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'pandemic spotlight': ian hanomansing's book profiles nine canadian doctors on the frontlines of the pandemic

bogoch and hota are just two names every canadian will recognize in hanomansing's book which looks at what it's been like to speak out in a pandemic, feel the sting of criticism from colleagues and treat patients with a contagious virus.

by robin roberts

dec 15 2021

11 minute read

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ian hanomansing: 9 canadian doctors on the frontlines of the pandemic

'i felt it would be nice to have this book out there and that people can look back and say, ‘that was one little piece of our pandemic experience,’ says ian hanomansing.

for more than 30 years, ian hanomansing has been a television reporter, radio and podcast host, and, since 2017, co-anchor of cbc’s flagship news show, the national .

he can now add author to his long list of bona fides. in his book, pandemic spotlight: canadian doctors at the front of the covid-19 fight , hanomansing profiles nine infectious disease specialists from coast to coast who were thrust into the, well, spotlight to inform and calm an anxious nation about a scary new virus called covid.

just as we’ve come to learn terms such as viral load, variants of concern, and herd immunity, we also now recognize the names — and trust the words — of a certain group of canadian doctors. from bogoch to chagla to hota and barrett, and others, these are the doctors who stepped away from busy practices to routinely and tirelessly stand in front of cameras, mics and video screens, advising and updating nervous canadians, and answer endless questions from the media about all things covid.

meet the nine doctors

dr. lisa barrett is an assistant professor, division of infectious diseases in the department of medicine at dalhousie university. she grew up in the small newfoundland fishing village of old perlican, where she first caught the infectious disease bug. she began studying immunology in high school, and eventually earned her medical and phd degrees at st. john’s memorial university. in speaking with the media, she’s followed the advice of her mentor, another household name, dr. anthony fauci, with whom she worked on clinical trials just a few years ago, who placed great importance on accurate public messaging.

dr. isaac bogoch ’s education started at the calgary jewish academy followed by the university of calgary and the university of toronto, where he earned his medical degree. he pursued an infectious diseases fellowship through the harvard partners program, and is currently an associate professor and clinician investigator at toronto general hospital, where he has a special interest in tropical diseases and hiv. when travel rules allow for it, he spends time in africa and asia studying emerging viruses such as ebola and zika. he even pops up at the beginning of some movies, advocating for the use of masks and vaccines.

dr. zain chagla is an associate professor in the faculty of health sciences at mcmaster university who, along with his colleague, dr. sumon chakrabarti , an infectious disease specialist at trillium health partners in mississauga, spent his extra time within the south asian community, advocating for testing and vaccine uptake for this hardest hit group.

dr. susy hota earned her degree at the university of toronto where, as associate professor in the department of medicine, she specializes in infectious diseases. she is also a clinical investigator at the toronto general hospital research institute and the medical director of the infection prevention and control department at the university health network. she has said she was most shaken by early outbreaks in long-term care where so many residents were struggling just to breathe and staff were so stretched they did not have time to grieve over the deaths of those they’d come to know and love.

dr. fatima kakkar is an infectious disease pediatrician who earned her degree at mcgill university, with a residency in pediatrics at western university, a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the university of toronto, and a master’s degree in public health at harvard university. she co-authored a study last september that showed the benefits of kids in school outweighed the risks of them catching covid.

dr. srinivas murthy , like dr. barrett, grew up in newfoundland, and attended memorial university. he completed his doctorate at mcgill and his residency at boston children’s hospital. he has worked on the front lines during infectious disease outbreaks, including ebola in west africa. he is currently a clinical associate professor in the department of pediatrics, faculty of medicine at ubc, an investigator at bc children’s hospital, and is leading the canadian contingent of the world health organization’s solidarity trial that recruits covid patients for anti-viral trials.

dr. lynora saxinger earned her degree at the university of saskatchewan and is currently an associate professor, department of medicine, infectious diseases division at the university of alberta. she has a special interest in antimicrobial stewardship and antimicrobial resistance. when she was first called upon to provide medical updates to the public, she had very limited experience, especially with social media, but soon became a regular tweeter on twitter.

dr. alexander wong earned his bachelor’s degree with honours in science at the university of toronto, and his medical degree at the university of western ontario, followed by residency and infectious diseases fellowship at the university of alberta. he is currently an infectious disease physician with the saskatchewan health authority and an assistant professor with the university of saskatchewan. during the devastating third wave that swept regina last march, he described his icu like “being in a war zone”.

hanomansing singled out these doctors for their unwavering dedication and stoicism in the face of a deadly pandemic, who — often during early mornings and late nights after gruelling shifts at their respective hospitals — kept us up to date and eased our fears. “i really felt a book was the right medium, partially because of how much detail i needed to put in, but also the permanence of it,” he says. “i felt it would be nice to have this book out there and that people, not only now, but hopefully in the future, can look back at it and say, ‘that was one little piece of our pandemic experience.’”

hanomansing spoke with healthing about what it was like to interview people who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic from the very beginning, the impressiveness of their mental toughness and how speaking out earned them the sting of criticism from colleagues.

this interview has been edited for length and clarity.

did you ever consider that these doctors wouldn’t want to participate in this book?

ian hanomansing : i thought they might be uncomfortable, or unmotivated. it’s one thing to feel an obligation to explain to the public what’s going on, but it’s an entirely different thing to speak to me about who they are and what motivates them. but i developed a pretty good rapport with all of them [through previous interviews on the national and the radio show, cross country check-up ], and they all said yes within 24 hours of asking.

they stepped forward [when the pandemic started] — they continue to step forward —and were always evidence-based, but at the same time, that evidence was very much framed in terms of real world application. so when canadians asked them about transmission, what we should do about halloween or christmas, or vaccinations, it was never a technical answer — it was always framed in terms of real life. i thought this was really extraordinary — they honestly are not seeking out the limelight, [but] yet, here they are, in the spotlight.

what impressed you about these doctors the most?

i knew i was going to be impressed by their diligence and their sense of duty in speaking, but i was also impressed by their mental toughness and their ability to cope. i guess it’s a pretty standard trait for a lot of people in the medical profession, especially doctors, because they’re used to working really hard, studying a lot of things, and dealing with all kinds of tough situations and vulnerable patients on a daily basis. i found that these people were exceptionally open and unguarded when they spoke to me, and for all of them there were things they’d never said before — as opposed to someone who’s being careful [about what they say] or giving you a message track. as a journalist, you always appreciate that.

were there any surprises?

i was surprised [at] the extent to which they were getting negative reactions [from the public], like death threats. these are people with very thick skins; they’re used to dealing with the public — with patients in some really emotional situations. but for all of them, there was a point that they realized they had to notify [the authorities]. dr. saxinger, for example, said there were times she had to step away from [social media]; dr. hota said the same. dr. chakrabarti said there were some race-based stuff, but he shrugged it off as [being] part of life. dr. bogoch’s [exact quote was]: “i don’t give a shit,” and dr. barrett talked so matter-of-factly about how 80 per cent of it is not threatening.

the focus of the interviews was always, ‘who are you and why did you step forward and keep stepping forward?’ i was worried there was going to be a sameness with these doctors, but there wasn’t. whether it’s lisa barrett at the community hospital in old perlican, or isaac bogoch who loved science programs, or lynora saxinger who loved molecular biology and dystopian literature — they all have really different stories even though they all ended up in the same job, more or less.

did they feel frustration or futility at the push-back they were getting from the public about what they were saying about the virus?

no. the only exception was dr. chagla. he’d been interviewed by a u.s. magazine and he’d said something that he didn’t think was controversial. but it turned out to be controversial, and [there were] a lot of negative comments online [afterward]. he said, “i’m just surprised that [with] the training, the years of clinical experience we’ve had, and someone looks at one youtube video and feels confident in saying publicly that the doctors are wrong.”

‘criticism from colleagues was unfair’

at least four of the nine doctors talked about the criticism they received from fellow doctors or scientists. that, they felt was unfair and it bothered them. [these doctors are] so used to dealing with the public, good or bad, informed or uninformed, appreciative or not, that they have a great deal of patience, but maybe they hold some of their colleagues to a higher standard. still, even as relaxed as they were [with me], i never got the sense they were frustrated with the way people were reacting to what they were saying. i think they were just happy to talk about themselves.

did they share any worry about treating infected patients?

dr. wong talked his experience with the first hospitalized covid patient he dealt with and the anxiety over how infectious that patient might be. dr. chakrabarti described it this way: ‘early on, i was afraid i was going to die. every day i thought, as the infectious disease doc here, i’m the person who’s going to be dealing with this directly. and i thought about my kids and my wife.’

we know the last year or so has been hard for healthcare providers in terms of mental and emotional health. did anyone talk about their own mental health, and whether or not they sought support?

in those early days [of the pandemic], there was a high degree of concern — and in some cases, anxiety — on the part of doctors. but later, for all the other reasons you might think it would be tough on their mental health, i never got a sense of that. the only example i can think of is dr. wong talking about dealing with the frustration of trying to spur public policy in saskatchewan to get to where he felt it needed to be. he lobbied on a personal level [for protecting our children from the delta variant] — he also wrote an op-ed piece for the regina leader-post . this was under way while we were doing the interviews. no one told me that they sought mental health support, either because they didn’t want to share it, or that they didn’t use it. i kind of think it was the latter.

did they have thoughts on the emerging variants?

no, because i did the interviews mainly in march, april and may. in fact, when i wrote the book, it was the beautiful weather of june, and i wondered how relevant it would be when it came out in october. turns out, it is very relevant. and all of a sudden, with omicron, these doctors are right back where they were at the beginning of the pandemic.

the only thing they said that had to do with variants, [is what] they made clear to us all along: that the virus continue to mutate, and we need to make sure vaccines get to as many people as possible. and [when we] talked back in march and april, we weren’t sure we had enough [vaccine] for canadians.

now that it has been published, what do the doctors think about the book?

i was kind of anxious when i didn’t hear from them for the longest time. one day i interviewed dr. chagla for my show and afterward, i asked him if he’d had a chance to see it, and he said, “oh yeah, it’s fine.” they all like it. i think there’s a bit of awkwardness, maybe that’s not the right word, but you’re talking about people who are reluctant media stars, so i think they’re maybe a bit unsure about how to respond to it. dr. saxinger tweeted: “i think it’s unseemly to be saying, [but] it’s a good read.”

they had all talked about their parents, and how important they were to their success, so i hope their parents read it and like it.

have you been personally touched by the pandemic?

my parents, who are elderly in new brunswick, are fine. my mother is super risk-averse and she’s following all the rules. my father-in-law is in extended care here [in vancouver] — there was an outbreak [in his care home], but he didn’t get infected. one of my nephews [who lives] in florida got it. he was young and not hospitalized, but he got quite sick. otherwise, we’ve been quite lucky. no one else in my family [has been infected]. we’ve been untouched by it but, like everybody, it has affected our lives.

why did you decide to give the book’s royalties to ubc’s school of population and public health?

just because i’m here in vancouver and i wanted to give it to a medical school. my wife, who is a lawyer, went to ubc, and one of my sons went there. ubc gave me an honorary degree a couple of years ago. it just seemed to be an obvious choice.

will there be a follow-up book?

i don’t think there will be a follow-up to this, but now that i’ve written a book, i can’t wait to write another — i’m just not sure what the topic will be. it was a fun process. maybe i’m spoiled, maybe the next time i’ll realize it’s not as easy. in more than 30 years as a journalist, i’ve never seen a story like covid, and i’ve never seen a group of experts like these doctors step forward. i hope [the book] shines a bit of light on them. and with the emergence of omicron [it’s good] to see all nine of them — and others — step right back into the fray. it’s just what they do.

robin roberts is a freelance writer for healthing.ca. she can be reached here.

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robin roberts

'pandemic spotlight': ian hanomansing's book profiles nine canadian doctors on the frontlines of the pandemic