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Alberta Health Services continues to deny organ transplant to “unvaccinated” patient

— Liam Sturgess

Alberta Health Services continues to deny organ transplant to “unvaccinated” patient
Image source: Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms

Alberta Health Services (AHS) continues to discriminate against people they deem “unvaccinated” in their medical care, in a move that can only be described as arbitrary and vindictive.

Sheila Annette Lewis, “an unvaccinated transplant candidate with a dire terminal illness,” has been eligible to receive an organ for well over a year now. Back in September 2021, Lewis was removed from the high-priority transplant waitlist due to her decision not to receive a COVID-19 genetic vaccine. She was second in line at the time.

Because she is terminally ill, the ongoing enforcement of this policy effectively condemns Lewis to death. This runs entirely counter to any suggestion that the policy is intended to protect the health and wellbeing of Lewis. But it’s even worse than that, given that there at no point existed any scientific or medical basis on which to justify such a policy. As has been well-documented, the clinical trials for both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 genetic vaccines explicitly excluded vulnerable individuals like Lewis, studying the effects of the products only on “healthy individuals.”

Image source: ClinicalTrials.gov

In the case of the Moderna trial, the exclusion criteria explicitly lists people who are “acutely ill or febrile,” in an “immunosuppresive or immunodeficient state,” or has been given any of a variety of drugs for blood or the immune system — all boxes that Mrs. Lewis almost certainly checks.

Image source: ClinicalTrials.gov

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has been representing Mrs. Lewis throughout her case, the details of which are partially withheld by a publication ban. I am proud to disclose that I participated in the preparation of an expert report with a medical professional from the Canadian Covid Care Alliance (CCCA) over a year ago, and it pains me to learn that Mrs. Lewis continues to have her lifesaving transplant withheld from her.

JCCF to Minister Denis: Act now to protect free expression for Albertans | Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms

But her case has gotten even stronger as of her most recent letter to Alberta Health Services, which cites a written report from Dr. Steven Pelech of Kinexus BioInformatics. Mrs. Lewis recently participated in Kinexus’ ongoing study on the markers of natural immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus among the general population. Unsurprisingly, Dr. Pelech’s team identified that she had “extremely high levels of antibodies.”

Despite this robust evidence in support of withdrawing this arbitrary policy, there appears to have been little recognition:

On April 3, one of the transplant physicians informed her that despite these test results which show she has natural immunity to Covid-19, nothing had changed in regards to healthcare policies pertaining to Covid-19 vaccination requirements and she would still need to receive the Covid-19 vaccines before they would agree to give her an organ transplant. He told her that the Kinexus Report concluded that even with natural immunity, she would need a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. However, the report does not say anything about Ms. Lewis needing a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to maintain immunity to Covid-19.

Updates on Mrs. Lewis’ case can be found on the JCCF’s website. I wish her continued health despite her ongoing struggle to be treated, and urge those reading/listening to remember that there are many people still falling victim to harmful and deadly policies such as these.

Originally published on Substack on April 21, 2023.