Albertans deserved a post-pandemic review. Instead, they got misinformation cloaked in science

After two years and $2-million, the Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force report was quietly posted Friday by the Alberta government. Headed by physician and former United Conservative Party candidate Dr. Gary Davidson, the task force lost several initial members, leaving a small group known to be staunchly opposed to vaccines and public health measures – presumably just the contrarian perspectives Premier Danielle Smith was seeking.

A rapidly mutating virus, evolving messaging, and changing public health rules created a confusing time during the pandemic. As physicians and co-chairs of Alberta Health Services’ former COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group, we saw scientific evidence move at an unprecedented pace. Decision-makers tried to balance legitimate opposing concerns in the interest of public safety, particularly challenging given the complexity of the effects of public health measures. We had previously advocated for a postpandemic review to ensure the best possible response in the future. But this is not the report we need.

Typically, the process for such a task force is to assemble a group of experts with varied backgrounds; commission a formal review of available evidence, including assessing its quality; consult with the public, health professionals, leaders involved in healthcare and policy, and other affected groups to understand their experiences; and use all of that to produce thoughtful and balanced conclusions.

I lived in Russia under Putin. There are parallels to what’s happening in the U.S. now

Instead, Albertans received a report that was polished to look credible but littered with familiar contrarian, anti-science talking points, many already debunked by fact checkers. Its 269 pages weave a worrisome picture. However, even a cursory review shows this is achieved through misrepresentation of data, omission of high-quality studies, and amplification of disinformation.

For example, COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy were recommended by major obstetrics groups because studies show they reduce the risk of adverse outcomes for both the mother and baby. The existing, reassuring safety data in pregnancy is continuously tracked, but the report condemns vaccine use in pregnancy based entirely on a blog written by a U.S. physician who lost his medical certification for spreading misinformation.

The report also describes a shocking number of deaths in the initial rollout of the Pfizer vaccine with no linked reference. In reality, global COVID vaccination cut overall COVID deaths by more than half in their first three years. The mRNA vaccines reduced severe infection roughly 95 per cent in initial crucial phases, and while effectiveness changed with viral variants, COVID-19 death rates of unvaccinated people have consistently been higher.

Some statements in the report don’t hold up to a basic reality check. It intimates that up to half of vaccinated kids may develop myocarditis, and one quarter of those will die (though this estimate is based on children with dilated cardiomyopathy, an entirely different condition). If this were true, given Alberta’s vaccination rates, thousands of Albertan children and teens would have died of myocarditis in 2021-2022. The mRNA vaccines have excellent safety records, with mild adverse events (sore arm or short-lived fever), and a rare (0.001 per cent) risk of myocarditis, which usually requires no treatment, though this risk is higher in younger men (around 0.04 per cent).

Recognizing this and the changing risk over time, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization now recommends COVID vaccination in defined situations (such as for high-risk individuals) and leaves it optional in others. Concerningly, the task force recommended immediately halting use of all COVID-19 vaccines, which would leave high-risk patients vulnerable and put Canadians at risk if new aggressive strains emerge.

It’s not just vaccine misinformation. The report also recommends medications that have been rejected by mainstream science after extensive studies. They reference a website called “C19″ that concluded that ivermectin reduces the risk of COVID death by 49 per cent. The C19 analyses combine many small, poorly designed studies. Combining a lot of poor data doesn’t create good evidence. When the respected Cochrane Collaboration brought together only the higher-quality studies, ivermectin was of no benefit in COVID-19. Recent larger randomized trials confirm it just doesn’t work.

Some might say the task force report is easily dismissed. But the Alberta government has mused about de-funding COVID-19 vaccinations, and people can be harmed by taking medications that don’t help, rather than medications that do. More broadly, blatant disinformation in a government report further erodes trust in governments, health professionals, and mainstream science at a time when it is sorely needed. A trustworthy review could have helped address vexing issues like the trade-offs of public health measures, but nothing in this report can be taken as stated.

There is room in society for different perspectives, and for legitimate scientific debate. But we cannot allow disinformation cloaked as science to trump the best available evidence. This report offers no benefits and many harms. It should be withdrawn.

Lynora Saxinger is an infectious diseases specialist, physician and professor of medicine at the University of Alberta. Braden Manns is a physician and professor of medicine and health economics at the University of Calgary. Dr. Manns and Dr. Saxinger were co-chairs of the Alberta Health Services COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group from March 2020 to December 2022.