What we can learn from the U.S. report
The U.S. House of Representatives did what Canada should but likely won’t. The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Committee on Oversight and Accountability made a full after-action report on the COVID-19 response to assess what went right and wrong and to gain insights for future pandemic responses.
The report, released on Dec. 4, 2024, determined that it was quite plausible that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak or research-related accident. However, the Chinese government, agencies within the U.S. government, and some influencers in the scientific community sought to cover up facts regarding the virus’s origin.
According to the report, the U.S. National Institutes of Health funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Gain-of-function research involves deliberately enhancing a virus’s transmissibility or severity to study potential threats. In this case, researchers modified coronaviruses, making them more harmful and contagious.
Beyond failures in scientific research oversight, the committee also found significant issues with the management of pandemic response funding. It determined that EcoHealth Alliance and Dr. Peter Daszak should never receive taxpayer dollars again due to their connection to this research and their lax and deceptive practices in reporting requirements. Their approach was so lacking in proper procedure that the U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) rejected their 2018 grant proposal, citing biosafety risks.
Failures in leadership extended beyond scientific funding decisions. The committee found that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo practised medical malpractice and covered up nursing home fatalities. “Scientific messaging must be clear and concise, backed by evidentiary support, and come from trusted messengers, such as front-line doctors treating patients,” the committee stated.
Pandemic-era policies also lacked scientific backing. No qualitative scientific evidence supported the advice to stay six feet apart. Flip-flops by public health officials on mask mandates further undermined public confidence. Former U.S. President Joe Biden lacked the authority to mandate masks, yet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relied on flawed studies to justify restrictions. Public health officials must now work to regain trust, as citizens “want to be educated, not indoctrinated.” Trust between doctors and patients has also been eroded.
Government mismanagement extended beyond public health messaging. The committee found that “Rampant fraud, waste, and abuse plagued the COVID-19 pandemic.” The Paycheck Protection Program alone lost at least US$64 billion to fraudsters and criminals. Fraudulent Unemployment Insurance payments exceeded US$191 billion. Small Business Administration disaster programs suffered unnecessary losses of at least US$200 million.
These staggering losses were the predictable result of mass government intervention in the economy. The sheer scale of fraud underscores how mismanaged relief efforts were. Worse, such payout programs were only necessary because people were prevented from working in the first place. “The prescription cannot be worse than the disease, such as strict and overly broad lockdowns that led to predictable anguish and avoidable consequences,” the committee noted. One of those consequences was ironically worse overall health outcomes.
There was plenty of blame to go around. School closures during the pandemic “will have an enduring impact on generations.” Citizens’ rights were temporarily suspended. “The Constitution cannot be suspended in times of crisis, and restrictions on freedoms sow distrust in public health,” the report noted.
The committee also criticized the World Health Organization (WHO), calling its report on the origins of COVID-19 incomplete, misleading, and parroting Chinese Communist Party propaganda. It further warned that the WHO’s draft pandemic treaty—initiated in 2021 to address failures exposed by COVID-19 and improve global coordination in future health crises—fails to fix the organization’s underlying problems and ‘may affirmatively harm the United States.
Failures in scientific oversight extended to testing as well. The committee found that COVID-19 testing was deeply flawed, with the CDC knowingly releasing early testing kits with high failure rates and inadequate disclosures. At least public-private partnerships were more effective than career bureaucrats at increasing testing production, distribution, and capacity.
The report did find a few positive aspects of the government’s response. For example, the Trump administration’s international travel restrictions delayed the early spread of the pandemic. The committee also found that Operation Warp Speed, which accelerated vaccine production, was a life-saving initiative that should be emulated in the future. However, the report criticized the Biden administration for falsely exaggerating the power of COVID-19 vaccines.
One of the most alarming findings was how pandemic-era policies disregarded doctor-patient relationships. Public health officials dismissed or forbade alternative approaches and treatments, including off-label prescription use, which was previously common for doctors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies falsely implied that Ivermectin was only for horses and cows despite its long history of human use.
Scientific consensus on natural immunity was also ignored. Despite clear evidence that those who recovered from COVID-19 acquired immunity, public health officials coordinated efforts to suppress this fact and silence dissenting opinions.
Vaccine mandates and passports lacked scientific basis, “caused massive collateral damage and were very likely counterproductive.” They also harmed U.S. military readiness. While the committee concluded that COVID-19 vaccines were “largely safe and effective,” it also stressed that they “had adverse effects that must be thoroughly investigated.”
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) was found to be insufficient and non-transparent, potentially missing important safety signals, especially for neurological conditions. Meanwhile, the CDC created a new surveillance system for COVID-19 vaccines but has failed to be fully transparent about sharing its data. The government continues to mishandle vaccine injury claims, failing to efficiently, fairly, and transparently adjudicate cases.
These highlights are just a glimpse into the report’s 557 pages. Its findings were based on 100 investigative letters, 38 interviews and depositions, 25 hearings and meetings, and 1 million pages of documents.
Unfortunately, Canada has yet to face its own reckoning. Apart from a few limited examinations by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the National Citizens Inquiry, and a report from Alberta, no real accountability has emerged.
How much longer will Canadians be left without answers?
Lee Harding is a research fellow for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
