Witness Testimony

Elizabeth Cummings, an electrician from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, testified that she received two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 in order to protect her elderly parents. She stated that after her second dose, she developed an immediate severe headache, followed by persistent nerve pain on the left side of her body and a subsequent outbreak of shingles across her neck and chest. She testified that medical access was limited at the time due to pandemic restrictions, and that she was later prescribed pregabalin for ongoing nerve pain, which she described as chronic and recurring.
Cummings stated that she sought a medical exemption when booster doses were introduced but was told she did not qualify without hospitalization. She testified that no adverse event reporting process was discussed with her at the time of treatment. After reviewing publicly released Pfizer safety data, she stated that she recognized symptoms consistent with her experience and filed complaints with Health Canada and through Canada’s vaccine adverse event reporting system. She further testified that she attempted to escalate her complaint internationally and described social and reputational consequences following her public advocacy.