Jane Brown is joined by Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association followed by Dean Miller,  Pharmacist and President and CEO of Whole Health Pharmacy.

In the news this week: Premier Doug Ford, when answering reporters' questions at a press conference yesterday, explained his government's plans to allow Ontario pharmacies to administer COVID-19 testing to symptomatic patients. But, notable health experts and others are expressing concern that this could put shoppers and other pharmacy patients at risk of being exposed to the virus. In an e-mailed statement to us, Justin explained that in an effort to make this safe for the public, testing will be organized through booking individual appointments to manage traffic and IPAC protocols will be followed. He also said that pharmacies will opt-in to this program on a voluntary basis. Meanwhile, Dean explains what it has been like on the ground so far in administering PCR and rapid antigen testing to patrons throughout the pandemic and whether he will participate in testing symptomatic individuals.

Later, Jane Brown is joined by Henry Roberts, Member of the Executive Committee at COPD Canada.

Today marks World COPD Day. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a progressive lung condition that affects as many as 384 million people and is the third leading cause of death globally. Here in Canada, according to Statistics Canada, there are over 840,000 people who have been diagnosed with the disease. Henry explains how COPD Canada is raising awareness about this terrible condition and listeners call in to share their stories.