Opinion
On Thursday, the same day the United States declared monkeypox a public health emergency and a full two weeks after the World Health Organization categorized the outbreak as a global health emergency, health officials in Manitoba chose to adopt a strategy of complete and utter silence.
Manitoba developed a protocol in June to immunize anyone who has confirmed contact with a confirmed case. But since then we have had no public warnings or education, no news briefings to describe the level of threat in Manitoba or to reveal the level of preparedness in the public health system.
At this stage, we don’t know how many vaccines Manitoba has and if there is any chance of getting more if monkeypox officially gets out of hand.
Faced with a new threat to public health, we have been silenced. Grave, incomprehensible silence.
Faced with a new threat to public health, we have been silenced. Grave, incomprehensible silence.
Undeterred by what appeared to be a deliberately created information blackout, Free Press reporters did their due diligence and contacted people up and down the government hierarchy.
Our reporters asked Premier Heather Stefanson, available Thursday at a public event, for any details on the preparations the province is making to protect itself from monkeypox. She had nothing. Instead, she told reporters to contact Dr. Brent Rusin, the province’s chief public health officer.
However, the Free Press was unable to contact Rusen. We also attempted to interview Dr. Carol Curbis, one of the province’s top medical officials, who made some disturbing comments in an online forum on July 21 hosted by the Winnipeg Harm Reduction Resource Centre.
At that event, Kurbis acknowledged that other provinces already offer the Imvamune monkeypox vaccine to high-risk groups as a preventative measure — before they’ve been exposed to a confirmed case. Manitoba still limited its vaccine program to people who had been definitively exposed to the highly contagious virus because “we currently do not have enough vaccine … for pre-exposure prophylaxis.”
At a time when monkeypox was clearly the top issue in the news cycle, public health leaders simply refused to engage.
A request to speak with Kurbis was also denied.
At a time when monkeypox was clearly the top issue in the news cycle, public health leaders simply refused to engage. Perhaps the low-key approach is not surprising given that the Tory government, like most provinces, has simply stopped talking about COVID-19 despite the fact that the pandemic is once again a live and growing existential threat.
Still, the monkeypox order was a really bad look for a government that doesn’t have a good reputation for public health management. A bad enough look that the centers went to work on Friday in an attempt to remedy the situation.
With a Free Press front-page story sounding the alarm about the province’s lax approach to monkeypox, rumors began to circulate Friday morning suggesting an announcement was in the works. Finally, at 12:34 p.m., a new announcement was issued outlining plans to expand vaccine eligibility.
Imvamune will now be available to all Manitobans who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender or two-spirit and have met one of the following criteria: test positive for a sexually transmitted disease; have had two or more sexual partners in the past 21 days, have had anonymous sex or visited places of sexual contact (bathrooms, clubs) in the past 21 days, or who engage in sex work as an employee or as a client.
While expanding vaccine eligibility is a good step, it’s unclear whether Manitoba — and other jurisdictions that have also taken a relaxed approach to monkeypox — have once again waited too long to curb the spread of a terrible disease.
ETHAN CAIRNS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Health Minister Audrey Gordon declined to answer questions about the virus ahead of a news conference she attended on Friday.
It would be interesting to ask Health Minister Audrey Gordon, Russen or even Stefanson if Manitoba is prepared for a major monkeypox outbreak and why this province does not have enough vaccine for a broader prevention effort.
Unfortunately, Gordon declined to answer questions about the virus ahead of the press conference he attended on Friday. And as was the case the day before, no public health officials were available for interviews.
In the absence of unequivocal assurances that Manitoba has the monkeypox situation under control, we are left to conclude that it probably has not. And those who come to that conclusion have quite a bit of past experience to call upon.
A chronic theme of the pandemic response in that province has been the insistence of political leaders and public health officials to wait until the number of COVID-19 cases reaches crisis levels before invoking social and economic restrictions. In doing so, Manitoba achieved some of the worst results of any jurisdiction in North America.
In the absence of unequivocal assurances that Manitoba has the monkeypox situation under control, we are left to conclude that it probably has not.
The good news is that although monkeypox is contagious, there is now a vaccine. And the other good news is that epidemiologists believe it can be contained by strategically deploying sufficient quantities of vaccines. But only if we act now to protect those most at risk.
Stefanson should be aware that most Manitobans are unhappy with her government’s response to COVID-19. And on that basis alone, it must now make an extra effort not only to manage a more pre-emptive response, but also to be seen as acting with more urgency.
What she must not do is adopt a strategy of grave silence at a time when Manitobans need to hear her voice.
dan.lett@winnipegfreepress.com
Dan Lett Columnist
Born and raised in and around Toronto, Dan Lett came to Winnipeg in 1986, less than a year out of journalism school with a lifelong dream of being a newspaper reporter.
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