Ontario nurse under investigation after anti-vax, COVID conspiracy social media posts

An Ontario nurse who works as a provincial long-term care home inspector is under investigation after she used social media to spread health misinformation, including the myth vaccines cause autism and claims the coronavirus pandemic is a conspiracy whose threat to public health has been exaggerated. 

“Mandating masks is irresponsible, negligent, and dangerous,” Kristal Pitter wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week, linking to a YouTube video that purports to detail the “health risks” of masks. 

Pitter is a nurse practitioner in good standing with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). There is no evidence she has ever harmed or imposed her personal beliefs on a patient. 

Most recently, Pitter has been working as a provincial long-term care home inspector since September 2018, according to CNO records and her LinkedIn profile. 

She is under investigation by her employer as of this week because of her social media posts, CBC News has learned. 

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