(UPDATE) Fort St. John woman’s petition over delays with Vaccine Injury Support Program hits 2K signatures

Updated, February 6th, 2.04 p.m.: This story has been updated to add comments from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C.— A Fort St. John woman has launched a petition to demand federal action for people injured by the Covid-19 vaccine. 

As of February 5th, Michelle Worton’s petition has received 2,087 signatures. 

Worton shared that initiating this petition was “me speaking on behalf of many Canadians that are suffering in silence.” 

In December 2021, Worton started reporting neurological and autoimmune symptoms such dysautonomia, which is a disorder of the nervous system that disrupts autonomic body processes such as blood pressure and heart rate.

That was soon after she had received the Covid-19 vaccine, and she says she was subsequently diagnosed as having been injured by the immunization. 

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) told Energeticcity.ca in a written statement that the government of Canada takes vaccine safety seriously.

PHAC said: “Serious vaccine injuries are rare, but that doesn’t negate their impact on individuals and families. 

“The government of Canada is committed to supporting Canadians in the rare event that they experience a serious and permanent injury because of vaccination.”

Vaccine safety is “assessed rigorously” before it is authorized in Canada, it said, using “all available evidence, including data from laboratory studies, clinical trials and real-world evidence from international regulatory partners.”

At that time, residents of Fort St. John supported Worton through a fundraiser.

A compensation program started by the Canadian government – Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) – was designed to support Canadians who had experienced a serious or permanent injury from a Health Canada-authorized vaccine on or after December 8th, 2020. 

The Canadian government reported 107,216,820 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were administered between December 14th, 2020 and June 30th, 2024. 

VISP currently has 3,317 claims and its medical board has approved 234 claims. 

The program initially accepted Worton’s claim in April 2023, but it was then rejected even though she says she was told two-thirds of its medical panel agreed she deserves compensation. 

Worton, who used to own the Blooming Smiles dental practice in Fort St. John before the financial implications of her medical treatments forced her to sell, told Energeticcity.ca she is looking for accountability and transparency from the federal government through this petition. 

She said: “We’re questioning what exactly is happening with the Vaccine Injury Support Program, why vaccine-injured Canadians cannot be acknowledged, why we can’t receive medical care, why there’s not enough research funding available to understand the conditions we have and how best to help us.” 

She shared: “We’re hoping for accountability and ultimately we want to ensure that public trust with our vaccines and their scientific process can be restored because Canadians have lost trust in this process.” 

Through this petition, Worton asks for a reform of VISP, acknowledgment of vaccine injury in the medical community, allocation of federal research funding, unrestricted access to medical care, investigation into MAID (medical assistance in dying), oversight of regulatory body overreach, public acknowledgement and professional training and the defence of evidence-based innovation. 

She stated: “I have sat down with [Peace River, Prince George and Northern Rockies] MP Bob Zimmer, he drafted a letter and he sent it to the minister of health in British Columbia. 

“I also included with this letter countless stories of Canadians who are vaccine-injured.” 

She said she is incredibly grateful and not surprised at the support her petition has received, and believes she would garner more signatures if more people knew about it.   

Worton thinks the largest error the government of Canada made is to outsource the program to an external company. 

She said: “I am currently waiting four to eight months for them to obtain one medical record from a neurologist in British Columbia, as they’re now revisiting my claim.” 

Worton alleges many Canadians have been in the program for four to five years. 

“Half of us are caught up in bureaucracy and red tape and there’s no fairness and timeliness,” Worton said. 

Through this petition, Worton hopes vaccine-injured Canadians can receive better healthcare. 

She said: “I was a healthcare provider for over 20 years, I’ve lost my company, health, independence, quality of life and I have been abandoned by this federal government, [as] many Canadians have.” 

PHAC told Energeticcity.ca it is taking over the administration of VISP, transitioning away from Oxaro, the current third-party administrator.

Details of the federally-administered program will be communicated in due course, it said, but in the meantime it will actively review the VISP experience to date and conduct an audit of Oxaro. 

“PHAC recognizes the concerns raised regarding VISP and the audit underway will help inform our work to implement strategies that address some of the broader challenges noted as the VISP evolves,” the statement reads.

Worton is a founding member of CANrise19, a patient-led support group for those “suffering adversely due to the Covid-19 pandemic response.” 

The group provides emotional and financial support, stating it does not provide medical information and encouraging individuals to follow their doctors’ orders.

Energeticcity.ca reached out to VISP for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

To view the petition, click here.