Chime in on the Vaccine Mandate Debate

According to the CBC, with the Delta variant becoming a larger concern and the South African variant rearing its ugly head, more than half of Canadians agree with the idea of mandatory vaccines for those that can be vaccinated to help stop the spread. 

Since the start of Canada’s vaccination campaign this past December, we have seen a majority of cases amongst those that are not yet vaccinated. BUT, with the new variant, we are now also seeing a rise of infection amongst those that have been vaccinated. 

The CBC quotes Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious disease specialist with Sinai Health System in Toronto, as saying "You will get a large number of people who are unvaccinated getting quite sick, and even people who are vaccinated will get sick". He goes on to say "How many people over the next few months will primarily depend on government action and public health measures."

Ontario, historically opposed to the idea of mandating vaccines, has jumped on the bandwagon with other provinces, banks, hospitals, school boards and federal Government employees.  Yesterday’s announcement of Ontario’s new vaccine passport, which will be required for entry to places like restaurants, gyms or movie theatres, but not in retail locations, saw Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier, flip the script, noting that his stance changed as the result of “in-depth conversations” with experts based on “evidence and best results”. 

With many students soon returning to the classroom, and those under 12 not being allowed to be vaccinated, there’s heightened concern that cases will continue to rise particularly among our most vulnerable. Mr. Ford further noted that “We need to protect our hospitals; we need to avoid lockdowns at all costs. We want our kids in schools, and our businesses to stay open”.

So, are we really doing all we can to protect ourselves and others, or is the economic need for business to remain open outweighing the potential for disaster?

Where do you stand on the vaccine mandate debate? What else should we be doing (or not doing) to slow the spread and protect our vulnerable?

We’d love to hear your thoughts to keep the conversation going. If you’d like to chime in, please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.