Each week, journalists turn to Unity Health Toronto’s experts and programs to help make sense of our world. In case you missed it, here’s a recap of the headlines for the week of August 21-27.

We’re getting our kids ready for school. But are our schools ready for our kids?
The Globe and Mail on August 24, 2021
Opinion piece by Dr. Sloane Freeman and Dr. Ripudaman Minhas

In a piece for The Globe and Mail, pediatricians Dr. Sloane Freeman and Dr. Ripudaman Minhas caution that when schools reopen in September, they will need to take into account that the pandemic affected school-aged children in different ways and that schools must provide equitable and individualized mental-health support and increased access to better nutrition and physical activity.

Lessons from the pandemic: how I learned to prepare for the unknown
Best Health Mag on August 24, 2021
First-person piece as told by Dr. Joan Cheng

Dr. Joan Cheng, the GTA’s first Asian, female Emergency Department Chief, reflects on how she and her staff managed throughout the pandemic, plans for the country’s first post-COVID emergency department and how the pandemic is going to change care.

Who are Ontario’s unvaccinated and how do we raise the vaccination rate?
CBC Ontario Morning on August 20, 2021
Interview with Dr. Fahad Razak

More than two million people in the Ontario still haven’t received a single dose of the COVID vaccine. Dr. Fahad Razak outlines what efforts can be made to vaccinate those who are eligible and hesitant.

Vaccine mandates and medical exemptions: a family doctor explains
CBC Metro Morning on August 23, 2021
Interview with Dr. Tara Kiran

As employers across the country mandate COVID-19 vaccines, Dr. Tara Kiran, a family physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, explains what qualifies as a medical exemption and the concerns of patients moving forward.

Premature to conclude that India has been spared a Third Wave: Epidemiologist Prabhat Jha
Money Control on August 26, 2021
Interview with Dr. Prabhat Jha

Modelers predicted India would reach a third wave of COVID-19 in August, but so far the country has been faring well. We don’t know enough about how the Delta variant will behave in India to determine if the country has been spared a third wave of COVID-19, says Dr. Prabhat Jha, Director of the Centre for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Opioid crisis escalating; advocates press governments to act
The Gananoque Reporter on August 20, 2021
Interview with Dr. Tara Gomes

Amid a rise in opioid-related overdoses and deaths, Dr. Tara Gomes, an epidemiologist and the lead principal investigator of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at St. Michael’s Hospital, calls for  urgent action from all levels of government.

How do you feel about the segment of the population that remains unvaccinated
Zoomer Radio on August 26, 2021
Interview with Dr. Thomas Ungar

A new Angus Reid survey reveals that most Canadians are indifferent to individuals who still have not had the shot and get sick from COVID-19. Dr. Thomas Ungar, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, joins a panel of experts on Zoomer Radio to discuss the attitude towards those who remain unvaccinated.

Athletes with history of concussions may show subtle and chronic brain changes
News-Medical on August 26, 2021
Feature of research led by Dr. Tom Schweizer

A new study led by Dr. Tom Schweizer suggests athletes with a history of concussion may show more brain injury from a later concussion, particularly in middle regions of the brain that are more susceptible to damage, when compared to athletes with no history of concussion.