Wong-Tam to step away from Vice Chair role with Toronto Board of Health after op-ed backlash

City councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam says she won’t seek to extend her appointment as Vice Chair of the Toronto Board of Health after backlash to an op-ed piece she wrote for the Toronto Sun.

In a statement Monday night, Wong-Tam said she made an “honest mistake” when she wrote that vaccinated people could spread COVID-19 “just as easily” as the unvaccinated.

Facing considerable criticism from those who felt she was spreading misinformation and encouraging anti-vaxxers, Wong-Tam initially doubled down on the statement, tweeting an August 2021 memo from the Ministry of Health that stated: “recent data from the Delta variant shows that when breakthrough cases occur, fully vaccinated individuals have similar levels of infectiousness as in unvaccinated cases.”

On August 31, 2021, the Chief Medical Officer of Health sent a memo to public health officials citing, “fully vaccinated individuals have similar levels of infectiousness as in unvaccinated cases.” If this information is wrong or incomplete, it should be clarified soon. pic.twitter.com/J0JjytldPv

— Kristyn Wong-Tam 黃慧文 (@kristynwongtam) November 20, 2021

In her statement Monday night, Wong-Tam conceded that the information she sourced “is outdated and the context in which I shared it was misleading and left the wrong impression.”

Please read my full statement regarding an opinion article I wrote last week: https://t.co/jPM5A1Q74J

— Kristyn Wong-Tam 黃慧文 (@kristynwongtam) November 22, 2021

“For that, I am very sorry,” she added. “Let me try to correct things, calling upon the most recent information from Toronto Public Health.

“In short, I believe the scientific evidence is clear: vaccinations are an essential tool in ending the pandemic. Everyone who is able should get their shot. The more vaccinated people we have, the less transmission we have. I regret that my inclusion of inaccurate information distracted from my main reason for writing the article.”

Wong-Tam said her appointment as Vice Chair ends in December, and she won’t be extending it. She did say she would like to continue serving as a general member of the Board if her “fellow council members agree.”

Wong-Tam’s article titled “Let’s choose discourse over divisiveness” tried to shed an understanding light on apprehensions some may have about getting vaccinated, using the example of her elderly parents.

“Some people, including my parents for their own personal and legitimate reasons, originally refused their turn to be vaccinated. Their sentiment is shared by others, especially those in the Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities, when it comes to not trusting big pharma, policing or government,” she wrote.

“My parents are not protesters nor extremists and strictly adhere to all other public health protocols. I have learned that labelling people “anti-vaxxers” or even “vaccine-hesitant” is not a beneficial narrative, as it assumes they are stupid and dialogue is quickly shut down.”

In her statement Monday night, Wong-Tam said she remains “conflicted” about vaccine mandates “given that I want to do everything we can to protect essential public services while recognizing that BIPOC communities are broadly represented in those who are unvaccinated.

“I want them to be vaccinated as soon as possible, but I do not like seeing them lose their jobs and I do not like seeing the City having to reduce public services that benefit the communities that need them most.”