B.C. mask debate: Divide between frontline doctors and public health amid concerns of politicized office
Soaring respiratory infections among children – with an unprecedented number of B.C. youngsters dying just weeks into the flu season – have frontline health-care workers pleading for the revival of mask usage, something the provincial health officer remains lukewarm on.
Some doctors are calling for mask mandates in the most high-risk public settings, such as enclosed, close-quarters buses. Others are pleading for Joe and Jane Public to do what public health won’t require: voluntarily mask up to curb the spread of all respiratory viruses.
“I would absolutely love it if everybody took the time to think of kids who are suffering, kids who are sick, and put a mask on,” said Vancouver family physician Dr. Anna Wolak.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry didn’t voice particularly strong support for masks on Monday, suggesting they’re only needed in “certain situations." And she repeated her long-held stance on mandates.
“A mandate is a rather heavy-handed measure that we do as a last resort when it’s something that is absolutely needed everywhere all the time,” she reiterated, recommending vaccinations and staying home when sick as the primary lines of defense.
Her counterpart in Ontario, Dr. Kieran Moore, was unequivocal last month in "strongly recommending that all Ontarians, not just those at high-risk, wear a mask in indoor public settings.”
While recent polling showed 79 per cent of Canadians would support the return of face masks to some extent, there are no province-wide mask mandates anywhere in the country, and it’s unlikely any jurisdiction wants to be the first to faced renewed opposition.
POLITICIZED BUREAUCRATIC APPOINTMENT
Recently retired premier John Horgan had repeatedly pointed to Henry as the person making decisions about mandates. With his successor David Eby now sworn in with a new cabinet, CTV News asked the premier's office whether he would continue to have the public health officer take the lead, or if he would take a more active role in pandemic decisions. The office has not responded.
A report analyzing the provincial government’s handling of the pandemic – which had been criticized for excluding any scrutiny of the provincial health office – nonetheless made several observations, including poor communication with stakeholders and repeated complaints communication did not improve after the initial crisis period.
“After the initial phase, there was strict central control of the messaging, including actively discouraging any questioning or challenging of the PHO,” wrote the report’s authors.
Hamish Telford, an associate professor of political science at the University of the Fraser Valley, gave Henry credit for earning the public’s trust in the early days of the pandemic, but is now concerned her position is becoming increasingly politicized.
“As we've moved into the latter phases of the pandemic, the public health officer doesn’t seem to be offering the government straight-up medical advice, but is couching that advice with political and economic considerations, effectively taking over the responsibility of making these decisions for the government, and the government has gone along with that,” he said.
Telford went on to agree there is a contrast between the messaging from doctors in the community – often one of desperation and dismay at personally treating sick youngsters – and public health officials in their government offices.
“At the end of the day, she is a doctor who should, in my view, be listening to the medical community and the advice they're offering from the front lines,” he said. “She should not be so concerned with public opinion, particularly emails that may come into her inbox from concerned citizens. She really needs to put that aside and focus on the medical dimensions of the crisis we're in.”
SCHOOL MASKING STUDY
Last month, Henry was asked about masking in schools, particularly in the wake of a study that concluded they reduce COVID-19 spread, which she dismissed.
The lead researcher on the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was raised in Metro Vancouver and still keeps tabs on her old stomping grounds. She expressed surprise at Henry’s remarks.
“The things that were happening in B.C. in the first eight, 10 months of the pandemic actually worked,” said Boston University epidemiologist Dr. Ellie Murray, referring to masking, distancing and gathering restrictions.
“We can't do all those things again, but which things can we do that either are sustainable from that set of things or can be replaced in a more sustainable way?”
Masking, she suggests, is a minimally-invasive way to do that. Her study found that when the Boston school district lifted mandates and allowed schools to decide their own masking policy, about half lifted requirements, while the others gradually did so, allowing for a “natural experiment.”
Murray, who is an expert in causation, was surprised to find that schools that lifted the mandates had 30 per cent more COVID-19 infections than those that didn’t. However, masks are just as politicized in Boston as they are in B.C., and despite the results, mandates were eventually removed entirely there as well.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.