“It’s almost like she was groomed for this time”
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has been featured by the New York Times.
Written by the NYT’s Canada bureau chief Catherine Porter, the article titled “The Top Doctor Who Aced the Coronavirus Test” presents Dr. Henry as the woman that kept COVID-19 in check without harsh enforcement methods.
“They took decisive action, did it early without hesitation and communicated effectively. People listened to her,” said Colin Furness, infection control epidemiologist, told the newspaper.
The feature walks through Dr. Henry’s 30-year medical career that started as a Navy physician and saw roles with the World Health Organization tracing Ebola outbreaks in Uganda and leading Toronto’s response to SARS in 2003.
“It’s almost like she was groomed for this time,” Dr. Anthony Mounts, a senior adviser for immunizations with the U.S. Agency for International Development, told the NYT.
The full article can be read HERE.
Thanks to Kelowna’s Castanet.net for the article.
While I respect Dr. Henry, B.C. remains 3rd in deaths, and 4th in reported cases.
Not sure that deserves such celebrity status..
Canada has had 95,000 reported cases and 7,700 deaths. BC has 26 hundred odd cases and 166 deaths. Considering we’re on the I-5 corridor right into a US hot spot the numbers are amazing. Our senior population is about the highest in the country, and longterm care homes here were hit hard. And still the death toll is under 200. Yes, Dr. Henry deserves a lot of credit.
I can guarantee you that if Covid 19 was the type of virus that broke out between say June and September during our cruise ship season in YVR and Victoria we would be a/the epicentre of Covid 19, Dr. Henry or no Dr. Henry .
We are very lucky we are not a big tourist destination in the winter like New York or say New Orleans .
I also believe that we were early on fortunate that we did not get an early outbreak in Senior Care Homes like Seattle .
Then of course there are the problems created in New York when infected seniors were sent back into Senior Care Homes .
Let’s hope much has been learned and information shared pays dividends for next time .
I feel we need to pay close attention to Australia over the next few months as May was their November being in the Southern Hemisphere so they are once again entering virus season ..
Congrats Dr. Henry. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be presenting you with the Trofim Lysenko award.
O.K. Has everyone forgotten the original “modelling” presented months ago on the Daily Bonnie Henry Show that showed a great number of deaths even with all the extreme measures? Measures that we did wind up getting saddled with.
“…in check without harsh enforcement measures?” Are you all fans of Kafka? Are we really heading down the CYA history revisionisms in order to annoit Dr. Henry as the patron saint of Coronavirus? Is no one noticing the plywood window covering and new “for lease” signs?
Take the numbers given at the time, run it through a 4-compartment model or run it through the Singapore University of Technology modelling (both based on measuring real-time and not shutting down the economy) and you get the kind of results that we see presently in BC. Even without all that, just look at historical records of typical coroanavirus progression over time and you get an essential tailing off to zero by summertime.
Given the above and in addition to Dr. Henry relying on surveillence sites instead of doing real random sampling etc etc I can only form the following personal opinion:
Dr. Henry exhibits every attribute of being a U.N. apparatchik and Does. Not. Have. A. Clue.
I pray every night that we do not get a similar virus outbreak, in part because of the effect the virus itself has on people, but mostly because, in my opinion and using literary licence, the province cannot survive another outbreak of Dr. Henry.
Dr Henry is comfortable behind a dais. She presents very well on TV. So many other of the daily talking heads on the covid circuit look very uncomfortable.
Dix looks like a small animal about to be run over
Ford looks like hes driving the truck about to run Dix over
Tam looks like a Bond villain
Trudeau looks like the cat that just swallowed the canary
@13 “Tam looks like a Bond villain” That is the funnies thing I have heard in ages.
Regarding Dr. Henry being comfortable behind the dias. It’s easy when the press do not ask any real questions and are all in awe of an M.D. Dr. Henry shows well and uses phrases such as “and we know that” to project a knowing that is, in fact, not there and has actually been shown to be incorrect. She knows she can get away with bafflegab and thus finds herself to not be in a position of defence. When people have to defend a position is when you find their mettle.
Next time you see her on her when she gives her “briefing”, cound the number of times she uses the “we know that” phrase. Also count the number of times anyone asks her a question that makes her justify her advice to the Government of British Columbia.
For example, what source of modelling is she using. If it is based on Johns Hopkins, then their predicted daily deaths (Canada) are twice as high as observed. The ECDC (European Centre for Disease Control) has delivered forecasts that were much more spot on for Canadian observed and show basically a petering out of both cases and dealths by mid August (by extrapolation). If she is using Imperial College modelling, when that has show itself to be an utter disaster and anyone continuing to use that is really suspect in their ability to suggest policies in my opinion.
Regarding Dix. He is practically cowering in the presence of Dr. Henry. I suppose exactly what I would expect of a “note to memo” kind of a guy.
To me, Ford looks completely and utterly imcompetent in his task of governing the province in a way that balances the overall livelihood of the province. He killed the patient to cure the disease and anyone who disagrees is a doofus. A typical bully. Not leadership material at all. Game over for any federal aspirations Ford. You are toast.
Trudeau. Some years in the future, all universities with a Faculty of Arts will have a School of Trudeau Studies. It will be devoted to asking the question of how the eff did Canadians ever vote for this guy. It will have a sub-division of Propaganda Studies to try to understand the culpability of the Canadian media in his rise and continuance.
Here is a prime example of Dr. Henry’s bafflegab. I just watched the local news (June 9th) at 4:00 pm and Dr. Henry is going on about how she talks to her colleagues in the US etc etc and goes on to say how examples of early opening show upticks and states Georgia as an example of worrying upticks subsequent to opening things up.
The data shows different: https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report
This is supposed to be a reporters/journalists job. “Dr. Henry, you cite Georgia as an example of the dangers of lessening restrictions too soon, yet, the data seen from the State of Georgia does not support your contention.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, if there was ever an example of both Chief Public Health Officer (and no, that is not B.C.’s top doctor) and Health Minister being prime illustrations of the Peter Principle, in my opinion, they are it.
George in Richmond. I am in no way endorsing Henry just pointing out that she can work an audience. She is shilling for the NDP so for that reason alone she will never have much credibility in my mind.
George, be calm be kind be safe
@13 Your original comments were on point. It worked as the perfect segue for me to get to keyboarding after getting home, snapping on the telly and seeing Dr. Henry telling us not to believe our lying eyes.
Admittedly, she does have her NLP techniques down pat.
“… and we also know that….”
That Bonnie Henry would get featured (and shown in a favorable light) by the Left-leaning New York Slimes says all I need to know about her.
Give the lady a break. When was the last time any of you on this site worked 152 days in a row with the responsibilities directly on her shoulders. Did she get it 100% right? Of course not. No one can or did. You demean yourselves by demeaning her.