‘I Can’t Do the Things I Used to Anymore’: Canadians Who Say They Are Vaccine-Injured Testify at National Citizen’s Inquiry

A health worker draws out a Moderna vaccine dose during a drive-through COVID-19 vaccine clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., on Jan. 2, 2022. Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press

Three Canadians testified at the National Citizen’s Inquiry that they were injured by COVID-19 vaccines yet their doctors did not fill out Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) forms.

“I had incredible fatigue, which led to shortness of breath, and then eventually a tinge of chest pain when I was laying on my back,” Chet Chisholm said on March 16. “Then I went outside to help my dad, who had just taken down a tree in the yard, and I got stabbing chest pain just left my sternum that radiated into my back.”

The National Citizen’s Inquiry (NCI) describes itself as a “citizen-led and citizen-funded initiative that is completely independent from government.“ The inquiry is hearing from Canadians and experts in order to investigate governments’ COVID-19 policies in a ”fair and impartial manner.”

The NCI will examine how the pandemic measures put in place by all levels of government impacted Canadians in the four categories of health, fundamental rights and freedoms, social well-being, and economic prosperity.

According to “The Blind Spot in COVID Vaccination Policies: Under-Reported Adverse Events,” a study published on Jan. 12, case reports involving two academic researchers suggest that adverse events to COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination “are largely under-reported due to numerous clinical, systemic, political and media factors.”

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines, which teach the recipient’s cells how to make a protein found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19. This activates the person’s immune system to create a response, such as antibodies, against the foreign protein.

The study was published on Jan. 12 in the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research.

On the NCI’s first day, March 16, Dr. Patrick Phillips also testified that he filled out a total of 10 AEFI forms for his patients suffering from probable COVID vaccine injuries, but only one application—which was the least severe—was accepted.

American cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough, who testified virtually at the inquiry that morning, said over 200 peer-reviewed studies have shown cardiovascular syndromes, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, are directly attributed to COVID-19 vaccination.

“Two studies have indicated that 2.5 percent of people who take the vaccine suffer heart damage and about half of them are asymptomatic. And it is conclusive that in a fraction of those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, that heart inflammation or myocarditis is fatal,” he said.

‘Maybe It’s Just Spasms’

Chisholm, a paramedic in Nova Scotia for over 12 years, said he initially declined the COVID vaccine in December 2020, even though he was eligible as a front-line worker. “I was a pretty health young guy, so I said, ‘no thanks, give it to people who are vulnerable.’”

When COVID vaccines became available for the general public, Chisholm thought it was appropriate to get his shots since he often worked with vulnerable people. Chisholm said he initially felt fine after getting his first dose on May 21, 2021, but he says that changed in the coming days as he experienced fatigue, shortness of breath, and severe chest pain.

Chisholm was taken to the hospital, where he says doctors found that his vitals were abnormal and he had high blood pressure. But the doctors didn’t find anything conclusive in Chisholm’s blood work, he said.

“They said, ’maybe it’s just spasms’ and sent me on my way,” he told the inquiry.

Chisholm said the shortness of breath and chest pain persisted, causing him to be bedridden on some days. He ended up in the emergency room three more times over the summer, until a doctor ordered him an echocardiogram.

None of the doctors considered that the COVID vaccine could have caused his symptoms, nor did they fill out an AEFI form, according to Chisholm.

Because Chisholm didn’t get his second vaccine dose, he was barred from gyms, restaurants, and bars. He was also unable to visit his friend in the hospital, who was dying from cancer.

Chisholm said his injury has had a “significant impact” on his mental and physical health. He added that not being able to return to work because of his workplace’s vaccine policy has been “infuriating.”

“It’s detrimental to the well-being of everybody in this province that there are people like me who want to go back to work, and who would like to help and fix the problem, as the EMS system is crumbling, but we’re told no.”

Cardiologist: Patient’s Pericarditis, Myocarditis ‘From the Vaccine’

Artur Anselm said he was hesitant to get the COVID vaccine but was required to in order to keep his job at the Canadian National Railway.

“I was getting phone calls daily from supervisors and everybody and telling me that after the 15 of November, I would be off work. So I decided to bite the bullet and get it.”

On Nov. 13, 2021, Anselm got his first and only vaccine dose. He said got “seriously ill with a very bad flu” a week afterward, and then started developing weakness, shortness of breath, and “stinging chest pain.”

Anselm eventually went to the hospital to make sure he wasn’t having a heart attack, but the doctors said his vitals were fine and sent him home, he said. His family doctor was also dismissive of his symptoms, he said, and refused to fill out an AEFI form or issue a vaccine exemption.

“I told him that after the vaccine I was having chest pains and shortness of breath. He said, ‘no, it’s probably not from the vaccine. Just don’t smoke anything or drink alcohol, and you’ll be fine,'” he said.

After seeing a cardiologist, Anselm learned that his heart was inflamed, he said. “I had pericarditis, myocarditis, and the cardiologist said, ‘This is from the vaccine.’”

Anselm was unable to get a vaccine exemption, he said, meaning he was laid off from his job until the mandates were dropped in September 2022.

Anselm said his heart condition has impacted him in “every aspect of his life.”

“Physically, I can’t really do the things I used to anymore. Mentally, I was down and it impacted my fatherhood.”

‘Things That I Enjoyed Doing, I Don’t Enjoy Anymore’

Susan Leigh Anne Coolen said she had been hesitant to get the vaccine because of the speed with which they were produced, but she needed to do so to keep her job.

On May 27, 2021, Coolen got her first and only dose of the Pfizer vaccine. A few weeks later, on June 20, she awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of her husband on the phone, she said.

“He was on the phone with the paramedics because I'd had a stroke. So the ambulance came, and the next thing I knew, I had paramedics at the foot of my bed. They took me to the hospital and I was there for five days,” she said.

Coolen went through several tests in the hospital and was put on a Heparin drip to help clear up blood clots in her arteries, she said. She admitted she has Factor V Leiden, a hereditary disorder that causes an increase in blood clotting, but said her hospital wrote a report claiming they didn’t believe that was the cause of the stroke.

The 41-year-old said she has no other comorbidities that could have led to her stroke. Her nurse practitioner said they thought the COVID vaccine had something to do with the stroke, Coolen said.

Because Coolen chose not to get a second COVID-19 vaccine, she ultimately ended up losing her job. She claims to still suffer from cognitive issues as a result of the stroke.

“It’s like I don’t know myself anymore. My thoughts come quickly, I just can’t organize them to get them out. Things that I enjoyed doing, I don’t enjoy anymore,” she said.