Kitchener man designs new toonie
Artwork celebrates scientists and the centenary of the discovery of insulin
KITCHENER — Some designers dream of their concepts gracing the wall of a noted gallery; others might hope for fame with a design on a clever logo or T-shirt.
But Kitchener designer Jesse Koreck’s artwork will be in the hands of millions of Canadians. His design, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, is on the new $2 coin, which went into public circulation last week.
“It’s pretty surreal, knowing that Canadians will have this in their pockets and use it every day,” he said.
With three million of the new toonies in circulation, most Canadians will likely see his design at some point, since coins typically have a lifespan of 25 years.
The new coin celebrates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin by Canadian scientists and researchers Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip and John Macleod, which offered a life-saving treatment to people whose lives would previously have been cut short by diabetes.
The discovery earned Canada its first Nobel Prize in 1923 and revolutionized the treatment of a once-fatal disease.
The design features a bright blue, ribbonlike monomer, one of the building blocks of the insulin molecule. The coin also includes a lab flask, a vial, and a mortar and pestle, some of the scientific instruments used in the early formulation of insulin, and shows the hormone at work in the bloodstream, with images of red blood cells, glucose and insulin molecules.
Koreck said he’s honoured,
need to understand if the outbreaks that will occur with the Delta variant are being driven by low vaccination rates or by some other factor.”
Ontario has rejected mandatory vaccination for health workers. The Ministry of LongTerm Care contends it can boost immunization by requiring unvaccinated people to document a medical exemption or attend an education session.
Published data is needed to know if this policy is working or not, Hirdes said.
In erasing numbers from its vaccination dashboard, the health unit said immunization rates for nursing and retirement homes are now being reported directly to the province by provincial decree.
“Rates are not reported to public health, and public health is unable to maintain immunization coverage rate information. As a result, the Long-Term Care tab and the previous data associated with it are being removed from the vaccine dashboard.”
The Ministry of Long-Term Care told The Record in a statement that it expects to receive vaccination numbers from nursing and retirement homes in early August, but there is no requirement for homes or the ministry to make the data public.
Nursing and retirement homes may choose instead to “share statistical information with the Ministry of Health or local public health units at any time.”