Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt took to social media last week to say she plans on getting a COVID-19 vaccine, after some of her previous statements and social media posts about the immunizations resulted in community backlash.
“It is a fact that no Canadian province has mandated mandatory vaccines, as that is a private personal health-care decision,” she wrote on Facebook. “Ultimately, each individual Canadian needs to make that decision for themselves. While I currently do not fall within any of the eligible groups for vaccination, I fully intend to get vaccinated when my time in line comes.”
Pitt’s post came after she declined to reveal whether or not she would receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a recent press conference. Responding to questions from Calgary-based journalists April 28 at the ground-breaking for the 40 Ave. interchange project in Airdrie, Pitt said she is a “big believer in holding health information privately.”
The questions Pitt faced at the ground-breaking ceremony were in response to her earlier Facebook post that stated people should do their own research before deciding whether or not to receive the vaccines.
“You know what's so great about freedom? Freedom,” she said in her April 20 post. “Get your vaccine or not and let others make this choice for themselves too. Do your research and do what's right for you. This doesn't need to be a polarized conversation about any individual’s private health life.”
During the 40 Ave. ground-breaking ceremony, Pitt was asked by reporters if she regretted her earlier statement.
“I in no way encouraged or discouraged anyone to participate in their ability to vaccinate themselves, but in fact encouraged them to search for information they need to make that decision,” she said.
She then declined to answer whether or not she would get the vaccine, stating that was a private matter.
Pitt made headlines earlier this year when she joined a national caucus that opposes government lockdowns. She later left the group after one of its members compared the Ontario government’s 28-day lockdown to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.
But just a few days after departing the End the Lockdowns caucus, Pitt joined 16 of her United Conservative Party colleagues in signing a joint public letter that criticized Premier Jason Kenney’s implementation of additional public health restrictions in Alberta.
During the press conference in Airdrie, Pitt was asked if she is still against government restrictions.
“I am in favour of restrictions that make sense,” she responded. “I think our government is trying to do its best job in balancing lives and livelihoods. Sometimes there is a difference in opinion with how that goes, and sometimes I speak on behalf of my constituents who have questions about some of the restrictions that do or do not make sense. It’s simply a fact-finding mission.”
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
