AstraZeneca advice is another in Canada’s long list of pandemic flip-flops

Flip-flop, flip-flop. What’s that sound? It’s the making of Canadian health-care policy on COVID-19.

The long list of COVID policy reversals began even before the pandemic officially took hold a year ago, and continues unabated. Here’s a short trip down memory lane:

COVID won’t be Canada’s problem; we are officially in a pandemic. There is no evidence of asymptomatic spread; asymptomatic spread is real. Masks are not helpful; everybody wear masks please. Canada will have adequate vaccines; dear U.S. President Joe Biden, please send us vaccines. Vaccines shouldn’t be spaced more than three weeks apart; vaccines can be spaced four months apart. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not safe for seniors; the AstraZeneca vaccine shouldn’t be given to people under 55.

And so on. It’s enough to make you sick — literally.

It’s true that COVID-19 is a new disease and the science is continually evolving. But as Auditor General Karen Hogan chronicled in a scathing report released last week, Canada’s public health officials still made a shocking number of mistakes, the top of the list being the failure of our early warning system coupled with inaccurate risk assessments.

Read the full column on the National Post website

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