Toronto Health unit documentation issues undermine claim of taking vaccine injuries 'seriously'

A Toronto woman named Annabelle Edge has been grappling with the severe aftermath of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine injury. While Edge says she experienced a manageable reaction to her first novel vaccine dose, she faced complications following her second shot, leading to an increase in pain in pre-existing neuralgia, excessively swollen lymph nodes in her neck, and Bell's Palsy.

Edge attempted to document her injury through the Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) system, which was thwarted by Toronto Public Health’s (TPH) misleading communications to her family doctor by issuing two versions of her injury report – one version to her and another, modified version to her family doctor.

This mishandling has resulted in a prolonged struggle for Edge as her condition is gaslit as being psychological, with TPH hinting at a diagnosis of functional neurological disorder (FND). This diagnosis was only in the letter that was sent to her physician, not to her, where it’s stated that this is “.. often triggered by a combination of abnormal physical and psychological experiences,” something they “expect to develop in some individuals after vaccination due to a combination of heightened stress owing to the pandemic, feelings of uncertainty about the vaccine and the normal transient physical symptoms and discomfort after vaccination."

It wasn’t until Edge finally received a referral to a specialist that she was advocating for for two years, that she discovered the wording of TPH leading to her continual disregard.

In August 2023, Toronto Public Health issued a third letter acknowledging her condition, but Edge claims this letter never reached the federally administered Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP), where she was still awaiting approval.

Edge says this gross oversight led to the dismissal of her VISP claim, leaving her back at square one – struggling with an injury, only able to function for short periods of time without needing substantial rest, suffering in severe pain without expensive out-of-pocket treatments, and ultimately unable to care for herself, work, or care for her two teenage sons.

Rebel News contacted Toronto Public Health to determine when they became aware of documentation discrepancies from their AEFI Investigator, how they handled this, their role in the AEFI report process, how many individuals were affected and whether the issue has been corrected.

Toronto Public Health responded that they take all reports of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) seriously and they’re committed to handling them with integrity and transparency. They cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy concerns (even though that was never asked) but encourage individuals to report AEFIs through their healthcare providers. TPH forwards AEFI reports to relevant health agencies “to make sure that vaccines are as safe as possible, even after they are approved.”

All of Edge’s struggles are compounded by the fact that Pfizer’s clinical trial data, only released through court order in March 2022, highlighted instances of neuralgia, excessively swollen lymph nodes called lymphadenopathy, and bell’s palsy.

By April 2021, science had already identified a rise in facial paralysis, or Bell's palsy, following the novel vaccines, particularly among women in Annabelle’s age range, as noted by the World Health Organization’s pharmacovigilance database.

In August 2021, the exact month Edge was trying to document her injury, Health Canada issued an advisory update acknowledging the risk of Bell’s Palsy, urging industry professionals to “be alert of the signs and symptoms of side effects following vaccination with COVID-19 vaccines” and to “Report any event potentially related to a vaccine to your local public health unit.”

In the end, "following The Science" means navigating a tangled web of miscommunication and red tape. Annabelle Edge's experience with Toronto Public Health underscores a troubling reality: the bureaucracy can easily manipulate a valid medical claim into a bureaucratic nightmare, failing to address and acknowledge how widespread this may be.