Witness Testimony

Richard Lizotte testified that his 85-year-old brother, previously active and in good health, received three Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in 2021. Following the first dose, he lost his sense of taste and smell. After the second dose, Lizotte observed progressive cognitive decline, memory impairment, reduced socialization, and increasing fear related to COVID. Following the third dose in December 2021, his brother’s condition worsened significantly, including leg swelling, abdominal distension, weight loss, pallor, fatigue, and loss of appetite.
Medical consultations eventually revealed multiple lesions on his liver and probable kidney involvement. Lizotte described delays in home care support and rapid deterioration in January 2022. Despite being power of attorney for health, he encountered barriers when his brother was admitted to hospital. After spending several hours with him in emergency, he was later informed that hospital COVID protocols prohibited any visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Attempts to communicate by phone or video were unsuccessful as his brother’s condition declined.
After approximately eight days of isolation, his brother was moved to palliative care and visitation was permitted only after negative COVID tests were obtained. By the time Lizotte was allowed to see him, his brother was unresponsive and never spoke again before his death. Drawing on his experience as a paramedic, Lizotte testified that there was no clinical justification for denying properly protected family members access to dying loved ones and characterized the visitation restrictions as unjustifiable and deeply harmful.