Alberta Medical Association President, Dr. Shelley Duggan, speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about the recently released COVID-19 report.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Michael Higgins: As a physician, as well as being president of the Alberta Medical Association (AMA), where does this latest task force report leave you? What’s your primary takeaway?
Shelley Duggan: I would say we’re disappointed and concerned about this report. Disappointed because it really does not feature a lot of the important articles and evidence that we have. So for instance, we know that the COVID vaccine is incredibly safe. Billions of people worldwide have had this vaccine, and the side effect profile is quite low. It also protects, not only from getting severe COVID, and perhaps dying, but it protects from other things such as myocarditis and so forth.
So lots of disappointment and concern now that public, seeing that this is a government sponsored report, may actually believe that these vaccines are not safe, and that a lot of the things that we did during the pandemic to really protect Albertans was not the appropriate thing to do, which, of course, is concerning, because it’s not If we will have another pandemic, it’s when.
MH: We heard the clip of the premier saying, ‘The evidence has changed.’ How different is the dialogue around COVID-19 evidence with the passage of time since the pandemic?
SD: The evidence hasn’t changed that much, to my recollection. We are actually still living in a COVID world. Vaccines were not put out to the public prior to being tested appropriately and going through all of the safety measures that any vaccine would have.
Certainly the evidence in terms of ivermectin not being efficacious still remains. There is really no jurisdiction in the world that is saying that these medications are efficacious. So realistically, in the medical community, not a lot has changed to suggest that that everything we did was completely wrong.
MH: The premier says that science is where you actually hear different viewpoints so that you can make solid decisions. What value do you feel contrarian voices bring to this conversation?
SD: Science is actually about seeking the truth and designing studies that will help you assess the truth, whether something is safe, whether something is effective. So first and foremost, that’s really what science is.
I think contrarian voices are reasonable to have, and I think that I would tell you that I agree that a task force to look at the pandemic is actually quite appropriate, but who you have on that task force is important.
So should you have some contrarian voices? Certainly. But you should also have public health experts, you should have medical experts, you should have microbiology experts, you should have people who can comment on some of the social ramifications and financial ramifications, because we should learn from what we did in this pandemic to help inform what we do in the next
one.
MH: And your response to the premier seeking to restore the right of doctors to speak their minds without punishment from their colleges?
SD: Doctors have the right to speak just like anybody in society does, but they don’t have the right to to do or to speak of things that are considered not evidence-based and not scientific.
Because of their credentials, people may actually listen, and so the college did sanction people who were saying that everything, was a hoax, and that the COVID vaccine wasn’t safe, and who were trying to prescribe medications that weren’t founded.
But they weren’t alone in that. Health Canada didn’t sanction any of that as well, and so doctors have a professional responsibility, particularly when using social media, or even just me talking to you, to make sure that we are advancing what is proven and what is safe for the public.
MH: Where do you feel any of this leaves the ability of physicians, the medical community in general, to advocate for the safety of patients, for the safety of Albertans?
SD: We must continue to advocate for that, and you’ve seen that. Not only has the Alberta Medical Association come out and said they’re very concerned about this report, you’ve seen the Canadian Medical Association come out, you’ve seen groups of physicians who last night wrote a letter asking for the report to be retracted. You saw. Dr Talbot, who’s a respected retired public health expert, come out and voice his concerns.
So although sometimes we may feel like we’re beaten down, we aren’t going to stop because it’s important that we protect the public.
MH: And with that in mind, your thoughts then on potential consequences of the government implementing any or all of the recommendations should Albertans be faced with another pandemic?
SD: Harm will come, and so we won’t stop speaking out. It’s important that when you are in a pandemic, that people understand what’s going on, understand what’s proven, and understand where the healthcare system is.
We got pretty close to sending people out of province, we were simulating our triage protocol. So it’s important that the public understands what’s at stake when public health measures are instituted.
