#mattstrauss

BY MATT STRAUSS (FGJ ‘19) --  Do no harm' are three words all doctors must follow in the course of their work. These words make me convinced that Covid-19 lockdowns are the wrong approach, and a growing number of doctors are on my side. READ MORE. 

BY MATT STRAUSS (FGJ ‘19) -- As Boris Johnson was being treated in intensive care, Dominic Raab expressed his confidence that the Prime Minister would defeat Covid-19 and return to work because 'he is a fighter.' The press howled in opposition to these hopeful words. Things culminated in BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis, disdainfully telling viewers: 'You do not survive the illness through fortitude or strength of character, whatever the Prime Minister's colleagues will tell us'. The video clip achieved its intended virality, and was picked up by cable networks around the world. But we need to set the record straight. She’s wrong. Medically wrong. Dangerously wrong. As a critical care physician, I can say from both clinical experience and from scientific literature, courage in illness matters. It matters for survival. READ MORE. 

BY MATT STRAUSS (FGJ ‘19) -- ‘More ventilators!’ cried the journalists on Twitter. 'Yes, more ventilators!' replied the politicians. ‘Where are the ventilators?’ demanded the journalists, now screaming on television. ‘Yes, even more!’ replied the government, somewhat nonsensically. READ MORE. 

BY MATT STRAUSS (FGJ ‘19) -- I am a critical care physician and assistant professor of medicine in Canada, and have spent weeks obsessively consuming Covid-19 medical literature. Ultimately, I see only one way to navigate society through this pandemic with neither apocalyptic death rates nor economic devastation. To my surprise, the conclusion I have reached seems very similar to the ‘back to work’ plan the Trump administration floated on Tuesday. READ MORE. 

BY MATT STRAUSS (FGJ ‘19) - While Ontario doctors have denounced a government proposal to limit funding for psychotherapy, some physicians say they would welcome cuts that “curb boutique psychiatrists” who “over-treat the worried well.” READ MORE

BY MATT STRAUSS (FGJ ‘19) - Winter is upon us. And with it comes the annual worsening of depressive symptoms. Sadly, in the United States, suicide continues to claim more lives than firearms, and suicide rates are increasing in nearly all states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that death by suicide has increased by 30 per cent since 1999 and a similar trend is observed in Canada. READ MORE

BY MATT STRAUSS (FGJ ‘19) - The day cannabis became legal in Canada, media coverage included jokes about grocery stores selling out of Doritos and tales about a plucky Girl Guide selling out of cookies outside of a dispensary. Amusing though they may be, wisecracks about the munchies obscured a much bigger and surprising public health note: Weed might actually help people lose weight. READ MORE