at the time of writing, 72 per cent of eligible ottawa residents have been fully vaccinated and 83 per cent have had one shot of the covid-19 vaccine. in ontario, 81 per cent of those eligible have received one shot and 71 per cent, the required two shots. across canada, 80 per cent of those eligible have received one shot and about 66 per cent are fully vaccinated.
few would have thought this possible only months ago, when canada was the laggard in vaccine rollout, behind countries like the united states and the united kingdom. today, canada is the acclaimed leader in vaccinations in the g7.
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from the very beginning, hardly a day passed without some troubling news about a dangerous side-effect or something else to scare people and fuel their doubts. questions over the safety of astrazeneca cast a shadow over other vaccines. there was of course, naci (the national advisory committee on immunization), whose muddled messages confused rather than illuminated. provincial governments urged people to take astrazeneca, then stopped dispensing it altogether, leaving many in the lurch. add it all up and you had a perfect storm that could have crushed public confidence. it didn’t. despite everything that was thrown at them, people rolled up their sleeves and got the shots.
in alberta, about 76 per cent of people have got a first dose and 65 per cent the required two doses.
in saskatchewan , 73 per cent of adults have received one jab, while 57 per cent are fully vaccinated.
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polls show a hard-core 10 per cent of the population will never take any jabs. nothing can be done about them. but the rest of the holdouts are open to change. some lack access to vaccination sites or have medical impediments. others have legitimate fears about side-effects that may have been exacerbated by government advice to mix vaccines. still others may just have lost faith in the authorities, which, given the government record, is not surprising. the job now is a matter of allaying these fears through trusted figures such as family doctors, and getting vaccines to them wherever they are — in their neighbourhoods or workplaces.
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