. The deliberate malice of it. www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1...

RBG's family condemns the selection of recipients of an award named in her honorwww.npr.org The Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award was created to honor women who have created positive change in society. RBG's family says this year's change in selection criteria betrays her legacy.

I spoke with CBC last night about the plan to build a pier - which won’t be operational for weeks - to deliver aid to Gaza, and why this is not a viable solution for addressing emergency needs that exist today. This is no a logistics problem, it is a political problem. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

www.cbc.ca

There is likely community transmission of measles in some parts of Canada, but there's a risk of importation of measles cases following international travel - this links to what we @msf.bsky.social have been warning of for years: there are huge gaps in vaccination coverage globally.

Building a temporary pier to bring aid into Gaza - which will take weeks to build - is not a practical option for an emergency of this scale or urgency. People need food, medicine, fuel, and water today, not weeks from now. There are trucks sitting at existing border crossings into Gaza.

We are aware of statements about 🇨🇦 plans to airdrop aid into Gaza and emphasize that airdropping aid is in no way a substitute for humanitarian access and regular border crossings that allow medical supplies, food, fuel, and other relief items to enter. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

Airdrops show Palestinians in Gaza still not receiving much-needed aid, humanitarian leaders saywww.theglobeandmail.com Gaza health authorities said more than 100 Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces while waiting for an aid delivery near Gaza City. Israel said many of the victims had been run over by aid truc...

Around 100,000 people die from venomous snakebites each year, and we are lacking effective, affordable antivenoms. R&D for new antivenoms is underfunded, typical of many diseases that simply aren't profitable enough to attract investment. But there's hope: MedSky 🧪 www.statnews.com/2024/02/21/a...

Scientists take a (small) step toward universal antivenomwww.statnews.com Scientists have laid out a blueprint for creating a “universal antivenom.”

Last week, more than 100 Rohingya people fled a Malaysian detention centre. There are currently around 2,000 Rohingya refugees in detention in Malaysia, who remain stateless with no recourse to obtain legal status. toronto.citynews.ca/2024/02/02/m...

More than 100 Rohingya flee a Malaysian detention centertoronto.citynews.ca KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — More than 100 Rohingya immigrants have escaped from a detention center in Malaysia after a protest, with one confirmed killed in a road accident, officials said Friday....

MSF's medical teams in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have received huge influxes of war-wounded patients in the last 2 weeks as thousands of people flee fighting. www.msf.org/people-and-m...

People and medical facilities caught in crossfire as violence escalates in North Kivu, DRC | MSFwww.msf.org A new wave of armed clashes in North Kivu, DRC, over the past couple of weeks has caused thousands of people to flee and MSF medical teams receiving huge influxes of war-wounded patients.

There are massive gaps in access to pain medicines in many low- and middle-income countries, which often leads to the use of second or third line analgesics. Central African Republic just announced the withdrawal of metamizole from the market, for example. MedSky lengosongo.cf/2024/01/22/l...

Le ministre de la Santé et de la Population annonce le retrait de certains médicaments de circulat...lengosongo.cf

Reposted by

Jason Nickerson

Important work well worth reading. Kudos to Retraction Watch and Science. www.science.org/content/arti...

People with moderate to severe asthma have a growing list of treatment options - however, it's still not entirely clear how to bring them all together, how to use them, and when to stop using them (and they're expensive!). In today's Lancet: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... MedSky 🧪

The last confirmed detection of a B/Yamagata flu virus was in March 2020, but it's still included in our flu vaccines and will be for some time. Removing it isn't straightforward. Fascinating read by @helenbranswell.bsky.social in @statnews.bsky.social 🧪 MedSky www.statnews.com/2024/01/16/f...

The WHO and drug regulators want to reformulate the flu vaccine. It’s easier said than donewww.statnews.com Can flu shots be reformulated in time for the 2024-25 flu season? Manufacturers don’t think so.

This is a thoughtful and helpful read on the challenges/differences of free speech and academic freedom. Academic freedom is extremely important - people and society deserve the benefit and generosity of our academic curiosity. In today's The Line: www.readtheline.ca/p/andrew-pot...

Andrew Potter: Free speech and academic freedom aren’t the same thingwww.readtheline.ca Politicians who don’t understand that are only making things worse.

Two big asthma and COPD medication stories coming out of the US this week, both highlighting the absurd way that inhalers - many of which are decades-old drugs delivered by decades-old device technologies - are priced out of reach of patients that need them.

Reposted by

Jason Nickerson

Looking forward to my (very grouchy) chapter on Canada & COVID-19 vaccine (in)equity in this long-gestating volume, alongside pieces from folks like @roojin.bsky.social @jwnickerson.bsky.social @dfisman.bsky.social @deonandan.bsky.social and plenty more.🇨🇦💉🌐⚖️ www.routledge.com/Pandemics-Pu...

Pandemics, Public Health, and the Regulation of Borders: Lessons from COVID-19www.routledge.com This book examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has engendered a new and challenging environment in which borders drawn around people, places, and social structures have hardened, and new ones have emerg...

Reposted by

Jason Nickerson

Our book includes contributions from @roojin.bsky.social, Colleen Flood, @jwnickerson.bsky.social, @dfisman.bsky.social, @siouxsiew.bsky.social, and many others & is due out in 2 months: "Pandemics, Public Health, and the Regulation of BordersLessons from COVID-19" www.routledge.com/Pandemics-Pu...

Sudanese authorities have informed MSF of a ban on importing surgical supplies to hospitals in areas of Khartoum controlled by RSF forces. This is unconscionable & will directly impact our ability to provide trauma surgical care & also caesarean sections. www.msf.org/surgical-sup...

Surgical supply ban in Khartoum must be immediately reversed | MSFwww.msf.org An unconscionable ban that is preventing life-saving surgical supplies from being transported to hospitals in areas of Khartoum, Sudan, is putting the lives of hundreds of people at risk.

An MSF convoy trying to evacuate our staff and their families was attacked in North Gaza today. One person was killed, another injured. This is absolutely unacceptable and horrific. We condemn this in the strongest terms. Ceasefire now. www.msf.org/gaza-msf-con...

Gaza: MSF condemns deliberate attack on a convoy transporting staff, resulting in one death and one ...www.msf.org [node:field_description]

Gaza update. Patients and medical staff are trapped in hospitals: Al-Shifa hospital has been hit several times, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. MSF urgently reiterates its calls to stop the attacks against hospitals & for an immediate ceasefire. t.co/yfcAa0IsyJ

Gaza: Patients and medical staff trapped in hospitals under fire | MSFt.co [node:field_description]

Reposted by

Jason Nickerson

The "unexpected" in the headline is slightly irksome. This was the main fear I expressed back in December 2017 when first asked about deepfakes and repeatedly since then. I have expressed this to every journalist who has called me about AI fakes since.

Researchers have found few AI fakes related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. But the mere possibility that AI content could be circulating is leading people to dismiss genuine images, video and audio as inauthentic.

A.I. Muddies Israel-Hamas War in Unexpected Waywww.nytimes.com Fakes related to the conflict have been limited and largely unconvincing, but their presence has people doubting real evidence.

Reposted by

Jason Nickerson

Oh wow. Sufjan Stevens just came out in the most heartbreaking way possible. sufjan.com/post/7304464...

Sufjan Stevens - Javelinsufjan.com JAVELIN is out today. Thank you for listening. I love you. This album is dedicated to the light of my life, my beloved partner and best friend Evans Richardson, who passed away in April. He was an...

Reposted by

Jason Nickerson

Twitter/X is now removing headlines from links and Threads/Meta is prohibiting searches of public health terms like Covid and vaccines. Billionaires are dangerously restricting people’s access to news.

Colleagues working on access to medicines and equitable R&D policy 🧪, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights has an open call for contributions on challenges in accessing medicines, vaccines, etc: www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for... MedSky

OHCHR | Call for Contributions - OHCHR analytical study on key challenges in ensuring access to medi...www.ohchr.org Background Vaccine equity and access to medicines is a fundamental component of the full realization of the right to health. Vaccines, medicines and other health products must not only be produced and...

We're heading for a rapidly changing global public health world, impacted by climate change. How that's going to impact mosquito-borne diseases is complex and nuanced, but the overall picture looks bad. Great read on the complexity of the issue here: MedSky EpiSky www.science.org/content/arti...

Science | AAASwww.science.org

American drug pricing is bonkers on many levels, but it's absolutely insane that countries that fund R&D of medicines and vaccines aren't even attempting to negotiate fair pricing and global access provisions as a condition of that funding. MedSky 🧪 www.statnews.com/2023/09/28/c...

Did the government get a bad deal on the Covid-19 boosters?www.statnews.com After Pfizer and Moderna hiked the prices of their Covid vaccines, the government will pay nearly three times more per dose.

Lots in the SCC Mason decision concerning Canada's responsibilities under international law, including Canada's obligations to not return people to a place where they are at risk of human rights violations (non-refoulement). scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-...

Mason v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) - SCC Cases scc-csc.lexum.com This page contains a form to search the Supreme Court of Canada case information database. You can search by the SCC 5-digit case number, by name or word in the style of cause, or by file number from ...

This is good news for expanding global access to #insulin in low- and middle-income countries, and reportedly will see Novo Nordisk's insulin production double within a year. It's also a first step: people need newer insulins, GLP-1 drugs, tests, etc. MedSky healthpolicy-watch.news/new-insulin-...

New Insulin Production Deal Is A Boost For Africa’s Diabetes Challenge - Health Policy Watchhealthpolicy-watch.news A new deal between Danish company Novo Nordisk and South African generic manufacturer Aspen will massively expand the supply of insulin in sub-Saharan Africa

A potential consequence of delayed gastric emptying from GLP-1 drugs may be an increased risk of aspiration pneumonia during general anesthesia and deep sedation, even in fasted patients. EU regulators looking at this MedSky: www.reuters.com/business/hea...

EU regulator to discuss anaesthesia risk for weight-loss drugs | Reuterswww.reuters.com The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will discuss the risk that patients on Wegovy, Ozempic or similar drugs may suffer certain complications under anaesthesia that can lead to pneumonia, according to ...