'Global pandemic'
'Global pandemic'iStock

In a call-in show discussion on COVID-19 in Edmonton, Canada, Biotech company that sells COVID-19 tests CEO Dr. Roger Hodkinson attacked COVID-19 policy in his Provence, saying COVID-19 "is not ebola; it's not SARS. It’s politics playing medicine, and that’s a very dangerous game."

“I do appreciate the opportunity to address you on this very important matter. What I'm going to say is lay language and blunt, and it's counter-narrative and so, so you don't immediately think I'm a quack, I'm going to briefly outline my credentials so that you can understand where I'm coming from in terms of knowledge base in all of this.

“I'm a medical specialist in pathology which includes virology. I trained at Cambridge University in the UK. I'm the ex-president of the pathology section of the Medical Association. I was previously an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine doing a lot of teaching. I was the Chairman of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada examination committee in pathology in Ottawa.

“But more to the point, I’m currently the Chairman of a biotechnology company in North Carolina selling a COVID-19 test, and you might say I know a little bit about all this."

“The bottom line is simply this: There is utterly unfounded public hysteria, driven by the media and politicians. It's outrageous. This is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public. There is absolutely nothing that can be done to contain this virus, other than protecting the older, more vulnerable people. It should be thought of as nothing more than a bad flu season. This is not ebola; it's not SARS. It’s politics playing medicine, and that’s a very dangerous game.

“There is no action of any kind needed other than what happened last year when we got a touch unwell: We stayed home, we took chicken noodle soup, we didn't visit granny, and we decided when we would return to work. We didn't need anyone to tell us.

“Masks are utterly useless there is no evidence base for their effectiveness whatsoever. Paper masks and fabric masks are simply virtue-signaling. They're not even worn effectually most of the time. It's utterly ridiculous, seeing these unfortunate uneducated people – I’m not saying that in a pejorative sense - seeing these people walking around like lemmings, obeying without any knowledge base to put the mask on their face.

“Social distancing is also useless discount because COVID is spread by aerosols, which travel 30 meters or so before landing.

“And closures have had such terrible unintended consequences. Everywhere should be opened tomorrow, as was stated in the great Barrington Declaration that I circulated prior to this meeting.

“And a word on testing: I do want to emphasize that I'm in the business of testing for COVID. I do want to emphasize that positive test results do not - underlined in neon - mean a clinical infection. It’s simply driving public hysteria, and all testing should stop, unless you're presenting to hospital with some respiratory problem. All that should be done is to protect the vulnerable, and to give them all in the nursing homes that are under your control, give them all 3-5,000 international units of Vitamin D every day, which has been shown to radically reduce the likelihood of infection.

“And I would remind you all that using the Province’s own statistics, the risk of death under 65 in this Province is 1 in 300,000. One in three-hundred-thousand. You’ve got to get a grip on this. The scale of the response that you're undertaking, with no evidence for it, is utterly ridiculous given the consequences of acting in a way that you're proposing. All kinds of suicides, business closures, funerals, weddings etc. etc.; it's simply outrageous. It’s just another bad flu and you've got to get your minds around that. Let people make their own decisions. You should be totally out of the business of medicine. You’re being led by down the garden path by the Chief Medical Officer of Health in this Provence. I’m absolutely outraged that this has reached this level. It should all stop tomorrow.”

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada issued a "Clarification on statements made regarding COVID-19 by Dr. Roger Hodkinson": "On November 19, 2020 the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) was made aware of statements regarding COVID-19 by a Royal College Fellow, Dr. Roger Hodkinson. In some online references, Dr. Hodkinson is being incorrectly identified as a chair/past-chair of the Royal College.

"We would like to clarify that Dr. Hodkinson is not nor has ever held the position of chairman of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

"We can confirm that Dr. Roger Hodkinson was certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a general pathologist in 1976.

"The Royal College believes COVID-19 presents a serious threat to the health of Canadians. The Royal College strongly supports all public health advice given by the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, including recommendations to practise physical distancing and to wear masks to help prevent COVID-19 transmission. We are very appreciative of the dedication and commitment of our Royal College Fellows, residents and all front-line health care workers in the fight against COVID-19."