Simon Spichak
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Simon Spichak
@spichaksimon.bsky.social
790 followers 550 following 430 posts
Neuroscience MSc
🦔 dad

Founded Resolvve Inc to make therapy affordable for students

Science, health and tech journalist published in Being Patient, NYT, The Guardian's Scientific Observer, The Sick Times, and The Daily Beast
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For my first story in @breachmedia.ca, I wanted to know what Canada was doing about a scathing UN disability report that criticized the disability benefit and the expansion of assisted suicide.

I'll be writing a longer thread soon.

breachmedia.ca/canada-sides...
February 11, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
mssinenomine.bsky.social
"Almost a year after the report’s release, there is no plan to substantially act on any of the UN’s recommendations. Government officials guessed right: mainstream news outlets have largely ignored the report’s criticisms of MAiD. " @spichaksimon.bsky.social

breachmedia.ca/canada-sides...
Canada sidesteps UN scrutiny over assisted dying ⋆ The Breach
Calls by disability advocates and the UN to halt an expansion of medically assisted death have gone largely unacknowledged by the federal government
breachmedia.ca
February 11, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
desmondcole.bsky.social
For nearly a year, the feds have been quiet about a scathing UN report on Canada's treatment of disabled people, including MAiD expansion and paltry financial supports

@spichaksimon.bsky.social presses the government for answers in our latest for @breachmedia.ca

breachmedia.ca/canada-sides...
Canada sidesteps UN scrutiny over assisted dying ⋆ The Breach
Calls by disability advocates and the UN to halt an expansion of medically assisted death have gone largely unacknowledged by the federal government
breachmedia.ca
February 11, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
thesicktimes.org
Pediatric research into #LongCOVID is several years behind that of adults. In 2026, RECOVER-TLC will launch a 1300-person pediatric trial testing low-dose naltrexone for fatigue. @spichaksimon.bsky.social examines that trial, and two other pediatric trials in progress. bit.ly/3Oosi9a
Collage graphic. The center of the image is a black and white photo of a child lying in bed receiving care from their mother. Behind that is a second photo showing a child’s hand, pens, and drawings, including one that appears to show two cartoonish version of pathogens. The text reads, “The Sick Times. Collage graphic. The center of the image is a black and white photo of a child lying in bed receiving care from their mother. Behind that is a second photo showing a child’s hand, pens, and drawings, including one that appears to show two cartoonish version of pathogens. By Simon Spichak Key points you should know: Millions of children with Long COVID face denial, gaslighting, and a lack of medical treatments and drug trials. In 2026, RECOVER-TLC will launch a 1300-person pediatric trial testing low-dose naltrexone for fatigue. Though patient advocates criticized some aspects of a draft protocol shared in late 2025, they were positive on the overall design. Another trial including children with Long COVID will test the drug larazotide, which helps tighten the gaps between gut cells, as a potential treatment. Key points you should know: Calgary, Canada–based researchers will include kids in a third trial testing taurine but haven’t yet published the protocol. Parents emphasize the need to make trials accessible, including implementing mandatory COVID-19 precautions to reduce risk of reinfection.
February 5, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
mileswgriffis.bsky.social
Despite Long COVID's toll on millions of children, there are only a handful of clinical trials that include them. @spichaksimon.bsky.social reported on three upcoming pediatric trials.

Co-published with @19thnews.org!

thesicktimes.org/2026/02/03/l...
Long COVID affects millions of children. The largest pediatric trial so far launches this year. - The Sick Times
One NIH study will test low-dose naltrexone, while other upcoming trials will test larozitide and taurine.
thesicktimes.org
February 3, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
betsyladyzhets.bsky.social
Today @thesicktimes.org: RECOVER-TLC is launching the biggest Long COVID pediatric trial so far. @spichaksimon.bsky.social examines that trial, and two other pediatric trials in progress. thesicktimes.org/2026/02/03/l...
Long COVID affects millions of children. The largest pediatric trial so far launches this year. - The Sick Times
One NIH study will test low-dose naltrexone, while other upcoming trials will test larozitide and taurine.
thesicktimes.org
February 3, 2026 at 7:07 PM
My latest for @thesicktimes.org covers RECOVER-TLC and two other pediatric Long COVID trials.
February 4, 2026 at 3:47 AM
@thesicktimes.org is one of the only newsrooms dedicated to widescale coverage of #LongCOVID. They need our support in their end of year fundraiser.

Through their support, I published two major stories this year.

1/🧵

bsky.app/profile/thes...
The Sick Times (@thesicktimes.org)
We’re over halfway through our end-of-year fundraiser, and we’re not where we need to be to keep our vital work going. We have three weeks left to hit our goals of $60,000 and 200 monthly supporters.…
bsky.app
December 22, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
thesicktimes.org
We’re over halfway through our end-of-year fundraiser, and we’re not where we need to be to keep our vital work going. We have three weeks left to hit our goals of $60,000 and 200 monthly supporters.

The #LongCOVID community needs us — we need you! the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/
Purple background with white text reads: New donations (followed by a thermometer reaching $60K). New monthly supporters (followed by a thermometer reaching 200). Text reads, "The Long COVID community needs us. We need you." Four testimonials from Sick Times readers in speech bubbles: “I desperately need the information you publish and can find it nowhere else.” “The Sick Times does essential work for the Long COVID community.” “You're indispensable and genuine. I trust your dedication to our community.” “I appreciate everything all of you do to keep publishing the truth in a world that cares little for it.”
December 12, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I emailed the CBC ombud a complaint about the Gill Deacon segment that platformed the Lightning Process and brain retraining quackery for Long COVID.

Here's their response: simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/my-complai...
December 11, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I'll be writing about #LongCOVID trials in kids for
@thesicktimes.org.

With the protocol for the LDN trial now available for public comment. I wanted to hear from parents and researchers about their thoughts on the protocol. DM me to get in touch.

recovercovid.org/news/recover...
RECOVER: Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery
The long-term effects of COVID are real. Join the NIH in the search for answers.
recovercovid.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
anhedoniaoakley.bsky.social
Here's the on point article about Inclusion Canada not doing their due diligence w/their benefits navigation services, and pointing disabled people towards shady 3rd party for-profit services just to access basics like the DTC & #CanadaDisabilityBenefit.
www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
1/6
Woman seeking Canada Disability Benefit frustrated after being sent to costly AI-integrated service
When Vancouver Island resident Iris Parker began applying for the Canada Disability Benefit, she didn’t expect to face steep up-front costs—particularly to have AI-integrated software fill out one of ...
www.ctvnews.ca
November 28, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Your daily dose of hedgehog
November 25, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Novo Nordisk's semaglutide fails to slow disease progression in two large Alzheimer's trials.

The latest in a series of drugs that appear promising from observational data that fail when put to the test in trials.

beingpatient.com/glp-1-diabet...
Blockbuster GLP-1 Diabetes and Weight Loss Drugs Fails in Alzheimer's Trial
Novo Nordisk, took a longshot gamble, and lost. Its GLP-1 drug semaglutide failed to treat Alzheimer’s in a trial that was halted.
beingpatient.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
thesicktimes.org
For up to half of people with #LongCOVID, activities like exercise can trigger post-exertional malaise (PEM). Yet Long COVID clinics around the world are offering exercise as treatment while dismissing its serious harms.

Read more from @spichaksimon.bsky.social: bit.ly/4aaDRJW
Artistic depiction of ME symptoms by a woman who has the disease, showing a woman slumped over with exhaustion in a river of blue and orange. The text reads, “The Sick Times. Less than 20% of Long COVID trials involving exercise even mention post-exertional malaise. By Simon Spichak.” "People who are performing these studies are extraordinarily ignorant, and their ignorance is dangerous." - Jaime Seltzer Scientific director of the advocacy group #MEAction
November 24, 2025 at 4:48 PM
AI companies will continue exploiting the mental health crisis if we fail to meaningfully address it.

My piece up in @canadahealthwatch.ca

canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/22/i...
If we ignore Canada’s mental health crisis, AI companies will exploit…
Canada’s mental-health system increasingly pushes people toward AI “alternatives.”
canadahealthwatch.ca
November 22, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
canadahealthwatch.ca
If we ignore Canada’s mental health crisis, AI companies will exploit it canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/22/i... @spichaksimon.bsky.social
If we ignore Canada’s mental health crisis, AI companies will exploit…
Canada’s mental-health system increasingly pushes people toward AI “alternatives.”
canadahealthwatch.ca
November 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social
The rationale behind these studies, Seltzer contests, is [that] “it presumes that the patient had never heard of exercise until a doctor told them [it] exists.”

Thanks to Simon Spichak for putting this idea into print. I've said multiple times in interviews that it's the strangest part... 🧵
November 21, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Four in five exercise trials of Long COVID don't even mention post-exertional malaise anywhere in the trial registration.

Latest for @thesicktimes.org diving into the problems with these trials.

thesicktimes.org/2025/11/21/l...
Less than 20% of Long COVID trials involving exercise even mention post-exertional malaise - The Sick Times
An analysis by The Sick Times find that less than 15% of Long COVID clinical trials testing the benefits of exercise or cardiopulmonary rehabilitation measured post-exertional malaise, according to th...
thesicktimes.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM
CBC's flagship program doubles down on quackery, adds patient blaming rhetoric after pushback on the Gill Deacon interview.

I've updated the story: simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/cbc-flagsh...

Brief summary below with Alt Text.
UPDATE November 8th 2025: While The National did not directly respond to my questions, they provided this statement on November 7th: “After reviewing the interview, we concluded that it needed to be re-edited and re-posted to include further context and questions around the procedure and treatment Deacon experienced. That has now been done.” The new version is substantially worse. At 4:01 in the interview, after discussing how she joined a clinical trial that didn’t work, the program mentions she didn’t give up. “She turned to a controversial approach that is not currently offered through public health institutions to treat Long COVID.” The interview still doesn’t name the program or discuss why it’s controversial — it is not evidence-based and is accused of exploiting people with Long COVID. Then it shifts to patient blaming. At around 5:26, host Ian Hanomansing cued up a question about the legitimacy of brain retraining, which is criticized by most in the patient community. “I think there can be a tendency to double down on your ‘I am really sick’ and ‘I am really having these symptoms’ and maybe get [sic] develop some kind of reluctance or resistance to having an open mind to what else might work best,” Deacon responded. She followed up the patient-blaming rhetoric by saying she doesn’t judge people for how they handle the disease. This rhetoric is common tactic in alternative medicine where patients are blamed for not benefiting for a treatment because they aren’t trying hard enough or aren’t open-minded enough. The same rhetoric wouldn’t fly for cancer, multiple sclerosis, or other disease so but it appears acceptable for Long COVID. Are the journalistic standards more flexible when the person being interviewed is a former colleague or when they’re trying to sell a book?
November 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
In a statement, CBC told me:

"After reviewing the interview, we concluded that it needed to be re-edited and re-posted to include further context and questions around the procedure and treatment Deacon experienced. That has now been done."

Will update the story with this soon.
 Simon Spichak @spichaksimon.bsky.social · Oct 31
Earlier this week, the CBC broadcast an interview with Gill Deacon, discussing her Long COVID recovery using brain retraining.

They didn't tell you the specific brain retraining program, the Lightning Process, has been accused of exploiting patients.

simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/cbc-flagsh...

1/n
CBC’s Flagship Program Platforms “Quackery” for Long COVID
CBC's national broadcast aired an interview with Gill Deacon about her Long COVID recovery. Deacon used an unproven program called the Lightning Process that's been criticized for exploiting patients ...
simonspichak.beehiiv.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Simon Spichak
thesicktimes.org
Our #LongCOVID journalism requires reader support — with your help, we can prepare our non-profit newsroom for whatever 2026 brings.

Will you donate today and help us keep this vital work going? the-sick-times.fundjournalism.org/donate/
White text on a purple background reads, "Help us keep holding RFK Jr. accountable. Donate today. The Sick Times + NewsMatch." White text on a purple background reads, On September 18, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. convened a roundtable of top Long COVID experts and government officials. Announced less than 24 hours earlier, the event flew under the radar for most news outlets; even those that focus on science and health were too busy with the CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting that happened on the same day. But at The Sick Times, we dropped all of our other commitments to cover that roundtable." White text on a purple background reads, "And that’s just one example of our work serving the Long COVID community. In the last two years, we have also: Sent 100 issues of our weekly newsletter, including COVID-19 trends, research updates, upcoming community events, and more; Covered key scientific meetings, such as this year’s Keystone Symposia conference, multiple PolyBio symposia, and RECOVER-Treating Long COVID workshops. Been cited, interviewed, and republished by dozens of other news publications; Logged 12 million impressions across social media, spreading Long COVID news to wider audiences." Purple background with white text reads: New donations (followed by a thermometer reaching $60K). New monthly supporters (followed by a thermometer reaching 200). Until December 31, NewsMatch and the Philanthropic Access Partner Fund will match new donations from our readers, up to $1,000 a person! At the bottom is a graphic showing how financial impact is doubled.
November 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Day 3 of the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social conference is up as a live thread and now a brief writeup.

simonspichak.beehiiv.com/p/day-3-of-t...
November 7, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Thread for Day 3 of the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social conference. My attempt at simultaneously sharing on X and Bsky.
November 6, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I'll be back live tweeting/skeeting the @icancmeresearch.bsky.social conference tomorrow. Will try to get it going on BlueSky AND X simultaneously.

#ICanCME
November 6, 2025 at 1:18 AM