Skip to main content

Profiles

David Fisman

David Fisman

David N. Fisman is a Canadian epidemiologist and internist based in Toronto, Ontario. He is a professor in the epidemiology division of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Institute for Pandemics at the University of Toronto,[1][2] an infectious disease consultant at the University Health Network,[3] a practicing internist at Michael Garron Hospital,[4] and a partner at the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID).[3:1] He is also a member of the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN)'s Modeling and Economics Research (ModERN) Network.[5]

He was a member of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table until his resignation in August 2021.[6] He came under fire related to an undisclosed conflict of interest regarding school closures.[7] He has received funds from AstraZeneca and Pfizer related to COVID-19 vaccines.[8] He further served as an advisor to the COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group.[9]

History

Fisman attended the University of Western Ontario from 1990-1994, then earned his Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health from 1998-2000.[10]

Career

Fisman was appointed in 2001 as Associate Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton Department of Social and Public Health Services.[11] He served in this position until 2003.[12]

Fisman worked as a scientist at SickKids from September 2006 - August 2009.[10:1] While in this position, he published research on the seasonality of infectious diseases funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).[13] He joined the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in September 2009.[1:1][10:2]

COVID-19

Fisman joined the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table (OST), formed at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in July 2020.[14]

Fisman was an early signatory of the John Snow Memorandum, originally published in The Lancet in October 2020.[15]

The Toronto Sun reported in January 2021 that Fisman was retained by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario to provide an opposing opinion on school reopenings in a document dated September 2020, while he was also serving on the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table (OST).[7:1]

Fisman resigned his role on the OST in August 2021, alleging the group was sitting on data that predicted “a grim Fall” for 2021, and that politics were influencing decision-making as well as the way in which information was shared with the public.[6:1][16]

On December 19, 2022, Dr. Byram Bridle filed a lawsuit against Fisman and several other defendants through lawyer Rocco Galati. The suit alleged that Fisman "colluded and/or conspired" with Scott Weese, Glen Pyle and one or more unnamed defendants to create "the website byrambridle.com and the corresponding Twitter account @ByramBridle... in order to impersonate, harass, injure, and ruin the reputation and economic interests" of Dr. Bridle, among other alleged defamatory activities.[17]

Fisman's Fraud

On November 7, 2023, statistician and author Regina Watteel published a book titled Fisman's Fraud: The Rise of Canadian Hate Science, focused on Fisman's contributions to an allegedly fraudulent study used to alienate and target people who declined to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.[18]

Activities

Fisman is a member of the Ontario Medical Association Speakers Bureau, where he can be hired to speak about infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology. Titles of his various presentations include “Infectious Diseases and Climate Change: What's the Connection?”, “Epidemiology, Modeling and Forecasting of COVID-19: The Nuts and Bolts,” and “Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases–An Introduction for Mathophiles and Mathophobes Alike.”[4:1]

Fisman has delivered paid seminars for the Canadian Association of Alternative Securities and Assets, and has acted as a pro bono advisor to environmental law charity Ecojustice.[8:1] He is a paid advisor to the Ontario Nurses Association related to COVID-19, and has served as a paid member of COVID-19 vaccine-related advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur and Seqirus.[8:2][19]

He has been featured as a presenter and scientific author associated with the Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP).[20][21]

Publications

  1. Fisman, David N. Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Retrieved April 28, 2025, from https://web.archive.org/web/20250428005309/https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/fisman-david-n/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Institute for Pandemics. University of Toronto. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220407165343/https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/pandemics/#who ↩︎

  3. David Fisman. National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases. Retrieved January 17, 2025, from https://web.archive.org/web/20250117173630/https://nccid.ca/web/20250117173630/https://nccid.ca/partner/david-fisman/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. Dr. David Fisman. Ontario Medical Association. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.oma.org/expert-advice/request-a-physician-speaker/speakers-search/dr-david-fisman/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. Researchers. CIRN | Canadian Immunization Research Network. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from http://archive.vn/2022.04.22-083152/https://cirnetwork.ca/about-us/researchers/ ↩︎

  6. DeClerq, K. (2021, August 23). Ontario COVID-19 science table member resigns, alleges that modelling data “projects a grim fall.” CTV News Toronto. https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/ontario-covid-19-science-table-member-resigns-alleges-that-modelling-data-projects-a-grim-fall/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. Furey, A. (2021, January 27). Science table member paid by teacher union for arguing against school reopenings. Toronto Sun. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126214929/https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/science-table-member-paid-by-teacher-union-for-arguing-against-school-re-openings ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. Fisman, D. (2021, January 26). Declaration of Interest. Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. https://web.archive.org/web/20210317035017/https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Declaration-of-Interest_Science-Table_David-Fisman2.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. About Us. COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220426043132/https://opencovid.ca/about/ ↩︎

  10. David Fisman. LinkedIn. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fisman-465a243/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. Priel, J.-A. (2001, June 25). Appointment of Associate Medical Officer of Health (SPH01019). City of Hamilton. https://web.archive.org/web/20220124202752/http://www2.hamilton.ca/Hamilton.Portal/Inc/PortalPDFs/ClerkPDFs/committee-of-the-whole/2001/jul10/SPH01019.pdf ↩︎

  12. Fisman, D. (2013). Curriculum Vitae - David N. Fisman M.D., M.P.H., F.R.C.P.(C). (p. 3). Dalla Lana School of Public Health. https://web.archive.org/web/20250501025240/https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/files/updated CV May 2013.pdf ↩︎

  13. Fisman, D. N. (2007). Seasonality of infectious diseases. Annual Review of Public Health, 28(1), 127–143. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.28.021406.144128 ↩︎

  14. About Us. Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. Retrieved October 21, 2020, from https://web.archive.org/web/20201021122348/https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/about/ ↩︎

  15. John Snow Memorandum. John Snow Memorandum. Retrieved July 8, 2021, from https://web.archive.org/web/20210708102413/https://www.johnsnowmemo.com/john-snow-memo.html ↩︎

  16. Fisman, D. (2021, August 23). “It is with mixed emotions that I have decided to resign from Ontario’s science and modeling tables. I wish every success to the colleagues who remain on these tables. Ontario needs a public health system that is arm’s length from politics.” [Tweet]. Twitter. https://x.com/dfisman/status/1429761663671185413 ↩︎

  17. Galati, R. (2022). Statement of Claim - Byram Bridle v. University of Guelph, et al (pp. 13–14). Steve Kirsch; Ontario Superior Court of Justice. https://web.archive.org/web/20241215055042/https://www.skirsch.com/covid/ByramBridleComplaint.pdf ↩︎

  18. The COVID Vaccination Scandal - Book Review: Fisman’s Fraud, The Rise of Canadian Hate Science, by Dr. Regina Watteel ($24.95), published by RainSong Books [2023]. (2024, March 25). REAL Women of Canada. https://realwomenofcanada.ca/the-covid-vaccination-scandal-book-review-fismans-fraud-the-rise-of-canadian-hate-science-by-dr-regina-watteel-29-96-published-by-rainsong-books-2023/ ↩︎

  19. New Modelling Study concludes “Unvaccinated are a danger to the Vaccinated”; but Real-World Data proves COVID Vaccines INCREASE Risk of Infection by 400%. (2022, April 29). The Exposé. https://web.archive.org/web/20220511165651/https://expose-news.com/2022/04/29/covid-jabs-increase-risk-infection-400percent/ ↩︎

  20. Biographical information of scientific presenters. (2015). Institute on Science for Global Policy. https://web.archive.org/web/20220430070217/http://scienceforglobalpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ScientificPresentersBios.pdf ↩︎

  21. Fisman, D. Bugs and Bucks: Infectious Disease Persistence is a Matter of Economics. Institute for Science on Global Policy. Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220430070228/http://scienceforglobalpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/5522e3ff39c1c-Fisman.pdf ↩︎

Further reading

Meet Professor David Fisman of Canada
Want to see what a real misinformation spreader looks like? You’ve come to the right place. When challenged on his work, he runs for cover similar to what cockroaches do when you turn on the lights.
Steve Kirsch's newsletterSteve Kirsch