Be wary of ‘misinformation, lies’ about vaccines, health minister warns
John Main says false information around the RSV vaccine is circulating on social media
Nunavut Health Minister John Main is trying to combat vaccine misinformation which he calls “lies” circulating on social media. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
The Nunavut government is warning people to be wary of misinformation related to the RSV vaccine that it says cites false information about previous vaccination programs in Nunavik.
“Misinformation and lies [are] a poison. We’re making sure that we’re providing the antidote to that poison or something that helps to knock it down,” Health Minister John Main said in an interview Thursday.
He said rumours are circulating on social media that high-risk Inuit infants in Nunavik were given the vaccine without parental consent or that they were experimented on.
“There was an evaluation conducted of this public health program. It wasn’t an experiment,” Main said. “In this day and age, there’s no experimentation happening when it comes to vaccines.
“Vaccines are one of the most effective public health tools we have…. They’ve saved so many lives over the years and prevented so many people from falling ill.”
Respiratory syncytial virus, often known by its short form, RSV, is particularly harmful to young children and the elderly. Most cases are mild with cold-like symptoms but can be much more severe for children under two and the elderly, according to Health Canada.
In some cases, patients require hospitalization or, very rarely, admission in an intensive care unit.
Symptoms include runny nose, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, fever, and decreased appetite and energy. In infants, symptoms include irritability, difficulty breathing, decreased appetite or feeding, and decreased activity.
“The worst type of medical emergency you could have would be a young infant who’s struggling to breathe and needs to be medevaced out of a community in the middle of the night,” Main said.
“That’s absolutely just terrifying, terrible situations to have families in.”
For 2023-24, the most recent data available, there were 590 documented RSV cases in Nunavut — a significant increase from pre-COVID-19 when there tended to be 50 to 150 cases per year, Main said.
“We’re making efforts to make sure that factual information is available to Nunavummiut in multiple languages,” Main said. “[The misinformation] is quite sad and concerning for us.”
He said the Health Department is promoting RSV vaccination through its community health representatives and online.
“We don’t vaccinate children without parental consent,” he said. “We certainly wouldn’t be attempting to trick anyone into receiving a vaccine or medicine that they don’t know about.”
He said he understands people have concerns and questions, but health care professionals are available to provide answers and Nunavummiut shouldn’t hesitate to ask.
It’s great that the minister is saying “Vaccines are one of the most effective public health tools we have” But at the same time the department of health only covers pharmacies giving free naloxone kits to Nunavut health card card holders who are Inuit.
The more people who can prevent an overdose is also an effective public health tool regardless of the race of the person who has a naloxone kit
“The Nunavut Take Home Naloxone Program offers training and injectable naloxone kits free of charge to people who are at risk of an overdose and to family, friends, and those who are most likely to witness and respond to an opioid overdose (no ID or health card required).”
Seems to be accessible, just maybe not free in all circumstances. I believe it’s about $35 for a kit. Those with NIHB get it for free.
I imagine if everyone had a kit at home, we’d probably have shortages country wide (especially considering expiration dates). I think the idea is to have it where the risk is heightened.
Source: https://cmha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CMHA-Naloxone-Toolkit-Naloxone101-ENG-Final.pdf
Naloxone kits should be free for anyone regardless of race. They are also supposed to be available for anyone who asks, no questions asked. Obviously not every home needs one.
Naloxone kits are provided free of charge by the GN to anyone, no questions asked at any community health centre or, in Iqaluit, at Public Health or the emergency room.
It is the federal NIHB program that provides naloxone kits to eligible First Nations and Inuit through community pharmacies. (Those without NIHB coverage would have to pay at a pharmacy but not at a GN health facility.)
We don’t need your needles, we haven’t needed them longer than some religions that do exist toda
Are you some sort of science type medical guy
Two likely things. One, he believes in magic. Two, he has zero sense of history.
The Church of the flying spaghetti monster has been around since 2005. It is as legitimate as any other recognized religion , and I’m sure that needles were around before it.
After all that lock down, stay away 6 feet, rapid test, swabbing noses,waiting for results, after all they say about the conditions and count how many people pass away. Now he is working so hard.
If you WANT to catch preventable deadly diseases, go ahead, we’re better off without you. The rest of us will continue on. Vaccines work. One small pain in the arm, a lifetime (or limited time for some) of safety from something that could actually kill me? Fair deal.
Y’know, when I went to school it was MANDATORY that all students get a set of vaccines – including for mumps, measles, etc, that all seem to be making a comeback as morons aren’t getting vaccinated anymore.
There’s no reason to believe that John Main has a medical or scientific background, just as there is no reason to believe that John Main can parse medical or scientific information nor determine what is true or false; yet here he is disseminating information on the NN docial-media platform.
No, but there is every reason to believe that John Main has a phalanx of experts behind him providing education and guidance.