Doug Ford extends term of Ontario's top civil servant
election victory in February.
He has extended the term of the head of Ontario's civil service, Secretary of Cabinet Michelle DiEmanuele, by three years at an annual salary of $682,500 to oversee the work of more than 60,000 staff, from deputy ministers to clerks, implementing policy and providing services in every corner of the province.
Ford gave the veteran civil servant and former hospital president a shout-out last Friday at a new medical clinic at Richmond Hill.
Ontario is expanding privately run surgical and diagnostic centres to deliver MRI and CT scans
'Michelle makes the machinery of the government move. She does an incredible job day in and day out and she doesn't get enough acknowledgment,' the premier said.
'By the way, she works 365 days a year, 24 hours a day it seems — and she's had many late night calls from me as well.'
The extended appointment to June 30, 2028 was detailed in an order-in-council this week.
DiEmanuele, a deputy minister under former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty, was named by Ford to the top public service job in May 2021.
At the time, she had been working as president and CEO of Trillium Health Partners, the Peel hospital system that is one of Ontario's largest. In that job she led the voluntary merger of Credit Valley Hospital and the Trillium Health Centre.
Premier Doug Ford has tapped a respected hospital president to lead the Ontario public service.
Her appointment was hailed across the political spectrum as the province began to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
'Michelle is whip smart, thoughtful and respected — the perfect type of leader to guide Ontario's public service as we begin our recovery,' Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, then the mayor of Mississauga, said four years ago.
Similarly, Gerald Butts, a key architect of the elections of Liberal prime ministers Mark Carney and Justin Trudeau as well as McGuinty's premiership, praised her in 2021 as 'a top drawer pro of a public servant.'
Known as a no-nonsense administrator, DiEmanuele has been lauded for improving the diversity of the highest ranks of the civil service.
In 2007, McGuinty seconded her to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to help clean up a then-troubled Crown agency roiling from a scandal involving questionable insider lottery wins that had been highlighted by the auditor general.
DiEmanuele's previous posts in the Ontario civil service include associate secretary of the cabinet, deputy minister of human resources, chair of the Public Service Commission, deputy minister of government and consumer services and secretary to the management board.
In the private sector, she was vice-president of branch and small business banking at CIBC and a vice-president at Brookfield Properties Ltd.
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Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
More ICE Deaths 'Inevitable' as Detention Numbers Soar
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers look set to surpass the previous year's total, with three months still to go. With 12 people confirmed to have died while in ICE custody since October 2024, when the current Fiscal Year began, the number has already matched the previous year's total. Human rights groups are warning more are certain. "These deaths are clearly attributable to the Trump administration's increased and aggressive detention policies, and I have no doubt that when more complete investigations take place, it will likely provide information that these deaths were likely preventable," Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Prison Project, told Newsweek. The latest death came on June 26, when 75-year-old Cuban national Isidro Perez, in the country for decades, passed away in a hospital after suffering a heart issue while in a Miami ICE facility. In response to that news, President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan told reporters outside the White House: "People die in ICE custody." To be sure, ICE detention centers are not alone in experiencing deaths of detainees, with the the U.S. prison system — at both federal and state levels — frequently reporting deaths among inmates. In 2019, the mortality rate across the prison system was 259 per 100,000 inmates, based on Department of Justice figures showing 4,234 deaths in prisons at state and federal level nationwide. By comparison, the mortality rate of ICE detainees at the current numbers would work out to about 21.3 deaths per 100,000 people. The ICE population also has a far quicker turnaround than the prison system. How Many Immigrants Die In ICE Custody? In fiscal year 2022, running from the previous October through September 2022, three people died in ICE detention – the lowest number since reporting was mandated by Congress in 2018. The highest recent yearly death total came in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with 21 deaths across the agency's various facilities. Those facilities are often run by private companies contracted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE repeatedly says that individuals in its charge receive high-quality medical assessments and care, including 24-hour emergency medicine. But several independent reports over recent years, including from the ACLU and Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, have given a very different picture of the conditions facing detainees who are awaiting immigration hearings or deportation. In 2024, the ACLU outlined a lack of oversight when it came to ICE detention deaths, suggesting evidence may have destroyed and highlighting efforts to blame low-level employees for the incidents. The organization, working alongside others, found that many deaths were likely preventable, should medical care have been more readily accessible. "People are dying preventable deaths in [Homan's] direct custody," Cho said. "People are dying because of the lack of constitutionally required medical care that should be provided to anybody in government custody." A Growing Number of Detainees A year later, far more people are being placed in ICE detention. Since January, the Trump administration has been increasing its efforts to arrest and detain illegal immigrants. While Congress has allocated funding for around tens of thousands of more beds in the current tax bill, the number of detainees stood at roughly 56,300 as of mid-June. "There's never been a time where immigration detention hasn't been deadly, so it's just inevitable that the more people we detain, the more people who are going to die," Anthony Enriquez, the vice president of U.S. advocacy and litigation at RFK Human Rights, told Newsweek. ICE is struggling with limited capacity and resources to fulfill its mission of millions of deportations. In addition to the new funds being allocated to the agency by Congress, the White House is trying other novel ways to expand capacity, from repurposing Guantanamo Bay to new detention center contracts issued for private companies GEO Group and CoreCivic, to the new so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" in southern Florida. Following a tour of the new detention facility on Tuesday, which includes bunkbeds stacked together in wire-fenced cages, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem praised the standards on offer. "Alligator Alcatraz can be a blueprint for detention facilities across the country. It will provide DHS with the beds and space needed to safely detain the worst of the worst," she posted on social media. President Donald Trump tours "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida. President Donald Trump tours "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida. AP Photo/Evan Vucci All of this is to deliver on the president's promise of mass deportations. Trump returned to the White House promising upwards of 11 million immigrants without legal status would be deported, targeting the "worst of the worst" first. Records have shown that a large share of those currently in detention do not have a criminal record, but civil immigration offenses instead. "A lot of people misunderstand the purpose and the nature of immigration detention, and they think that if it's a detention center, then it's a jail, and if it's a jail, then that means this is someone who has already been found guilty of some type of bad act and should be serving a punishment," Enriquez said. "But in fact, many of the people in immigration detention do have lawful status to be here in the United States." Cho, of the ACLU, told Newsweek that ICE was not exercising discretion with respect to those it was now detaining. Because more people are remaining in detention when they previously would have been released, the situation is leading to a "deterioration of conditions in custody," he said. "My fear is this trajectory is only going to increase," Cho said. "That is because Congress is on the cusp of passing a new reconciliation bill that is providing $45 billion to the expansion of immigration detention in the country, and I want to compare that to the current $4 billion that ICE already receives every year for its already massive immigration detention system. "This amount of money is going to provide ICE with the ability to not only double, triple, quadruple the capacity of people who are being held in immigration detention, it is going to allow a system that is larger than the entire federal Bureau of Prisons population put together, under the care of someone like Tom Homan who has expressed total disregard for the fact that people are dying in custody." Newsweek reached out to ICE via email Tuesday for comment on the increase in deaths and measures being taken to prevent any more. The agency did not reply before publication.
Politico
3 hours ago
- Politico
Stars, stripes and side-eye
Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Canada Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Canada Playbook. It's Friday! Happy Fourth to our American readers. In today's edition: → PETE HOEKSTRA throws his first July 4 bash in Ottawa. → Ottawa holds firm as deadlines shift — and Playbook gets the inside scoop. → Who killed the campaign? Conservatives circle the BBQ grill. Trade war RED, WHITE AND YOU — Free beer or free trade? That's the question for Ottawa's political class. The bubble has been keeping quiet about U.S. Ambassador PETE HOEKSTRA's July 4th party. It's his first bash in Canada, and the Ottawa fishbowl event is one of the biggest of the year. The Independence Day invites are usually highly sought after by staffers, lobbyists, journalists — and everyone in between. — Feeling excited: 'I see it as not only an opportunity to mark the founding of the United States but also a chance to celebrate the U.S.-Canada bilateral relationship and our long history of working together in North America and on the world stage,' Hoekstra told Playbook in a statement. — Theme: Per Hoekstra: Summer picnic with 'delicious delights typically featured at Fourth of July celebrations across the United States.' — Trade war buzzkill: This year, downing American beer and chomping burgers might be a challenge with elbows up. Canada and the U.S. remain in high-stakes trade negotiations, and tariffs continue to hurt Canadian workers and businesses. — Déjà vu: There is no PMO memo this year — but in the past, the silence was loud enough: In 2018, government staffers and MPs were largely absent from then-ambassador KELLY CRAFT's July 4th party during NAFTA renegotiations and tariffs on Canadian steel. Even then-Ottawa Mayor JIM WATSON snubbed the event. — No two ways about it: 'It was a very difficult time with the United States on many fronts,' TYLER MEREDITH, former economic adviser to then-Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, told Playbook. — Think about the optics: This year is no different, Meredith argues. On X, he said that any business leaders showing up to Hoekstra's party for a photo, 'should think about the values they believe in.' He told Playbook: 'We're in high-stakes negotiations with the United States that in the next three weeks could have significant consequences for auto workers, steel workers, softwood lumber workers, energy workers, etcetera.' — RSVP: Liberal MPs who attended last year say they're planning on going again, including MONA FORTIER, parl sec for Foreign Affairs Minister ANITA ANAND. Fortier told Playbook she will 'focus on keeping the line of communication open and also fostering people to people ties!' Liberal MP ROB OLIPHANT tells Playbook he'll also be there: 'Conversation is important as our government continues negotiating the best deal for Canadians with the American government.' Playbook confirmed that Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE and Opposition Leader ANDREW SCHEER won't be in attendance. The New Democrats, who boycotted the party in 2018, didn't get back to us to share their plans. Neither did Mayor MARK SUTCLIFFE though we know the U.S. flag will fly over Ottawa city hall today. — Across the pond: Opposition lawmakers in Ireland won't be attending Fourth of July celebrations at the U.S. embassy in Dublin. Labour TD CONOR SHEEHAN said he 'couldn't think of anything worse,' the Irish Examiner reported. — Hot diggity dog: If your invite landed, Hoekstra's promising a good time. The team has spent months planning the shindig. 'It's the U.S. Embassy's biggest event of the year and our best opportunity to reconnect with our Embassy contacts,' Hoekstra tells Playbook. 'We are very proud of its reputation as one of the must-attend events of the summer.' DEADLINE? WHAT DEADLINE? — On June 16, MARK CARNEY dropped a 30-day deadline to remove DONALD TRUMP's tariffs — part of a larger deal. — The PM set the target: The date has bounced around ever since his Kananaskis bilat with the president. Even now, Ottawa and Washington do not appear to be aligned. — First: Canada-U.S. Trade Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC's office confirmed a July 16 deadline to Playbook — though the Liberal government planned to wait until July 21 to further retaliate against U.S. tariffs if needed. — And then: This week, Carney started using July 21 as the deadline, a date dropped in ink on a finance department communique. — But, wait: U.S. Treasury Secretary SCOTT BESSENT seems to be inching out the goalpost. 'I think with [the digital services tax] being removed, we can proceed on a normalized basis, and we'll see whether the Canadians come with the satisfactory negotiations over the next 20 to 30 days,' Bessent told Fox Business Network on Thursday. — Do the math: That would put us between July 23 and Aug. 2. — This week: LeBlanc spoke with Commerce Sec. HOWARD LUTNICK, but the details of their discussion remain private. — The very latest: The Prime Minister's Office advised Playbook that July 21 is the deadline — and that the Canadian side has no plans to move it. — In related reading: From COLBY COSH in the Post: Canada shows you really can hit yourself when you go elbows up. INSIDER INSIGHT — The end of the DST drama appears to have cleared the way for Ottawa and Washington to pick up talks. Playbook got the skinny on what's ahead from a Canadian government official with direct knowledge of negotiations. We've granted them anonymity so that they could speak candidly. The key points on the table: → Sealing the deal on critical minerals: Canada would supply rare earth minerals and develop joint projects as part of a two-country effort to reduce dependence on China by building a secure, North American supply chain. 'The thing about critical minerals is that you need about three or four factories to actually turn it into something useful,' said the official. 'You can't just put nickel into a battery casing. It has to be turned into nickel sulfate.' → Law and order and beyond: The U.S. wants Ottawa to pass Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, which would enhance cooperation on law enforcement. 'At the heart of what the U.S. wants is to join arms in law enforcement with Canada, with the same kind of toolkit that they use: intercepts under FISA warrants, the Patriot Act,' the official said, pointing to the advanced surveillance and anti-terror powers contained in those American laws. → Tariffs: Canada may be aiming to remove all U.S. tariffs, but the president considers is on a mission to reset America's tariff wall. In this system, the winners will be those that have the lowest relative tariffs. The long-term goal could be to negotiate a low-enough tariff that would allow Canada to preserve its steel, aluminum and auto industries. — Bottom line: 'For Canada the question is: What price are you able or willing to pay, from a policy perspective, to be able to get a reduction?' said the official. — In related reading: Canada's new supply management law won't save the system from Trump, CP's KYLE DUGGAN reports. Want more POLITICO? Download our mobile app to save stories, get notifications on U.S.-Canada relations, and more. In iOS or Android . THE ROOMS THAT MATTER — The Calgary Stampede. Confirmed attendance: MARK CARNEY, PIERRE POILIEVRE, ELIZABETH MAY and Energy Minister TIM HODGSON. Share your 'spotteds.' — On Sunday the federal executives of the New Democrat Party are expected to lay out rules around their leadership election. WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN Up: Easterners in Smithbilts. Whoop-Eee-Eee-Eee. Down: The number of B.C. cars crossing into Washington state — for the fifth month in a row. CONVERSATION STARTER POST-MORTEM — PIERRE POILIEVRE is on the bill at the Conservative Party BBQ in Calgary on Saturday. — Barbecue sauce: In case you're at a loss for small talk around the grill … we spoke to some Conservatives who argue the party should not be afraid to talk about what just happened. DAN ROBERTSON's argument for a comprehensive exercise that explains why Conservatives lost to MARK CARNEY boils down to three words. 'More is more,' Robertson, a longtime Conservative campaign adviser who devised ERIN O'TOOLE's electoral strategy in 2021, recently told Playbook. — A full menu: The founding partner of ORB Advocacy said a proper post-mortem exercise includes polling, interviews with war room operatives and local campaign managers, and frank reflections from the senior campaign team. — Don't hold back: He put himself through the ringer following the 2021 loss. 'I basically wrote a lengthy, unflinching, self-critical memo' that acknowledged his own strategic mistakes and charted a path for the next election (which, as it turned out, O'Toole never got the chance to fight). Robertston commissioned a post-vote survey with a massive sample of 10,000 respondents — and recommends doing it again this time. 'I would be polling the heck out of people,' he said, focusing on a wide gender gap that favored Liberals and the flight of older voters to Carney's side. He'd zero in on the Greater Toronto Area. So would JAMES CUMMING, the former Edmonton Centre MP who compiled a post-mortem following that 2021 defeat that eventually leaked all over town. Back then, Cumming spoke to more than 200 people, including candidates, campaigners, party members and 'thought leaders.' Much of that Covid-era work was virtual, but Cumming also traveled to Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. 'I would spend an abundance of time in swing ridings, and particularly on recruitment into them, on tactics, on pre-election preparation,' Cumming told us. The former MP also cautioned against 'analysis paralysis' — aka don't overthink it. But don't underthink it, he said: 'Any time you lose, whether it's an electoral race or in business where you are chasing a deal and you fail to make it, you always want to know what could I have done differently.' — Manage expectations: Robertson recalled an adage that circulates among campaigners — and could serve as a balm to Poilievre's senior team: 'When you win, you get more credit than you deserve, and when you lose, you get more blame than you deserve.' MORNING MUST-CLICKS — Trump takes a megabill victory lap at Iowa rally, our colleague BEN JOHANSEN reports. — And from POLITICO's MEREDITH LEE HILL: Inside the Freedom Caucus' final surrender. — Reuters reports: U.S. will send letters to countries on Friday laying out tariff rates. — RAHIM MOHAMED notes in the Post that Alberta and Ontario are calling for a repeal of Trudeau-era climate policies. — And a spokeswoman for Environment Minister JULIE DABRUSIN told STEPHANIE TAYLOR that Canada's EV mandate must 'reflect' current times. PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to GT and Company's BRIAN TOPP (65!) and to former MP CHRIS CHARLTON. Also celebrating today: Retired Sen. MARJORY LEBRETON (85!), Empire Company CEO MICHAEL MEDLINE, Quebec MNA CHANTAL ROULEAU and Crestview VP NICHOLAS POZHKE. HBD + 1 to JOHN PEPPER. Saturday: Political consultant ANDREW PEREZ and former Premiers PIERRE-MARC JOHNSON and GRANT DEVINE. Sunday: Former Manitoba Premier BRIAN PALLISTER, former Harper Cabmin JEAN-PIERRE BLACKBURN, former Bloc Québécois MP ALAIN THERRIEN, broadcaster and podcaster PETER MANSBRIDGE and Conservative strategist JENNI BYRNE. Noted: Prime Minister MARK CARNEY has invited Philippines President FERDINAND MARCOS JR. to Canada. Movers and shakers: A shakeup in the ambassador ranks: ALEXANDRE BILODEAU to Tunisia … SANDRA CHOUFANI to Côte d'Ivoire … CHRISTIAN DESROCHES to Cambodia … AMBRA DICKIE to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Jakarta … STEPHEN DOUST to Mongolia … GREGORY GALLIGAN to the Lebanon … ALISON GRANT to Austria … PATRICK HÉBERT to Finland … JEAN-DOMINIQUE IERACI to Peru … CRAIG KOWALIK to Ecuador … PHILIPPE LAFORTUNE to Korea … JEAN-PAUL LEMIEUX to Switzerland … KARIM MORCOS to Qatar … JAMES NICKEL to Vietnam … TARA SCHEURWATER to Kuwait … NICOLAS SIMARD to Ethiopia … KENT VACHON to Lao, and NATALIE BRITTON is consul general in Istanbul. New high commissioners: ANDERSON BLANC to Mozambique … MARIE-CLAUDE HARVEY to Cameroon … TARIK KHAN to Pakistan … ISABELLE MARTIN to Sri Lanka and JOSHUA TABAH to Kenya. Lobby watch: Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities posted a June 14 meeting with Agriculture Minister HEATH MACDONALD … The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada reported a June 16 meeting with shadow energy critic MP SHANNON STUBBS … Western Canadian Shippers' Coalition posted June meetings with Conservative MPs DAN ALBAS, PHILIP LAWRENCE and RAQUEL DANCHO … Grain Growers of Canada posted a June 17 meeting with Liberal MP EMMA HARRISON. BRUCE HARTLEY registered to lobby on behalf of PCL Construction … MARK REDER registered for West Coast Reduction … MAURICE RIOUX registered for Winnipeg Airports Authority … SARAH GOODMAN registered for Nestlé Canada. Send Playbookers tips to canadaplaybook@ PROZONE For Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from MIKE BLANCHFIELD. From ZACK COLMAN: GOP megabill draws jeers from clean energy sectors, praise from fossil fuel backers. In other Pro headlines: — Here's what passed in the megabill for tech. — Europe's top CEOs ask EU to pause AI Act. — Trump's science guidelines could amplify climate skeptics. — Pro Analysis: About Changes to 'De Minimis' Under Trump. — Libertarians seek partnership with Elon Musk. TRIVIA Thursday's answer: Lord HUGH MACMILLAN led a royal commission to study 'the organization and working of our entire banking and monetary system.' Based on its recommendations, the Bank of Canada Act received royal assent July 3, 1934. Props to ROBERT MCDOUGALL, MALCOLM MCKAY, MARCEL MARCOTTE, ELIZABETH BURN, DARRYL DAMUDE, RAY DEL BIANCO, JOHN PEPPER and MARTIN SPIELAUER. Friday's question: Name the 7-foot-tall guest with the unkempt beard who attended the 2022 July 4 bash at Lornado. Answer to canadaplaybook@
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Myth-Busters—Vaccine Edition
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Vaccines are among the most rigorously tested and effective tools in modern medicine, yet myths and misinformation persist. Here, we address some of the most common claims with science-backed facts. Claim 1: Vaccine Ingredients Like Mercury or Thimerosal Are Harmful Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, was once used in multi-dose vaccine vials to prevent contamination. Thimerosal breaks down into ethylmercury, which does not accumulate in the body and is not the same as the toxic methylmercury found in certain fish. Thimerosal has been removed from nearly all vaccines in the United States since 2001, except for some flu vaccines, and extensive studies show no evidence of harm at the doses used in vaccines. Conclusion? Myth. Claim 2: Vaccines Cause Autism The belief that vaccines cause autism originated from a 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield, which was later retracted due to fraud and ethical violations. Large-scale studies involving hundreds of thousands of children have found no link between vaccines and autism. The timing of autism diagnosis often coincides with the vaccination schedule, but correlation does not mean causation. Conclusion? Myth. An immunization nurse holds a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (brand name: Comirnaty) at Borinquen Health Care Center on May 29, 2025, in Miami, Fla. An immunization nurse holds a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (brand name: Comirnaty) at Borinquen Health Care Center on May 29, 2025, in Miami, 3: COVID-19 Vaccines Cause Cancer Some rumors claim COVID-19 vaccines cause "turbo cancer" due to mRNA or SV40 fragments. However, mRNA from vaccines cannot enter the cell nucleus or alter DNA. There is no scientific evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines or SV40 fragments to cancer. mRNA is also naturally present in all foods and is harmless when consumed. Conclusion? Myth. Claim 4: Governments Exaggerate Disease Threats to Push Vaccines Vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives in the past 50 years. Diseases like smallpox, which once killed 30 percent of those infected, have been eradicated thanks to vaccination. When vaccination rates drop, diseases return, as seen in recent measles outbreaks. Public health guidelines are based on decades of research, not political agendas. Conclusion? Myth. Claim 5: Homeopathy and Supplements Can Replace Vaccines Homeopathic remedies and supplements have not been shown to trigger an immune response or prevent disease like vaccines do. Even most homeopathic practitioners support vaccination, and Faculty of Homeopathy explicitly recommends vaccines as first-line protection. Conclusion? Myth. Claim 6: Healthy Children Are at Higher Risk of Dying from Infections If Not Vaccinated Before the measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, hundreds of children died from measles each year in the U.S. After widespread vaccination, deaths dropped by over 99 percent. Recent outbreaks in unvaccinated communities show that risk returns when vaccination rates fall. Conclusion? Truth. Why This Matters Misinformation about vaccines has real consequences. As of June 2025, three people have died from measles in the U.S. this year—more than any year in the previous decade. Other children who have caught the measles without getting the vaccine first will be at risk of other complications including brain inflammation later on in life. This is why it's important to trust credible sources and follow science-backed recommendations. Vaccines have been rigorously tested, reviewed, and monitored for decades. They are one of the greatest success stories in medicine, saving lives and preventing suffering. If you have questions about vaccines, talk to a trusted health care provider—don't rely on social media or Dr. Google. Protect yourself, your children, and your community. Dr. Annalicia Pickering is a board-certified pediatrician on faculty at Stanford University. Niharika Rane is a Masters of Public Health student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Akul Shrivastava, Srilalitha Nair, and Sahngwie Yim are youth volunteers with the American Red Cross. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
