The Allison Inquiry: “Don’t Tell Them It’s a Vaccine Injury”

# Inquiry

Dr. Charles Hoffe, a general practitioner in British Columbia, testified at the Allison Inquiry in Ottawa about patients he says suffered adverse effects after receiving COVID‑19 vaccines. He described two distinct phases in his emergency room: an early period when the ER was unusually quiet despite the pandemic, and a later period of increased patient volume that began after vaccination campaigns started.

# The ER before and after vaccination

Hoffe said the hospital prepared for a surge of COVID patients that never materialized. Staff ran drills, a COVID zone and negative pressure rooms were set up, and the community publicly thanked healthcare workers, but Hoffe reported treating no patients who needed hospital care for COVID during that early period. He then said the situation changed when vaccinations rolled out: people began coming in with COVID symptoms within roughly two weeks of their shots.

He presented this as a pattern: cases increased among those who had been vaccinated. Hoffe referenced a Cleveland Clinic study of 51,000 healthcare workers, which he said found that infection rates were lowest among the unvaccinated and that case rates rose with each additional dose. He indicated Ontario health data shown at the inquiry showed a similar trend.

# Neurological injuries and patient stories

Hoffe described several patients with severe neurological symptoms that he associated with vaccination. Symptoms he reported included burning sensations in the brain and limbs, electrical‑like jolts, severe weakness affecting walking and hand strength, and cranial nerve palsies. He recounted one patient who developed Bell's palsy on both sides at different times and who could barely speak or eat. Another patient could not grip round doorknobs, forcing her to install lever handles.

# Difficulty getting specialist care

When Hoffe attempted to refer six seriously injured patients to major neurology departments — Royal Inland in Kamloops, Vancouver General, and St. Paul's — he said he was repeatedly rejected. Calls were met with silence or responses that the cases were "not our field of expertise." He said that when he framed the problems as vaccine‑related, neurologists declined to assess them. One neurologist allegedly told him not to describe the injuries as vaccine‑related and to avoid questioning vaccine safety.

# Professional consequences and inquiry context

# What is shown and what is claimed

The account given in Hoffe's testimony includes his clinical observations, patient accounts of symptoms, a referenced Cleveland Clinic study, and representations of Ontario health data that he said corroborate his experience. Hoffe's claims extend to institutional behavior: that hospitals avoided evaluating vaccine‑related injuries and that he was warned against questioning vaccine safety.