Thread by @POP__PEI

In preparation for the #PEI election, PoP PEI member @ntqrt invited Island @saltwire readers to complete a survey and provide input on Covid-19 and the privatization of healthcare. Here's what he found:

#peipoli

https://twitter.com/ntqrt/status/1638911242428379136

"Over 50 percent of respondents supported the need for government mask mandates in public buildings (9 percent more were uncertain, while 40 percent disagreed)."

"Regarding mask-wearing, there was a roughly even split between those who reported they always masked when grocery shopping versus those who did not. This may reflect the fact that about half of respondents thought COVID is like a flu, with little or no severe long-term impacts."

"In reality, this lethal, airborne virus attacks the lining of blood vessels, and significantly increases your lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes."

"Since the King government has routinely failed to emphasize that this lethal virus is actually airborne like smoke, this may help explain why some Islanders still do not understand the need for good quality N95 masks (not even baggy blue surgical masks!)."

"The survey also revealed that 64 per cent of respondents were fully boosted and try to access vaccines ASAP (another 22 per cent were partly-boosted, while 14 per cent consider COVID-19 vaccines ineffective)."

In terms of the privatization of healthcare, "a strong majority of Islanders (64 per cent) disagreed with the idea that expanding private user-pay healthcare is more effective than hiring more public sector nurses (18 per cent more were uncertain)."

"A majority of Islanders (55 per cent) were concerned about the erosion of universal public health care by expanding user-pay services such as Maple physician consults online (another 14 per cent were uncertain, while roughly 30 per cent were unconcerned)."