Thread by @SherOnHealth

While @TorontoStar published a story Friday in which @OntLiberal questioned why @HNHealthUnit named as acting medical officer of health someone who opposes #COVID19 lockdowns, my review of his writings raises another concerning question:
Has he misrepresented evidence?
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@TorontoStar @OntLiberal @HNHealthUnit Consider this opinion piece written by @strauss_matt in October for for UK magazine @spectator whose right-wing leanings are as clear as the political affiliations of its past editors, including @BorisJohnson
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spectatorworld.com/topic/medic-ca…

@TorontoStar @OntLiberal @HNHealthUnit @strauss_matt @spectator @BorisJohnson In that piece, Strauss misstates findings of studies and reports to build his case against lockdowns.
I use "misstate" and not "misrepresent" because the latter implies an intent to deceive and I have no basis to know his intent - errors may be the result of carelessness.
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@TorontoStar @OntLiberal @HNHealthUnit @strauss_matt @spectator @BorisJohnson Strauss claimed evidence was "piling up" that lockdowns caused harms, then points to a report he said showed American homicide rates were up 50% compared to the prior summer. But that report doesn't mention lockdowns and concludes subduing the pandemic would lower rates.
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@TorontoStar @OntLiberal @HNHealthUnit @strauss_matt @spectator @BorisJohnson Now Strauss provided a link to "support" his crime claim but it was to a Yahoo news article and not the actual report. Here's what he linked: ca.news.yahoo.com/a-worrisome-tr…
Here's the actual report: covid19.counciloncj.org/2020/09/26/imp…
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I don't know if Strauss failed to read the @CouncilonCJ report he cited or if he read it and then made claims that contradicting the report's findings. Either way, it's concerning. In a pandemic, we need public leadership that examine data and present it accurately.
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@CouncilonCJ The report whose findings Strauss misstates didn't simply focus on the effect of the pandemic on crime in 27 U.S. cities, it considered the effect of social unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020. #BlackLivesMatter
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Strauss represents the surge in crime as a product of the lockdown (not mentioned in the report) and does not mention the effects of police brutality, the murder by police of black people, and the resulting social upheaval that are a focus of the report.
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I don't know why Strauss misstated the report on crime, whether it was the result of carelessness, callousness or a single-minded focus on his personal patients has left him too biased to consider evidence objectively, but it seems clear the latter shaped his world view.
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Strauss claims lockdowns caused suicidal thoughts in Canada to triple but he links a release about survey results by @CMHA that examined the effects of the pandemic overall and didn't ask which factors contributed to suicidal thoughts.
cmha.ca/warning-signs-…
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A subsequent survey by @CMHA did ask about sources of pandemic-related stress and the sources were varied, with some not related at all to lockdowns and others only partly. You can find survey results for both here: cmha.ca/brochure/covid…

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Strauss also claims lockdown in British Columbia caused overdose deaths to triple, and while it's true there has been a spike of OD deaths, his link is to data complied by the office of the BC Coroner who makes no judgement as to the cause of the spike.
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Strauss claims support by linking a response to data by @CDCofBC but that agency does NOT mention lockdowns but instead broader challenges of a pandemic, specific challenges w/shelters and an especially dangerous supply is street drugs as reason for a spike in death.
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@CDCofBC Overdoses deaths spike not because people were barred from shopping; they spiked because shelters had to be shut down, then re-opened w/distancing to protect clients and staff, and because clients were frightened to stay in more congregate settings indoors ...
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That's my view based upon what I was told from people working in shelters -- more people were sleeping outside, alone, so there were fewer life-saving interventions. My view is based on those stories, not evidence - and I know the difference.
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Which brings us back to Dr. Strauss. It is critical for a leader in public health to distinguish between personal beliefs that are the result of anecdotal experience, and evidence, and to use the latter to guide his or his views and actions.
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There's no doubt lockdown cause some harms along with benefits, but evidence has shown the benefits outweigh the harms in many circumstances.
I don't doubt Strauss agonizes for harms he sees as a clinician.
But personal feelings aren't a replacement for evidence.
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