Alberta Health responds to Jasperite’s column on vaccines

Vaccines work, they’re safe, and people should get their facts from a trusted source, according to public health physician Kathryn Koliaska. 

The Alberta Health Services staff member contacted The Fitzhugh to respond to a column written by Susanne Wallace, which appeared in the now defunct Jasper Booster.

The column, which was printed in the March 4 issue of that newspaper, was titled A Little Word About Vaccination. It began, “When the news reached me that Spain took the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine off the market because of two deaths, I decided it is time to talk about vaccination.”

Wallace, an osteopath and naturopath from Germany who’s been in Jasper for a year and a half, said since coming here, she’s found that Canadians tend to only take their medical information from one perspective or source.

“There is more than just the official health care system,” Wallace said. “I have several books on vaccinations proving every version of it, ranging [in opinion] from you have to get vaccinated immediately to never get it at all.”

Because Germany, Wallace said, is years ahead of Canada in terms of holistic health care, people there have greater access to controversial outcomes of trials.

Though she encounters some people in Jasper who have looked into research and made decisions for themselves, that’s not the norm. “I think most people trust totally in the authorities, in the white-coated doctor that says, ‘So-and-so is the truth’,” Wallace said.

“It’s not wrong what they are saying but it’s not the whole truth,” she said.

In response, Koliaska said she agrees it’s important for people to have access to a balanced point of view. Two resources she recommends are the Canadian Pediatrics Society and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

To address vaccines specifically, Koliaska said she had a few thoughts to share. “The first is we don’t have compulsory vaccinations (in Canada), it’s all based on consent,” she said. 

As well, she added, research is done before a vaccine is made available to make sure it’s safe. “And so specficially with Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, and pretty much any vaccine, extensive safety monitoring both pre-market and post-market is done before a vaccine is allowed to be marketed.” 

Gardasil, a vaccine that protects against HPV, the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer,  is distributed through schools to girls in Grade 5 and 9 in Alberta. It’s been the subject of controversy both due to criticism that it hasn’t been researched enough, and because some are against vaccinating young girls against HPV, some types of which are transmitted through sexual activity.

Koliaska said though deaths have been reported in people who received the vaccine, that doesn’t necessarily indicate a causal relationship. “By and large vaccines are incredibly safe,” she said. And “vaccines really do work... just the fact we’ve gotten rid of small pox essentially, vaccines have helped us get rid of horrible diseases.”

All in all, Koliaska said she wants to see people make their own choices. “As a physician I do respect different people’s points of views,” she said. “It bothers me when people haven’t had access to proper information, that’s the basis of informed consent.”