Media releases

• PM’s resignation is another hit to Britain’s reputation, says Brock expert

  Friday, October 21, 2022 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: 21 October 2022 – R0116

  The unprecedented resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss after only 45 days on the job does little to right the ship of a nation that has been staggering from crisis to crisis, says a Brock University researcher.

  “This means more and more uncertainty in a time marked by the war in Ukraine and the ailing U.K. economy,” says Associate Professor of Political Science Paul Hamilton. “Markets seemed to respond favourably to Truss’ resignation, but uncertainty around her replacement could add more chaos to the sinking pound and high inflation rate.”

  Though Truss will now go down as the nation’s shortest-tenured leader, Hamilton says the conditions for her demise and the damage to the U.K.’s status around the globe cannot be pinned on her alone.

  “Britain’s reputation for stable, reliable governance and global leadership had taken a hit before Truss’ resignation,” he says. “The departure from the European Union and the messy way in which it happened cost the U.K. reputationally. Theresa May’s resignation from the top job in 2017, followed by Boris Johnson’s scandalous departure and now Truss’ have likely damaged the U.K.’s status in world affairs for the near future.”

  With the governing Conservative party set to name its fifth Prime Minister in 12 years, Hamilton says potential leadership candidates should exercise caution.

  “The leadership may well be a poisoned chalice that ambitious politicians will shrink from,” he says. “The next leader will have about two years to steer the ship of state into calmer waters, and they will likely have to pursue a less ideological and more centrist economic policy.”

  While the new leader will likely last more than Truss’ 45 days, Hamilton says a two-year mandate might be a lot to ask.

  “There could be serious electoral trouble for the Conservatives should Truss’ successor lose the confidence of Parliament,” he says. “The party is divided and so its majority is fragile.”

  Brock University Associate Professor of Political Science Paul Hamilton is available for media interviews on the topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209 

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock experts encourage increased uptake in COVID, flu vaccines this fall

  Thursday, October 20, 2022 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: 20 October 2022 – R0115

  With flu season underway and COVID-19 continuing to evolve, there’s a need for action — both on the part of individuals and governments — to keep communities safe this fall, say Brock University experts.

  Brock immunologist Adam MacNeil and political theorist and legal scholar Alison Braley-Rattai are weighing in on ways to increase protection for Canadians during the season when sickness often rears its head.

  Providing clarity about whether people vaccinated against COVID should also get a flu shot, MacNeil explains that the immune system recognizes the influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses as being two distinct entities based on the three-dimensional structure of each. Therefore, flu and COVID vaccines do not overlap, he says.

  The latest COVID vaccine is ‘bivalent,’ which means the booster targets the original strain plus subvariants arising from the Omicron strain, giving the immune system what MacNeil calls a “competitive edge.”

  The Associate Professor of Health Sciences says people often think of COVID-19 as being a ‘bad flu,’ since COVID and flu symptoms can appear similar, and both are spread through aerosols and droplets.

  But COVID has a more invisible side that can cause problems in other tissues and organs that may persist after infection, he says. This is thought to happen in part by causing inflammation of the blood vessels, or vasculitis, and by frequently finding its way into more places, including the brain and heart.

  “To give yourself the best possible protection against the expected surge in influenza and SARS-CoV-2 this fall, do yourself and your community a favour and get both vaccines as soon as you are eligible, wear a well-fitting N95 respirator when in crowded indoor locations or when ventilation and air filtration is poor, and practise distancing,” MacNeil says.

  Public health officials, he says, predict that the coming fall and winter will be “very challenging,” given Omicron’s infectiousness and ability to evade vaccine protection that performed well against the Delta variant last fall, in addition to the return to pre-pandemic behaviours.

  “Layer your protection by wearing a mask,” he says. “Layers are the hottest trend for a healthy fall and winter in 2022 and 2023.”

  MacNeil offers further insights in an article he wrote earlier this year for The Conversation.

  Associate Professor of Labour Studies Alison Braley-Rattai researches the moral and legal aspects and policy implications of childhood vaccination.

  She says several recent studies show that, owing to heightened transmission, children’s susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 has been rising over the pandemic, increasing the possibility of severe outcomes.”

  Braley-Rattai says COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Ontario’s children is relatively low compared to adults. She explored the issue in an article in The Conversation earlier this month, where she argued that, to increase vaccine uptake, the provincial government should add COVID-19 to the list of “designated diseases” in its Immunization of School Pupils Act.

  Recent research has also been done in ‘nudge literature’ about how to encourage people toward a particular end, particularly in the areas of childhood vaccination, and, more recently, regarding COVID-19 vaccines, she says.

  Braley-Rattai says the ‘nudge literature’ describes ways of increasing routine vaccine uptake in general, including early intervention, targeted information campaigns, automatic reminders, individualized follow-ups and easier access.

  But vaccination alone is not enough, she says, adding COVID-19’s ability to mutate may make vaccination “increasingly less important than controlling infection itself.”

  “Here’s the rub: It makes little sense to include COVID vaccines under designated diseases without other measures to reduce infections, like air quality standards, masking, and better testing and tracing,” says Braley-Rattai.

  “Governments have abandoned the notion of public health for a ‘you do you’ approach which is, frankly, unconscionable given the long-term implications of infections for both individuals and society,” she says.

  Brock University Associate Professor of Health Sciences Adam MacNeil and Associate Professor of Labour Studies Alison Braley-Rattai are available for media interviews on the topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209 

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  Categories: Media releases