Theresa Tam is a Canadian physician and public servant who currently serves as the chief public health officer of Canada, who is the second-in-command of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
11 Facts About Theresa Tam
2.
Theresa Tam has played a leadership role in Canada's response to public health emergencies, including SARS, H1N1, MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19.
3.
Theresa Tam was born in British Hong Kong and grew up in the United Kingdom.
4.
Theresa Tam attended medical school at the University of Nottingham, earning an MBBS 1989.
5.
Since 1996, Theresa Tam has been a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
6.
In 2003, Theresa Tam was the chief of Health Canada's immunization and respiratory infections division during the SARS outbreak.
7.
Theresa Tam said the opioid crisis, which cost over 2,500 lives in Canada in 2016, could be higher than 3,000 in 2017 if the current trend continues.
8.
Theresa Tam is on the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee of the Health Emergencies Programme of the World Health Organization, a role she took up between April and June 2018.
9.
Theresa Tam is an official advisor to the WHO's International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on 2019-nCoV.
10.
Theresa Tam initially recommended the general public against wearing masks for two reasons: to protect healthcare workers and prioritize supply; and "potential negative aspects" of wearing masks, stating "it can sometimes make it worse if the person puts their finger in their eye or touches their face under their mask" and that it can give a false sense of security.
11.
In February 2021, an Auditor General's report described how the Public Health Agency of Canada led by Theresa Tam failed to fully comprehend the threat posed by COVID-19 to Canadians.