Thread by @littleann4ever

1/🧵Correspondence btwn BC's health ministry & the PHSA has unveiled more indisputable long COVID knowledge by senior health officials via a heavily redacted F.O.I response. Here are some of the behind-the-curtain disclosures. Along w/some rabbit holes. #bcpoli

2/ One document revealed is Aug 19/20 letter from AD health minister, Ian Rongve to Alexandra Flatt, VP of pandemic response thanking her “for submitting the business case on behalf of the PHSA related to the creation of a time limited Post Covid-19 Provincial Clinical Program”.

3/ Rongve also explained that although the ministry is aware of the evidence of “an emerging need for post-acute COVID care,” it is “unable to provide the requested funding”. The govt chose “Option 2”- the PHSA is “to fund it internally or by leveraging other funding sources”.

4/ In fact, on Sept 11/20, Rongve clarified the stance in follow-up letter. He wrote “despite being unable to provide the PHSA w/add funding, the ministry is very supportive" esp wrt the province becoming a leader in centralized clinical care & actively learning from evidence.

5/ The PHSA business case “Ministry of Health decision briefing note” – drafted Aug 12/20 – kicks off w/this ironic stmt summing up the “purpose” of the briefing update, that the info was meant to assist the health ministry “make an informed decision".

6/ Conversely, pls remember how entirely uninformed B.C.'s public was back then. In words, actions & policy, our govt & PH officials omitted warnings about COVID-19 long-term risks rendering it impossible for people to make informed safety decisions. This is still the case today.

7/ And unlike Henry’s ambiguous words at the time—esp while justifying B.C. 's back to school plan rife w/full classrooms, optional masks, surface cleaning & cohorts—this business case did not mince words. The PHSA laid bare the following truth-telling sobering facts...con't

8/ that “increasing evidence shows people are suffering from lingering symptoms after acute phase & ongoing problems incl fatigue, racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, achy joints, foggy thinking, persistent loss of sense of smell & damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys & brain."

9/ Let that sink in. Major organ damage. Oh yes, did they ever know. To add insult to injury, the PHSA also cited this July 9/20 research letter from Italy. Demonstrating that close attention was being paid to international research findings back then. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

10/ This 2009 4-yr follow-up SARS-1 study conclusion was referenced too "that 40% of survivors exp symptoms of chronic fatigue following the illness” affirming that PH officials were looking at the long-term effects of what came before, behind the scenes. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20008700/

11/ Re: major organ damage, the PHSA quoted this July 27/20 editorial, alarmingly titled "Is Heart Failure the Next Chapter?" It states “evidence is also showing an increase in morbidities & mortality in people w/pre-existing cardiovascular conditions”. jamanetwork.com/journals/jamac…

12/ And there’s this final quoted reference from June 9/20 U.K. article: “an online survey of almost 4 mil people globally indicates that 10% reported persistent symptoms 25 days after diagnosis & 5% reported being unwell 1 month later”.
health-study.joinzoe.com/post/covid-lon…

13/ Then there’s PHSA's business plan program goal “to ensure people recovering from COVID-19 continue to receive evidence-informed care when & if they need it”. Nice, right? At least an unaware public w/b cared for after the fact or at least that was the written intent 3yrs ago.

14/ And there was this emphasis: “The clinical data collected, incl questionnaires & referrals to services, will be complementary to the databases & biobanks already in place”. It’s hard not to ponder about what might h/b more enticing -the patient care or the research itself.

15/ Now, let’s talk about money. Specifically, the original ‘ask’ of “$4,330,226 over three fiscal years”. An amount that the health ministry refused to pay.

16/ It’s also imp to note that the PHSA described the “Post-COVID Provincial Clinical Program” as “time limited”. This certainly rings true at least for B.C.’s Post COVID-19 Recovery Centers since they are all set to close on April 1st, 2023.

17/ So, did the PHSA ask for funding again so the PCRCs could stay open? Or was there no desire to do so? Is it that long COVID decision makers are now following Henry’s Omicron playbook when she veered from ‘we aren’t seeing..." to ‘it’s everywhere now so you’re on your own’?

18/ What's the new goal? The PC-ICCN has accumulated a lot of patient info via biobanks & databases. Since all in-person team-based care is being eliminated, that leaves just virtual care—& all the research opportunities, of course. Perhaps, this is the primary focus now.

19/ Here's the full August 2020 B.C. Ministry of Health decision briefing note re: PHSA's Post-COVID-19 Provincial Clinical Program business case for Ian Rongve, AD minister, COVID-19 response & health emergency mgmt.
And this is not all. Pls stay tuned for more F.O.I reveals.

20/ Okay, as promised, there's more. Another revealed document in this same F.O.I is a "legislative session fact sheet" for the Post COVID-Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network & recovery clinics —approved by Rongve on behalf of the Ministry of Health on May27/21. #bcpoli

21/ This fact sheet incl this stmt: “in April 2020, the PC-ICCN was conceived”. This confirms that B.C.’s senior health officials were aware of long COVID & PC multi-system risks since then. At least, they knew enough to warrant the need for PC clinical care, didn't they?

22/ Now, for the rest. This jam-packed document echoes PHSA business case talking points. That PC-ICCN is 1st of its kind in Cda “to standardize post COVID-19 care across HAs & integrate real-time research”. It also lists all researchers, institutions/studies that will benefit.

23/ But it’s this stmt from this fact sheet that makes the decision to close all B.C. 's PCRCs now, alarming: “COVID-19 survivors w/complex presentations who do not receive adequate & evidence-based recovery care are at risk of lifetime disability & chronic diseases"...con't

24/ And similar to the PHSA’s post-COVID business case, this document also specified the known multi-system damage: “such as cardiovascular, respiratory, kidney disease and the known burden of depression and psychological impacts of chronic disease”.

25/ So, what will happen to all those w/complex presentations now? Btw-pls see my end of thread research for more on this.
In the meantime, here's the 2-pg legislative fact sheet outlining behind the scenes info about the Post Covid-19 Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network.

26/ But here's rabbit hole I must explore on this thread: We know all the post COVID risks in the legislative fact sheet were not being shared publicly. But were they being discussed in B.C's legislature? A simple Google search of “Hansard” & “long COVID” brings up 4 instances.

27/ 1st is Mar3/21 QP w/@BCGreens @SoniaFurstenau citing long haul research showing that mostly women are affected & kids are suffering too. She asked Dix, if “his ministry is collecting data on long-term COVID illnesses & where the info is for public. leg.bc.ca/content/Hansar…

28/ Dix’s answer, if you can believe it, was “that COVID-19 as a long-term impact, is at the center of our responses”. He also said these “issues” h/b reported on & answered by Dr. Henry in public briefings. He then suggested separate briefing so that [Furstenau] can be updated.

29/ On the contrary, re: CityNews article, here’s what Henry said the next day in a Mar4/21 public briefing: “Maybe I’m too optimistic, but we’re going to be in our post-pandemic world by the summer, if things continue to go the way that we want them to" vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/03/04/bc-…

30/ Also, in the legislature on June 17/21, Furstenau stated that “people are struggling w/increased fatigue, brain fog, nerve & muscle pain, high blood pressure & psychiatric issues,” & asked how the health ministry plans to provide long-term support. leg.bc.ca/content/Hansar…

31/ Dix’s answer: “It’s also true that COVID-19...is having long-lasting effects. That’s why we're leading in terms of research in BC under the direction of Dr. Henry & teams throughout HAs in addressing these questions. We’ve added specialty clinics to support long-haulers...”

32/ Dix's stmts are on the heels of Henry’s June 3/21 Op-Ed in which she emoted: “We will finally be able to do more of the things we love, like gathering with friends, celebrating an important life occasion with family, and even hugging a loved one.” vancouversun.com/opinion/dr-bon…

33/ So, thru words & actions, heading into summer of 2021, Henry wasn't cautioning people about long COVID. She also did not seem too concerned about more COVID transmissions putting more at risk. According to Dix tho, it sounded like Henry & her teams were very busy w/studies.

34/ LC was still not disclosed a yr later. A good e.g. is Henry’s Mar31/22 reply to HRC to justify lifting masks. She said: “the data tell us the risk is no longer elevated in most...even in people w/underlying med conditions, who are fully vaccinated.” www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/hea…

35/ Now, let’s compare these words above from Henry with those spoken by Furstenau and Dix in these next two legislature transcripts from 2022.

36/ Apr6/22 , Furstenau said potentially 83,000 BCers exp long COVID incl “systemic neuropsychiatric, respiratory, cardiac, gastrointestinal & endocrine complications" even vaxxed & after mild cases. She asked about govt responsibility to inform/educate.
leg.bc.ca/content/Hansar…

37/ Dix’s response was to insist that long COVID is an “absolute priority” & that: “We know that many people recover differently, do not recover well & have long-term consequences.” He also explained that the PCRCs support patients “in the thousands, with positive results”.

38/ Yet, outside these walls, 9 days prior, Dix was not informing BC about LC & was defending Henry’s mask repeal instead. As he said in Mar29/22 Tyee article “the decision to end the mask mandate was made after careful consideration of the evidence”. thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/2…

39/ Lastly, on May 12/22 in a reply to Furstenau re: PCRCs/PC-ICCN, Dix said MoH supports them “to successfully deal w/long COVID, which we’re uncertain about—uncertain about its impact...about how people who had different variants will react over...time” leg.bc.ca/content/Hansar…

40/ Now, let all these words w/i the legislature walls sink in. Esp Dix's long COVID acknowledgements & stmts that it's always been ‘a priority.’ Yet, the revealed F.O.I post COVID info - that he, his govt & Henry have all been privy to for 3 yrs now -was never shared publicly.

41/ These F.O.I documents & Dix’s admissions in the legislature, thx to Furstenau, are just tip of the iceberg re: all that h/b known & not shared. But even so, let’s travel back to Aug/20 when PHSA’s post-COVID-19 business case was officially presented to BC health ministry...

42/ Let’s imagine, back then, that this was also being publicized thru our govt, media & PH officials. All our family & friends united in knowledge of the risks. All these truths fully informing PH policies w/protections to keep our kids, grandparents, school staff & HCWs safe.

43/ Now, in this alternate reality, fast forward to today. How many more British Columbians would still be living their full lives? How many more people would still be alive today? #LongCovid #LongCovidKids
My full research complete w/more rabbit holes: docs.google.com/document/d/19n…

44/ Btw- I found this F.O.I while sifting thru the gov't's publicly released open info site. It had been requested by someone in "media" searching for long COVID correspondence btwn Jun/20-Jun/21. The response had been sitting there unused since July/22. gov.bc.ca/openinformation

45/ Just to clarify, I’m assuming the correspondence revealed in this F.O.I was unused. I didn’t see a news article about it, did you?