Toronto Vice President of Public Health Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam responded to criticism over the weekend about views related to COVID-19 that she recently shared in a Toronto Sun column.
Wong-tam wrote on Twitter Saturday that his “sole purpose was to promote discourse on division and reduce polarization.”
“As a person vaccinated against COVID, I wrote a deeply personal opinion piece on the need to open a dialogue with people who have taken a different position on vaccines, including my own elderly parents,” he said of November 18. Toronto Sun Column she is the author.
“I wanted to talk about how we can continue to build trust in different and diverse communities. He shared my perspective and lived experience and did not offer any medical advice. I’m really sorry that this has caused confusion or discomfort, ”he added.
While health experts have debunked the “misleading” parts of the column by Ward 13 Toronto Center councilman Wong-Tam, who was elected to the council in 2010, did not directly apologize for the comments he made about vaccinated people. that have the ability to transmit COVID. 19 viruses “as easily as those that are not vaccinated.”
The opinion piece also criticized those who want unvaccinated people “to be excluded from society, fired from their workplace or want to deny them access to care due to apparent ‘careless behavior’. “
The councilor herself posted publicly online in July about being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. She did not respond to Star’s request for comment on Saturday.
Wong-Tam’s series of tweets on Saturday also included an August memo from Ontario’s chief medical officer for health, Dr. Kieran Moore.
In his Twitter thread, Wong-Tam says: “On August 31, 2021, the Medical Director of Health sent a memorandum to public health officials citing, ‘Fully vaccinated people have similar levels of infectivity than in non-cases. vaccinated ‘. If this information is incorrect or incomplete, it should be clarified soon. “
Health expert Sabina Vohra-Miller, founder of Unmbiguous Science, says this memo was used “completely out of context.”
“He’s basically extrapolated this to fit his narrative,” Vohra-Miller told the Star in an interview.
“It’s taking one piece of the whole puzzle completely out of context and that’s the part that’s driving the anti-vax rhetoric we’ve been hearing,” he said, also noting that the memo dates back three months. “We know during the pandemic that things evolve and change very quickly.”
“The idea of this memorandum presented by the health ministry is really to realize that we still need to have non-pharmacological interventions like their masking,” he added. “The memo does not tell us that vaccinated people transmit at the same rate as unvaccinated people.”
“Your article has now basically fed and emboldened many anti-vaccines to perpetuate the same misinformation,” Vohra-Miller said, adding that those who are vaccinated are much less likely to become infected.
“It has done a lot of damage, especially coming from a person who represents the Toronto board of health.”
On Friday, responding in writing to Star’s initial story in her column, Wong-Tam defended her statement about the risk of infection in vaccinated and unvaccinated people, supported by her interpretation of medical reports on viral loads.
She also said she was “concerned that the same essential workers whom we praised at the beginning of the pandemic as heroes are now losing their jobs due to their unvaccinated status” and that is why she had shared her own “deeply personal story” about her. . parents.
“They have a different opinion about vaccines than I do, and yet I love them unconditionally. I want us to open the dialogue, not to close it, ”Wong-Tam said in his remarks on Friday.
When asked about his colleague’s op-ed and recent tweets, Joe Cressy, chairman of the city’s board of health, said: “We cannot and should not ignore the scientific facts before us, and when it comes to Of vaccines, the science is clear: Vaccines are safe, effective, and reduce transmission. Final point “.
“While I fully agree that building trust in vaccines, knowing people where they are, and creating a space for difficult conversations is critical to our vaccine campaign; Ultimately, the success of our campaign is based on following the science, ”he added.
With files from David Rider
Reference-www.thestar.com