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On Friday, an open letter from prominent Alberta doctors requested the province share it’s predictive modelling for the fourth wave of a pandemic that’s crippling Alberta’s health-care system, criticizing the government’s “cold-blooded,” handling of the pandemic.
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Co-written by Drs. James Talbot, Alberta’s former chief medical officer of health, and Noel Gibney, a former critical care department head for province’s health authority in Edmonton, the letter questioned the modelling that led the provincial government to decline assistance from Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, which they say is “badly needed and welcome.”
“Like most Albertans, we would like to know how long the fourth wave is going to last, how many more Albertans are projected to die and when we can expect elective surgeries to begin and ICUs to return to normal,” the letter read.
According to predictive modelling from University of Victoria professor Dean Karlen, the letter notes, Alberta’s fourth wave will peak near mid-October, but ICU admissions will continue to increase through to the end of the month.
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By failing to share its own predictive modelling, the doctors argue, the government denied Albertans the opportunity to make good decisions and protect themselves.
In sharp contrast to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s promise of a “best summer ever,” the letter notes that the deadly fourth wave meant the “last summer ever,” for 350 Albertans and more who continue to die from the disease.
The doctors recommend seven medium- and short-term actions to bring down the province’s case count, including patient transfers to ICU facilities in Ontario, the use of vaccine passports and employment mandates to increase immunizations, renewed contact tracing efforts and measures to prevent indoor transmission.
Even with Alberta’s enhanced ICU capacity, doctors say that the province doesn’t have enough trained professional to care for critically ill patients, which makes a “fire break” crucial to reducing transmission.
More to come…
