Witnesses
EN
Allison Inquiry | Michelle Worton | Day 2 September 9th, 2026
A British Columbia dental hygienist and co-founder of CanRise 19 describes severe neurological symptoms within 48 hours of her second dose, then brain lesions, cystic masses and a brain cyst that required surgery in the United States. She describes medical gaslighting, treatment gatekeeping, more than $300,000 in costs, and a compensation claim rejected and under appeal for two years.
Michelle Worton, a dental hygienist, former business owner and co-founder of the support organization CanRise 19, says she was abandoned by Canada's health system for almost three years before finding other injured Canadians. Now 47, she was 42, healthy and active with two children when she received Pfizer in November and December 2021 after BC extended vaccine requirements to regulated health professionals, including members of her regulatory college board. She describes symptoms within an hour of the first dose and, within 48 hours of the second, severe neurological onset with blurred and tunnel vision, tinnitus, dizziness, urinary incontinence and hot spots in her legs, for which a physician blamed menopause. She says she has about eight brain lesions, cystic masses in several organs, a pituitary adenoma, and a brain cyst causing compression that led to surgery in the United States costing $148,000, with over $300,000 spent on care. Worton describes treatments that are gatekept, being refused plasmapheresis, leaving vaccine injury off referrals, and doctors afraid of their regulatory bodies. She says her Vaccine Injury Support Program claim was rejected in 2024 and has been under appeal for two years. She presents CanRise survey data on the program's barriers, describes spending most of her time in bed, and calls for safety surveillance and accurate reporting, not anti-vax rhetoric. MPs and the organizers question her.
Michelle Worton, a dental hygienist, former business owner and co-founder of the support organization CanRise 19, says she was abandoned by Canada's health system for almost three years before finding other injured Canadians. Now 47, she was 42, healthy and active with two children when she received Pfizer in November and December 2021 after BC extended vaccine requirements to regulated health professionals, including members of her regulatory college board. She describes symptoms within an hour of the first dose and, within 48 hours of the second, severe neurological onset with blurred and tunnel vision, tinnitus, dizziness, urinary incontinence and hot spots in her legs, for which a physician blamed menopause. She says she has about eight brain lesions, cystic masses in several organs, a pituitary adenoma, and a brain cyst causing compression that led to surgery in the United States costing $148,000, with over $300,000 spent on care. Worton describes treatments that are gatekept, being refused plasmapheresis, leaving vaccine injury off referrals, and doctors afraid of their regulatory bodies. She says her Vaccine Injury Support Program claim was rejected in 2024 and has been under appeal for two years. She presents CanRise survey data on the program's barriers, describes spending most of her time in bed, and calls for safety surveillance and accurate reporting, not anti-vax rhetoric. MPs and the organizers question her.
