Tam answers Canada’s burning COVID-19 questions in Facebook live

Canada Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, hit social media today warning Canadians about the third wave of COVID-19 days before the Easter weekend. Nigel Newlove reports.

OTTAWA — As Canada heads into a third wave of COVID-19, the country’s top doctor is using social media to share her warnings and advice.

In a half-hour Facebook live session, Dr. Theresa Tam took questions from Canadians.

One of the more popular topics of conversation is the ever-changing advice on vaccines.

“I think the fundamental challenge with this pandemic is that science, evidence and knowledge are always evolving and is emerging fast so we have to act fast to adapt and evolve the guidance,” said Tam.

On Monday, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) changed gears on the AstraZeneca vaccine, deciding to not recommend it for people under 55 after reports of blood clots in Europe.

“As more and more vaccines are rolled out live to tens of millions of people, more data is going to come in,” said Tam.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, government officials have been working to provide Canadians with daily COVID-19 updates while also trying to dispel misinformation.

Tam’s Facebook live was a chance to address misinformation that is often found on social media and explain the attack plan directly to Canadians

Another main question Canadians wanted answers to was which vaccine is the best one.

“It’s really difficult to compare because they weren’t studied in what we call head-to-head trial, so in one trial designed the same way to compare one vaccine to the other,” said Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada.

Officials maintain Canadians should take the vaccine that is offered.

In terms of the vaccine rollout, officials clarified why many Indigenous Canadians are able to access vaccines before others.

“Indigenous peoples still have the worst health of any ethnic group in the country and they carry a disproportionate burden of chronic diseases and have a lower life expectancy and because of where they live remote and rural locations,” said Dr. Evan Adams with Indigenous Services.

Health officials have been more vocal on social media as the country sees a surge in cases right before Easter weekend.

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