Alberta Health Review Critiques COVID-19 Pandemic Response
For anyone who thought the COVID pandemic was behind us, it’s not even close!
A blockbuster report headed up by Dr. Gary Davidson has been released. The review is set to rattle the foundations of Alberta Health and likely have significant ramifications across the country as it's one of only a very few reviews of this kind to be released globally.
Premier Danielle Smith assigned Dr. Davidson this project over two years ago. As the former head of Emergency Medicine for the central zone and Chief of the Emergency Department at Red Deer Regional Hospital from 2016 to 2020, Dr. Davidson found himself on the periphery during the COVID-19 pandemic when he criticized accepted treatments and refused vaccination. Shortly after Premier Smith took office, she called on Dr. Davidson to lead a comprehensive review, and he has indeed delivered.
Released earlier today (Friday, January 24), the 250-page report is extremely critical of many aspects of the health system's approach to the pandemic.
The assembled team includes prominent Albertans who were expected to be engaged in a provincial COVID-19 review. This includes Dr. Davidson himself, Dr. Blaine Achen (who was initially fired for refusing the vaccine after recovering from COVID and later reinstated), Infectious Disease Epidemiologist Dr. David Vickers of the Centre for Health Informatics at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine, and Dr. Justin Chin, an Emergency Medicine Specialist at the University of Alberta.
The team called upon and received backing from some of the world’s leading experts on the COVID-19 pandemic, including Dr. David Speicher, a PhD molecular virologist and clinical epidemiologist known for his expertise in detection and surveillance of infectious diseases. Dr. Speicher's work has been acknowledged in the U.S. Senate and European Parliamentary hearings.
Dr. Davidson also consulted Dr. Byram Bridle, a PhD viral immunologist and Associate Professor of Viral Immunology at the University of Guelph, who gained recognition for his early and accurate insights into the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine responses.
The review was further supported by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, selected by U.S. President Donald Trump for Secretary of HHS. Dr. Bhattacharya gained fame for his contributions to the Great Barrington Declaration, which proposed a different approach to pandemic responses that have proven more effective in retrospect.
In the coming days, various media and agencies will offer summaries of the report's findings, including those at Todayville.com. It is highly recommended that you read the report thoroughly as its significance to future pandemic responses and Canada's healthcare system cannot be overstated.
Expect more on this report in the coming days and undoubtedly weeks and months ahead!
