Witnesses
EN
Allison Inquiry | Toni Lannigan | Day 4 September 11th, 2026
A 38-year-old Prince Edward Island nurse assistant describes an anaphylactic reaction within five minutes of her Pfizer shot at work, needing three epinephrine injections, ICU care, and then months of blurred vision, balance problems and head pressure. She describes being dismissed by doctors, a three-year workers' compensation fight, and being publicly described as recovered.
Toni Lannigan, 38, of Prince Edward Island, was 33 and a nurse assistant of 10 years in acute and palliative care with Health PEI, a soccer coach and volunteer who worked full-time shifts. She says she received Pfizer on March 26, 2021, at 9:00 in a makeshift hospital boardroom during her shift, and that at 9:05 the roof of her mouth itched and she went into an anaphylactic reaction. She describes three epinephrine injections followed by a continuous IV, transfer to a Charlottetown trauma centre, several days in intensive care, and being sent home with no follow-up. Days later, back at work, she says she could not read a blood glucose meter, and that vision in both eyes was impaired for 11 months, with her right eye still impaired. She describes balance and gait problems, falls, not being able to drive or read, constant pressure in her head around her right eye, fatigue, brain fog and speech difficulty. Lannigan says a Charlottetown eye doctor told her it was all in her head, that psychiatrists diagnosed PTSD and panic disorder but would not discuss the vaccine, and that her three-year workers' compensation case was resisted because her employer said it had not expected her to be vaccinated. She describes being ostracized, losing friends and her job, and finding a new career as a school educational assistant. The host says the province's chief medical officer said publicly that she had recovered, and she says she was not fine. Her message to Parliament is to do something and not abandon the injured.
Toni Lannigan, 38, of Prince Edward Island, was 33 and a nurse assistant of 10 years in acute and palliative care with Health PEI, a soccer coach and volunteer who worked full-time shifts. She says she received Pfizer on March 26, 2021, at 9:00 in a makeshift hospital boardroom during her shift, and that at 9:05 the roof of her mouth itched and she went into an anaphylactic reaction. She describes three epinephrine injections followed by a continuous IV, transfer to a Charlottetown trauma centre, several days in intensive care, and being sent home with no follow-up. Days later, back at work, she says she could not read a blood glucose meter, and that vision in both eyes was impaired for 11 months, with her right eye still impaired. She describes balance and gait problems, falls, not being able to drive or read, constant pressure in her head around her right eye, fatigue, brain fog and speech difficulty. Lannigan says a Charlottetown eye doctor told her it was all in her head, that psychiatrists diagnosed PTSD and panic disorder but would not discuss the vaccine, and that her three-year workers' compensation case was resisted because her employer said it had not expected her to be vaccinated. She describes being ostracized, losing friends and her job, and finding a new career as a school educational assistant. The host says the province's chief medical officer said publicly that she had recovered, and she says she was not fine. Her message to Parliament is to do something and not abandon the injured.
