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Public health shouldn’t be about politics.
Alas, the pandemic changed all of that, and the resulting politicization of public health made it easier for COVID-19 to spread, to hospitalize and to kill.
With Manitobans now in this most political of seasons, we have a chance to see if we have learned anything.
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Health Canada has approved a new COVID vaccine for fall, just as infections and hospitalizations are inching up again. That regulatory approval means the provinces can start rolling out the shots in early October.
Are we going to hear anything about that public-health priority prior to the Oct. 3 vote? Are seniors — who remain the most vulnerable to the worst of COVID — going to be told when and where they can start rolling up their sleeves? Is there going to be a public-awareness campaign to build support for the booster program?
And since I am on roll, what are chances Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, or his deputy. Dr. Jazz Atwal, will surface to answer these or any other pressing questions?
To be clear, the blackout rules for government communication during a provincial election can’t silence Roussin or Atwal from communication when “necessary to ensure the health and wellness of Manitobans.”
However, recent history has shown that silence is exactly what happens when a campaign is underway. When the Kirkfield Park byelection was triggered on Nov. 15, 2022, nary a word about COVID was uttered by anyone in government until after the final ballots were counted 28 days later.
Of course, there is plenty of time between now and Oct. 3 for Manitoba Public Health to swing into action by informing Manitobans about the new vaccine and encouraging them to get a booster. After all, Health Canada’s approval of the updated shot only came on Tuesday, one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its blessing to tweaked vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
But if nothing is said for the duration of the campaign about the still-divisive issue of vaccines and vaccination, what message does that send?
I’d hate to think Manitoba Public Health’s preferred pre-election prescription is to keep COVID from again becoming a political issue.
Still, I can’t help but notice the government’s communications department in recent weeks has seen fit to issue warnings about West Nile Virus and high winds on Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg – but nothing about COVID or vaccines.
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