David N. Fisman[1] is a University of Toronto professor in the area of epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.[2][3] He also works as an infectious disease specialist and consultant at the University Health Network.[4]
David Fisman | |
|---|---|
.png) Fisman in 2020 | |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | University of Western Ontario (M.D.) Harvard School of Public Health (MPH) |
| Occupation | Epidemiologist |
| Employer | University of Toronto |
Education
editFisman completed his M.D. at University of Western Ontario and a Masters of Public Health at Harvard School of Public Health.[5] Fisman did internal medicine residency training at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and Brown University.[6] He did further training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard School of Public Health.[6] At the latter he received a Masters in Public Health.[6]
Career
editFisman is a partner at the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID).[4] He is a member of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) Speaker's Bureau, through which he offers presentations on emerging infectious diseases, the connection between climate change and infectious diseases, epidemiology of COVID-19, and mathematical modelling of infectious disease.[7] He has participated in presentations and publications for the Institute on Science for Global Policy, including on the topic of infectious disease economics.[8][9]
Fisman formerly worked at the Child Health Evaluative Sciences wing of the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children, where he published research on the seasonality of infectious diseases supported by the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).[10] He is employed by the University of Toronto at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health as well as the newly established Institute for Pandemics.[1][11][12]
Additionally, he has acted as a consultant for JPMorgan Chase, Farallon Capital, the Canada Pension Plan, and WE Charity.[13]
COVID-19
editFisman was part of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table until his resignation in August 2021, alleging that "grim" COVID-19 projections for the fall of 2021 were being withheld.[14][15][16] In June 2020, he supported the use of masks by school children in Canada, at a time when the Hospital for Sick Kids did not consider them necessary.[17] He has supported wider recognition of airborne spread as the primary transmission mechanism for SARS-CoV-2.[18][19]
Fisman was criticized by the Ontario government for acting as paid consultant for the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), during which he provided evidence that did not support the governments reopening efforts.[20][21][22] This occurred while he was serving on the Science Advisory Table, whose director stated that his work with the ETFO "didn't violate any policies".[20] A Toronto City Councilor, viewed his efforts as pushing for government accountability.[20] Conversely, Dr. Euzebiusz Jamrozik from the bioethics research centre at the University of Oxford noted that this relationship should have been disclosed as a potential conflict of interest.[21] Fisman noted his relationship as an advisor to the ETFO on a January 26, 2021 disclosure form to the Science Advisory Table, but indicated that this was not related to COVID-19.[23]
Fisman also disclosed receiving honorarium for advisory roles from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and the Ontario Nurses' Association, related to COVID-19.[23]
On April 25, 2022, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published a study co-authored by Fisman that claimed unvaccinated Canadians pose a risk to the vaccinated population.[24] Based on modelling scenarios developed by the authors, the study suggested that individuals who have received two or three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are more likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 by an unvaccinated person - conversely, unvaccinated people experienced "decreased attack rates" as a result of mixing with vaccinated people.[25] Fisman and his co-authors concluded that the "equity and justice" for vaccinated individuals should be weighed alongside those of the unvaccinated population when developing vaccination policies in preparation for future seasonal outbreaks and variants.[26] However, Fisman acknowledged that the study's model does not reflect the real world or other factors that should be taken into account when implementing public health measures, such as public anger and politics.[27]
Personal life
editFisman lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is Jewish. [6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Fisman, David N." Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ^ "Experts find more evidence COVID-19 is airborne, that we need to rethink indoor spaces". Global News. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Ontario man speaks out after father has severe stroke from rare blood clot following AstraZeneca vaccine". CBC. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ a b "David Fisman". National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases. 2015-03-29. Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ "Fisman, David N." Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
- ^ a b c d "Dr. David Fisman". www.oma.org. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Dr. David Fisman". Ontario Medical Association. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ David, Fisman. "Bugs and Bucks: Infectious Disease Persistence is a Matter of Economics". Institute on Science for Global Policy. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ "Biographical information of scientific presenters" (PDF). Institute on Science for Global Policy. April 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ Fisman, David N. (2007-04-01). "Seasonality of Infectious Diseases". Annual Review of Public Health. 28 (1): 127–143. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.28.021406.144128. ISSN 0163-7525. PMID 17222079.
- ^ "Institute for Pandemics". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ "University of Toronto launches Institute for Pandemics after $1M donation". Toronto Sun. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ David, Fisman (2021-02-10). "Declaration of Interest" (PDF). Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ "Ontario government must 'immediately' reopen outdoor spaces: Canadian Paediatric Society". Global News. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Fisman, David". Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Top epidemiologist resigns from Ontario's COVID-19 science table, alleges withholding of 'grim' projections". Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ "Children don't need to wear masks or follow strict social distancing when they return to school: SickKids experts". nationalpost. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Is airborne transmission an important and mitigable aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic? – A panel discussion". O'Brien Institute of Public Health. Archived from the original on 2022-04-26. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Top Canadian WHO adviser under fire after downplaying airborne threat of COVID-19". CBC. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "Province slams doctor on COVID advisory table over paid work for teacher's union". Jan 27, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27.
- ^ a b "Science table member paid by teacher union for arguing against school reopenings". torontosun. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
- ^ Sam, Hammond (January 6, 2021). "Letter to Premier - In Person Learning" (PDF). Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ a b David, Fisman (January 26, 2021). "Declaration of Interest" (PDF). Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-17. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ Fisman, David N.; Amoako, Afia; Tuite, Ashleigh R. (2022-04-25). "Impact of population mixing between vaccinated and unvaccinated subpopulations on infectious disease dynamics: implications for SARS-CoV-2 transmission". CMAJ. 194 (16): E573–E580. doi:10.1503/cmaj.212105. ISSN 0820-3946. PMC 9054088. PMID 35470204.
- ^ Lavery, Irelyne (2022-04-25). "Unvaccinated people increase risk of COVID-19 infection among vaccinated: study". Global News. Archived from the original on 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- ^ "Unvaccinated people increase Covid-19 risk for those who are vaccinated: Study". Hindustan Times. 2022-04-25. Archived from the original on 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- ^ Lowrie, Morgan (2022-04-25). "Mixing with unvaccinated increases COVID-19 risk for vaccinated people, study finds". CP24. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
