Megan Ogilvie

2 months ago | thespec.com | Megan Ogilvie

As Ontario grapples with the largest measles outbreak in decades, experts are calling on the Ford government to create an electronic immunization registry that would make it easier for people to get vaccinated and reduce the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases. Members of the Ontario Immunization Advisory Committee (OIAC) are “strongly urging” the government to create an immunization registry that would include vaccination records from infancy to old age for everyone in the province.

2 months ago | thespec.com | Megan Ogilvie

Canada is at risk of losing its elimination status for measles unless health officials can curb ongoing outbreaks, including one that has sickened hundreds in southwestern Ontario, the province’s top doctor warns. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said Canadian public health officials are “concerned” about losing the status — which it has held since 1998 — and have until October to bring cases under control.

2 months ago | thespec.com | Megan Ogilvie

On March 17, 2020, the same day Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency and warned of COVID-19’s major threat, Ontario reported its first death from the virus. Most of us stayed home and stayed safe during those early pandemic days. But in hospitals, the grim reality of the pandemic hit hard, with doctors, nurses and other health-care staff struggling to keep up with wave after wave of COVID patients.

2 months ago | thespec.com | Megan Ogilvie |Kenyon Wallace

When Richard Dekker could no longer bear the pain of sitting in a wheelchair, the 79-year-old cancer patient lay on the floor of the busy emergency department with only his duffel bag for a pillow. Dekker, who had terminal lung cancer and tumours along his spine, had been scheduled to receive radiation treatment at St. Catharines’ Marotta Family Hospital. But his oncologist postponed the Dec. 4 appointment, instead telling Dekker that he needed to be admitted for a suspected infection.

2 months ago | wellandtribune.ca | Megan Ogilvie |Kenyon Wallace

When Richard Dekker could no longer bear the pain of sitting in a wheelchair, the 79-year-old cancer patient lay on the floor of the busy emergency department with only his duffel bag for a pillow. Dekker, who had terminal lung cancer and tumours along his spine, had been scheduled to receive radiation treatment at St. Catharines’ Marotta Family Hospital. But his oncologist postponed the Dec. 4 appointment, instead telling Dekker that he needed to be admitted for a suspected infection.