Canada has something to celebrate as it surpasses the U.S. in first and double vaccinations after initially lagging far behind. As of July 16, 68 per cent of the population has received one dose and more than 43 per cent has received two. Quebec is doing even better than the Canadian average at more than 72 per cent for single doses as of July 19, according to the Government of Quebec, though it is still below the national average on double doses at just over 40 per cent.
There is much to take solace in, especially as the highly virulent Delta variant starts to make its way through the population. In very real terms, thousands of lives will be saved because of the success of the vaccine roll out in Quebec.
While we have not reached a serious decline in vaccinations, something we won’t see until the beginning of August when health experts predict vaccinations will peak, we are well on our way to vaccinating everyone that wants to be.
Which leads us to a new problem: vaccination hesitancy. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), “[Vaccine hesitancy] refers to a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccine services.”
There are many legitimate reasons for this, such as isolation, language and cultural barriers, mental health challenges and mobility issues. As the percentage of the unvaccinated gets smaller, health officials are now looking at ways to reach those people.
Between September 2020 and December 2020 StatsCan ran a Canadian Community Health Survey that showed 76.9 per cent of Canadians, excluding those in the territories, were somewhat or very willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 76.9 per cent double vaccination is a great number if we can reach it. The Quebec government’s target for a full reopening is 75 per cent.
There is, however, a certain segment of the population which has no intention of getting vaccinated. People who refuse to be vaccinated no matter the science or benefits to the general population. These, of course, are the anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists. Its hard to be one without being the other.
They have a multitude of “reasons” including beliefs that vaccines are toxic, cause variants, make you infertile or even alter your DNA. Some of these start with elements of the truth before heading straight to loony town. The toxicity myth, for example, came about because vaccines do contain small traces of toxins like formaldehyde or aluminum. The amount is the important detail. Formaldehyde, for instance, is produced by the human body in very small amounts, though larger than that is found in vaccines, and is broken down by the body in a multi-stage process producing carbon dioxide.
On the extreme end of the lunacy spectrum there are those who believe vaccines are a covert operation to implant micro-chips so that Bill Gates or some other billionaire-boogeyman can track you. And in case you think that must be a small number, a poll done by market research firm YouGov in conjunction with The Economist found that 20 per cent of the U.S. believes it is “definitely true” or “probably true.” That’s more than 65 million Americans.
As the percentage of the unvaccinated shrinks, as more of the legitimately hesitant or unable are reached, what are we to do with the immovable anti-vaxxers?
Much like the anti-maskers before them, they would have you believe this is about freedom of choice, it is not. In a pluralistic society such as ours, your personal freedom and choices stop the moment they infringe upon the rights, freedom and safety of others. Requiring a driver’s license for anyone operating a vehicle does infringe upon your freedom, but everyone accepts this because of the risks to public safety if you drive without one.
It is true that no one can force the anti-vaxxers to be vaccinated, just as no one can be forced not to drink and drive. But making the choice to drink and drive comes with consequences for yourself and others.
Choosing not to be vaccinated is, at its core, a misguided selfish act. It shows a complete disregard for our fellow citizens. For the anti-vaxxer, their misinformed choices are more important than the health and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable among us. There will always be a small portion of the population that cannot be vaccinated due to health reasons. Those people rely on the rest of us to make responsible choices for their survival. The anti-vaxxers need to stop making everything about them.
Let’s see how quickly we can double the number of double vaccinations.
Jorge Maria
