Alberta’s medical establishment is in a tizzy over the Alberta government’s decision to provide free COVID-19 shots only for seniors in long-term care homes, and for those with underlying medical conditions or compromised immune systems. All others will need to pay for the injection themselves, if they want it. Dr. Paul Parks, former head of the Alberta Medical Association, is one of several doctors and academics who are outraged that Alberta taxpayers will no longer be forced to pay for injecting large numbers of Albertans with the demonstrably ineffective COVID-19 vaccines. In a 10-minute radio interview with Courtney Theriault on Edmonton’s 880 CHED, Dr. Parks claims a dozen times that all experts and expertise are on his side, and that “not a single public health expert” has advised the Alberta government. Listening to Dr. Parks denouncing Premier Danielle Smith as anti-science is like going back in time to relive the years of lockdowns and vaccine mandates, starting in 2020..By December 2021, everyone knew that the COVID-19 shots did not prevent people from getting sick with COVID-19, and that this new product did not stop it from spreading. (The highly vaccinated British enclave of Gibraltar, and countries with extremely high vaccination rates, still ordered their citizens not to spend time together at Christmas.) Yet the medical establishment to which Dr. Parks belongs fully supported mandatory vaccination policies, which demonized those who did not get the jab. Vaccine mandates turned millions of good and reasonable Canadians into second-class citizens, who could not travel, go to the gym, or visit their vulnerable parent in a nursing home. Many were fired from their jobs and expelled from universities. Apart from the COVID vaccine being ineffective, the government’s own data had made it abundantly clear by 2021 that COVID itself was not nearly as bad as what media and politicians had made it out to be in 2020. In countries, states and provinces around the world, COVID-19 had little impact on all-cause mortality rates..Radio host Courtney Theriault played a brief clip of Premier Smith explaining the lack of public enthusiasm for the COVID-19 shot “because it doesn’t work particularly well.” The premier went on to state what everyone knew prior to 2020: that vaccines should be judged by their ability to ensure that the person receiving the injection “never develops the underlying condition.” With a golden opportunity to refute the premier’s supposedly “anti-science” statements, Dr. Parks provides no evidence to support his opinion that COVID-19 shots are effective and necessary. Instead, Dr. Parks argues that getting the measles vaccine is important, as though that magically makes the COVID vaccine effective. If Dr. Parks has “the science” on his side, he seems incapable of explaining what it is. He provides no evidence to support his view that the COVID shot is somehow effective..Dr. Parks fails to mention that Alberta taxpayers will continue paying for COVID-19 shots for seniors in long-term care homes, and for those with underlying medical conditions or compromised immune systems. If other Albertans wish to be injected with a demonstrably ineffective product, they will have to pay for it themselves. As explained by Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services: “In previous years, we’ve seen significant vaccine wastage. By shifting to a targeted approach and introducing pre-ordering, we aim to better align supply with demand — ensuring we remain fiscally responsible while continuing to protect those at highest risk.” With more than $130 million tax dollars wasted on unused vaccines last year, Alberta’s policy makes sense, both fiscally and medically..The mantra of Dr. Parks is the same as the daily (and hourly) media propaganda we heard in 2020. In summary, the medical establishment argued that they had the science, all the expertise was on their side and they didn't need to provide evidence... they refused to engage in debate; everyone should obey the ‘experts’ unthinkingly and that they were, in other words, so, so right. Fortunately, fewer and fewer Albertans are buying this garbage.The hysteria expressed by the medical establishment against the Alberta government’s medically sound decision to have individuals pay out-of-pocket for a demonstrably ineffective product is a sign of their desperation. Their hysteria is also quite comical. Perhaps, some day soon, Dr. Parks and his ilk will become so desperate that they will start engaging in actual debate on the issues. Perhaps they will start presenting evidence to support their opinions, rather than merely proclaiming arrogant mantras.I, for one, would gladly debate Dr. Parks publicly on the question of whether lockdowns did more harm than good, or on the question of whether the COVID vaccine should have been made mandatory, as it was in 2021.John Carpay, B.A., LL.B. is President of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (jccf.ca).
