Several Alberta doctors and a civil liberties lawyer are raising concerns around the growing trend of deaths labelled as ill-defined or of unknown causes, now listed as Alberta’s top killer..Government of Alberta statistics for 2021 are out and indicate the top cause of death in the province is now deaths with unknown causes (3,362), followed by dementia (2,135), and COVID-19 (1,950) rounding out the top three. .Brett Farrell, press secretary for the Minister of Service Alberta Nate Glubish, told the Western Standard the number of "ill-defined and unknown" causes of death continues to be refined "as medical causes of death are determined." .Farrell indicated as of July 6 the total number of deaths considered in this category is "approximately one third (35%) lower than published in the 2021 vital event datasets" and now sits at 2,169. He said StatCan is working to update those final medical causes of death as they are determined. .The category of ill-defined deaths barely registered in years past, but has seen an alarming increase in 2020 and 2021..A study looking at excess deaths in Alberta during the COVID-19 pandemic was quietly released in March in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. .The purpose of the study was to identify if there were excess deaths in the province during the pandemic and what age groups were affected. .According to the Government of Alberta data used for the study, it was found there was a "statistically significant increase in all-cause mortality" from January 2020 to May 2021. .COVID-19-related deaths accounted for 53.8% of the total excess deaths (2,266). However, an increase in all-cause excess deaths was "in significantly greater numbers, in the younger age groups." .Within the 17-month time frame of the study, deaths directly linked to COVID-19 were:.8 (20–29 years).12 (30–39 years).32 (40–49 years).74 (50–59 years).225 (60–69 years),.409 (70–79 years).1274 (>80 years).As well, there was a statistically significant increase in monthly drug poisoning deaths from March 2020 to April 2021, with a total of 1,819 deaths representing 18.2% of total all-cause mortality affecting mostly those between the ages of 25 and 60. ."Although older adults are more likely to die of COVID-19, there was massive increase in non-COVID-19 related mortality among the youth. These should be factored in public policy decisions on epidemic/pandemic management," concluded the study. .Dr. Gregory Chan, a family physician in central Alberta, told the Western Standard he's been tracking fatality numbers in the province and across Canada for several years. He said what he observed while examining overall trends is "a gradual increase of deaths over time," until 2020 and 2021..“The trend is a yearly increase in the hundreds range, then from 2019 to 2020 it was an increase of 3,042, and from 2020 to 2021 an increase of 1,999,” said Chan, referencing his tracking results based on Government of Alberta statistics..“I am aware of the fact there are many types of causes of death, but it's concerning to see the trend of ill-defined deaths increased significantly in the last two years, and it cannot be fully explained by COVID deaths.”.Chan said the death rates have been small year-over-year up until 2020 and he included a graph he created, tracking Alberta death statistics since 2002.. Alberta Total Deaths - Change from previous year .“The change in the number of deaths compared year-over-year hasn't changed very much from 2002 to 2019. We even saw a decline of 287 deaths in 2010 compared to 2009, and in 2017, an increase of 998 deaths compared to 2016,” said Chan, who indicated the fluctuations were nowhere near the numbers Alberta saw from the start of the pandemic..Chan said the increase in deaths with unknown causes aren’t attributed to COVID-19 deaths as those are counted in a separate category with 1,178 deaths listed in 2020 and 1,950 for 2021..Chan also included a graph showing the top 30 causes of death rates tracked from 2017 to 2021.. Top 30 death causes 2021, followed respectively to 2017 .“There isn’t a lot of change across the board until you see the sudden increase in deaths attributed to COVID-19 and this ill-defined category for 2020 and 2021,” said Chan..“When you look at the numbers through a wider lens, we have to ask some serious questions and ask ourselves what have we done differently? What have we done, as a public, to cause this?”.Chan said the obvious factors that have been applied to most people must be investigated, including any changes that have been introduced, such as the public health measures with masking and lockdowns and the introduction of the experimental COVID-19 vaccines..“These death rates are not typical and warrant serious investigation,” said Chan..“We typically get excited about other deaths that increase. For example, look at the increase in opioid deaths. We saw that and said, ‘we need to do something about this,’ and took action.”.“We now need to take a sober look at what else is causing this increase in ill-defined deaths. None of the other causes of death — heart disease, cancer — are up significantly. Why are these numbers so different?”.Chan said he understands the usual process of how sudden deaths are typically investigated and said with any investigation it often takes months for the results of an autopsy and toxicology to come back. He said the Chief Medical Examiner Offices in Edmonton and Calgary are likely overwhelmed by the sudden increase in deaths with unknown causes..Dr. Eric Payne, a Calgary-based pediatric neurologist and clinical researcher who has a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard and spent six years on staff at the Mayo Clinic, said he's seeing worldwide data indicating an increase in “excess all-cause mortality (ACM) in 2021 that is not explained by COVID-related deaths.”.“This includes insurance actuarial data stating ACM is up 40% in some cases,” said Payne. “What is most concerning is that these deaths are occurring in otherwise healthy people.”.Payne said the health authorities should be providing the vaccination status of anyone who died suspiciously and how soon their death occurred after being vaccinated..“If you want to prevent vaccine hesitancy and put to rest what many consider to be the clear elephant in the room regarding the causes of these suspicious deaths, show us the full data.”.“There is clearly one huge variable that is not being considered at all in the article,” said Payne, referencing a recent CTV article published July 5 on the increase in Alberta deaths with unknown causes. The article made no mention of the experimental COVID-19 vaccines as a possible contributor to these deaths..Dr. David Vickers, a statistical associate epidemiologist at the University of Calgary (U of C) and former epidemiologist for Alberta Health Services, has 16 years of experience in infectious disease epidemiology. Vickers said ill-defined and unknown deaths are placed in this nondescript category until they can be investigated and better categorized..Vickers, also referencing the CTV article, said he agrees with comments made by Dr. Daniel Gregson, an associate professor at the U of C’s Cumming School of Medicine, who said factors contributing to the increase in deaths with unknown causes likely include lack of resources to determine the cause of death, delayed access to healthcare services and post-COVID-19 complications..“However, whether CTV explored other plausible factors with Gregson, such as the effects of lockdowns on psychological well-being, to serious adverse events related to the vaccines themselves, is unbeknownst to me," said Vickers..“Until Alberta’s Office of the Medical Examiner is able to re-categorize ill-defined deaths, implying an indirect link to COVID-19 is purely speculative and only seeks to exaggerate the impact of the pandemic.”.Vickers pointed to an evidence-based article published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases that demonstrated pandemic responses in five of Canada’s provinces, including Alberta, had little effect on slowing the transmission of SARS-CoV-1..He also said it was worth noting data released for 2020 had 1,464 ill-defined deaths in Alberta, but recently updated data for 2021 did not “magically attribute any of the 2020 ill-defined deaths to COVID-19” as of yet. .“For me, the whole premise behind ‘ill-defined deaths’ is that we really have no idea what contributed to a person's death without further investigation,” said Vickers..“But I do sympathize with how frustrating it is when legacy media, like CTV and CBC, are so blatantly one-sided on the pandemic as a whole, and how, specifically, there seems to be very little scrutiny of the use of these vaccines.”.Vickers said he sees vaccines, in general, as “useful tools,” but said he wonders about the benefits of using them in “blanket policies” such as the vaccine mandates..“It's really too bad that these mRNA vaccines were — and still are — peddled as silver bullets, when they aren't," he said. .“Without having physicians on-board — both in-hospital and the medical examiner's office — to call out adverse effects, these sorts of postmortem investigations into the vaccines won't occur."."It's going to take some brave physicians to ignore being told how to think by their governing bodies — lest they lose their medical license — to really make any headway. Sadly, for now, many doctors in powerful positions are all for pushing the vaccines.”.Vickers said he's keeping his eye on several new studies being published “that provide mounting evidence linking mRNA vaccines with serious adverse events.”.Civil liberties lawyer Derek From with Warnock Kraft Anderson law firm in Airdrie, told the Western Standard there are “many question marks” around this category of deaths with unknown and ill-determined causes..“I’d like to think there is some scrutiny there. We need to figure out what is going on here and making topics like vaccine injuries taboo is dangerous," said From. ."This cone of silence allows for rumours and suspicion, which just causes worse problems.”.From said he suffered a vaccine injury and has been dealing with tinnitus, hearing loss, and numbness on one side of his face that came on 10 days after he received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in October..“I personally know many people who have had COVID-19 and had no lingering issues,” said From..“I also know of many people who have — under strong suspicion — been injured or died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, including a young 35-year-old high-level athlete.”.From said from the legal perspective, it boils down to “informed consent.”.“It’s a fact that can’t be disputed — there is no long-term safety data on these vaccines and people’s choices are being removed,” he said..“When someone is forced to say, ‘I have to do this or face the consequences,’ that’s not a choice, that’s extortion.” .From said, in his legal opinion, the basis for informed consent has not been reached for the COVID-19 vaccines. ."I'm convinced there are real problems here and, over time, data will show more have been negatively affected by these vaccines," he said. .Lisa Glover, spokeswoman for Alberta Health, said reports of adverse events following immunization must be reported to the health agency under Alberta's Immunization Regulation. To date, she said Alberta has reported one vaccine-related death. ."The claim of vaccines causing death is not supported by scientific research or the global experience of COVID-19," said Glover.."There is no basis to suggest the 'unknown' category in the Service Alberta data contains additional AEFI deaths, the very low rate of death and other serious AEFIs in Alberta is consistent with the extensive published evidence."."Vaccines have been shown to be highly effective with very few adverse events. Delaying or refusing vaccination carries serious risks. Those who are unvaccinated are more likely to experience severe outcomes from COVID-19 infection.".Glover said the Alberta government continues to "encourage Albertans to get every dose for which they are eligible."
