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Author of the article:
Jason Herring
Release date :
Sep 24, 2021 39 minutes ago 4 minutes read 5 comments Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, Friday October 12, 2018. Photo by Leah Hennel / Postmedia Post content
Two pediatricians at the Alberta Childrens Hospital have come under fire after they recently wrote letters outlining their opposition to vaccination mandates for healthcare workers.
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Dr Eric Payne and Dr Michael Vila wrote in their respective letters that they are not vaccinated against COVID-19. They both characterized the COVID-19 vaccines as experimental and question the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.
Data from Alberta shows vaccines are safe and effective in preventing both symptomatic illnesses and serious consequences of the novel coronavirus.
The two mRNA vaccines licensed for use in Canada manufactured by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna are over 90% effective in preventing symptomatic illnesses due to COVID-19, and the vaccines were 85% effective against the Delta variant in Alberta.
Of the 243 COVID-19 patients currently in intensive care units in Alberta, only about eight percent are fully immunized, although this group represents more than 62 percent of the province’s population. And only about one in 2,000 Albertans who received a COVID-19 vaccine reported any side effects.
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Content of the article Teams in a crowded Calgary intensive care unit work on a patient on a ventilator. Photo provided by AHS
Calling the COVID-19 vaccines experimental is inaccurate, said Calgary public health physician Dr Jia Hu, who noted that the mRNA vaccines have received full approval from Health Canada. He said there is data from billions of people around the world who have received at least one vaccine injection.
Hu said the vaccines provide tremendous health benefits in all age groups, which is important given the high levels of the virus being spread in the community in Alberta.
There is nothing that is perfectly safe. There is nothing that is perfectly effective, not just in vaccine land, but all over the world, Hu said. The problem with these vaccines is that regardless of your age, the balance of benefit and risk is so much higher for taking the vaccine than not.
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Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, said it was frustrating to see regulated health professionals disseminating what he called of disinformation.
To suggest that there is a lack of efficiency is patently ridiculous. At this point, it’s like denying the pull of gravity, Caulfield said.
The safety data is also incredibly impressive. Not only do we have impressive clinical trials, but the vaccines have been given to hundreds of millions of people, so we also have mountains of surveillance data.
Doctors select evidence to support their views, Caulfield argued.
Payne and Vila work at the Alberta Childrens Hospital, which recently closed 75% of its operating rooms due to pressure on the Alberta hospital system during the fourth wave of COVID-19.
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In Paynes’ letter, he wrote that he and his family are otherwise fully vaccinated, and argued that the risk of spreading COVID-19 to his pediatric patients and causing serious results is miniscule.
In a statement to Postmedia, Payne said his position was independent from his employer. He said he saw firsthand the impact on patient care of the stress on intensive care units, but said he stuck to his letter and supported patient autonomy and the informed consent.
I am particularly concerned that these experimental vaccines are being imposed on our children as a condition of going to school or participating in extracurricular activities. I don’t think parents and teens get informed consent, Payne said.
Paynes’ letter was addressed to the Board of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA). In a statement, CPHA said that while the college cannot speak to specific cases, it said it was aware of a small number of doctors making claims that oppose the current consensus on vaccines and is very concerned about it.
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CPHA recognizes that times are tough for frontline healthcare workers. However, spreading misinformation about vaccines that flies in the face of current evidence and opinion does not align with the professional responsibility of physicians to their patients, the college said.
CPHA added that the college recently surveyed the profession about the COVID-19 vaccination and found that 96% of the approximately 5,100 respondents indicated they were fully immune.
Vila wrote in his letter that he is not an anti-vaccine and that he has always advocated for children to be given other vaccines when parents are reluctant to do so. He told Postmedia he advocates for the best possible health outcomes for his patients.
If we had seen a large number of hospitalizations in the pediatric population, or if it had been obvious and supported by the evidence that being vaccinated reduced communicability to my patients, I would have adjusted my decision to reflect this, Vila said in her letter, which was sent to AHS management.
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AHS announced on August 31 that its staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 31 or risk being placed on unpaid leave. The health authority said on Friday that the vast majority of health workers were already fully immunized, with their goal of reaching 100% vaccination rates. More than 49,000 employees have already submitted their proof of vaccination, AHS said.
Hu said doctors who cast doubts on the effectiveness and safety of vaccines can provide fuel for those who oppose vaccinations.
It’s pretty dangerous when you even have a few doctors saying things like that, because they’re really good knots for anti-vaccines to organize themselves, he said.
When an anti-vaccine can cling to a doctor’s words, someone with MD behind their name saying vaccines aren’t safe, they’re much more potent.
Twitter: @jasonfherring
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