Witness Testimony

Madison Lowe testified that she chose to receive two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine after reviewing Government of Canada website data on adverse events and distributed doses. She stated that she relied on the publicly available figures to conduct a personal risk-benefit assessment and assumed that adverse event data were collected rigorously and transparently. She also testified that she did not recall receiving detailed information about risks or unknowns at the time of vaccination.
Three days after her second dose, Lowe reported new symptoms including elevated resting heart rate, episodes of tachycardia reaching 130 beats per minute, anxiety, and significant exacerbation of pre-existing gastrointestinal issues. She stated that these symptoms persisted for approximately six months before gradually improving, though she reported not being fully recovered. She consulted her physician, who agreed to submit an adverse event report.
Lowe testified that Alberta Health Services later informed her that her report would not be entered into the surveillance database because her symptoms were not considered a known side effect. She stated that this led her to question the integrity of post-marketing surveillance and the completeness of publicly reported data. She recommended that future pharmaceutical oversight include comprehensive data collection, independent statistical analysis, public disclosure of methods and conflicts of interest, and transparent communication of risks and unknowns.