HEALTH
Decentralized response to the pandemic can be fixed
CONTENTS
April 14-21 / 2022
7
COVER
Politicians are pledging a massive increase in the housing supply, but are there enough construction workers to make these promises a reality?
by Charlie Smith
By Charlie Smith Cover photo by Gregory Abraszko
5
HOUSING
One of the top-ranked properties on the Vancouver Heritage Register is on the market for $4.5 million after selling last year for $2.9 million. By Carlito Pablo
10 ARTS
The Vancouver Art Gallery is mounting an exhibit of rare photographic art in memory of a local donor who notably upgraded its collection. B.C. has a problem in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic—namely, that the health authorities are politically and scientifically unaccountable. Photo by Alexey Solodovnikov and Valeria Arkhipova.
O
ne of the most famous sentences in the history of space exploration was uttered by Jim Lovell, an astronaut on the Apollo 13 spacecraft. “Okay, Houston, I believe we’ve had a problem here,” Lovell said. Some very intelligent people in B.C. know that we have a problem of a different sort here in our province when it comes to COVID-19. Whereas the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 lost their oxygen tanks, our predicament revolves around government health officials who want to drop virtually all defences—save vaccinations and a few free rapid-test kits—in the face of a sixth wave of infections. This is despite evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which can cause death and long-term disability, can circumvent vaccines and has the capacity to reinfect people multiple times each year. The B.C. government health establishment has argued—in the face of a tremendous amount of research evidence to the contrary—that because they believe that masks harm children’s mental health and lead to substance use(!), these mouth and nose coverings should not be required in schools. This same government health establishment has maintained that there’s a “debate” over whether COVID-19 is airborne, as with measles and tuberculosis. This comment came after a couple of researchers at B.C. Children’s Hospital wrote a letter to the Lancet questioning a landmark paper, a letter that was promptly rebutted by the paper’s authors. Yet health authority staff can thumb their noses at a growing body of scientific research about how COVID-19 is transmitted and offer advice willy-nilly about masks to school boards without any consequences. A pandemic that has claimed more than 3,000 B.C. lives is being overseen in a haphazard, highly decentralized manner devoid of any real political or scientific accountability. In many cases, those who
2
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
suffer the greatest consequences—families with immunocompromised members— don’t even know where they can fi le complaints. And even if they did, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. isn’t going to take away anyone’s medical licence for misleading the public in health-authority communications about how COVID-19 is being transmitted. Politicians have a few options to consider in advance of the next election. They include: 1. Consult with Protect Our Province B.C., which has dedicated itself to providing evidence-based information to reduce the spread of COVID-19, to hear how it thinks this enormously challenging public-policy issue should be addressed. 2. Hold public meetings in each of the health regions asking a simple question: how can we make the delivery of health services more democratic and accountable? You never know what you might hear until you ask people for their opinions. 3. Consult with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. to determine whether it’s possible to issue practice directives to physicians or even requirements for continuing education for government epidemiologists. 4. Invite academic experts on governance to share their ideas on how to address the issue of unaccountable health authorities acting with impunity. What we’ve witnessed in B.C. is a system failure rooted in part in governance. While we might get lucky and avoid the worst onslaught of the pandemic this summer because of high vaccination rates and more people spending time outdoors, it’s quite possible that we’ll be back in COVID-19 hell by the fall. As long as there’s a refusal by government health officials to respond to airborne transmission in a serious way, this issue will never go away. That’s why it’s incumbent on all of us to devote just as much attention to finding solutions as we have done to highlighting what’s gone so terribly wrong. g
APRIL 14 – 21 / 2022
By Martin Dunphy
e Online TOP 5
e Start Here
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ARTS CLASSIFIED ADS DANCE FOOD HEALTH HOUSING LIQUOR MUSIC REAL ESTATE SAVAGE LOVE THEATRE
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EDITOR Charlie Smith GENERAL MANAGER Sandra Oswald SECTION EDITORS Mike Usinger (ESports/Liquor/Music) Steve Newton SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy STAFF WRITERS Carlito Pablo (Real Estate) SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT Jeff Li ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER Janet McDonald
Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.
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Park board says Kits Pool may not reopen this summer. Bill Gates TED Talk prompts protest outside Vancouver Convention Centre. Fire in historic Gastown neighbourhood sends five to hospital. Former Beatle Ringo Starr brings his All Starr band to Abbotsford. Mask mandates, fickle NDP voters, and the 2001 B.C. election debacle. @GeorgiaStraight
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