The region’s medical officer of health is glad to see a provincewide vaccine passport system and hopes it will offer stronger protection and more incentive for higher vaccination rates.
This afternoon Premier Doug Ford announced the province would require people to provide proof they were fully vaccinated before entering certain indoor businesses and settings as of Sept. 22. This includes restaurants, clubs, meeting spaces, gyms, casinos, concert halls, and theatres among others.
“I would say this is a very important and commendable advancement on the part of the provincial government,” said Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
While the doctor prefaced his comments by saying he is waiting for more details on the vaccine passport system, he said there’s nothing he’d add to the program.
“I feel that it goes quite far,” said Gardner. “This is something the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health has been calling for as a way of augmenting immunizations and better securing these indoor environments for the public to make them safer by ensuring the people attending are immunized.”
He noted children who are not eligible for a vaccine because they were born after 2009 are exempt, and said that was a reasonable exemption.
“In my mind, the purpose of such a program is to make these environments safer and reduce the likelihood of transmission taking place in non-essential service settings,” said Gardner.
He said the response to similar programs in other places has shown an uptick in people getting vaccinated.
Yesterday, about 38 per cent of the people vaccinated through public health clinics in Simcoe-Muskoka were receiving their first dose of vaccine, that’s up from an average of 10 per cent typically recorded at local clinics.
“Another potential of this program is to help avoid further shutdowns,” said Gardner.
Proof of vaccine will not be required for essential services such as medical care, grocery stores, and medical supplies. The vaccine passport program does not apply to most outdoor settings including patio dining.
Those with medical conditions preventing them from receiving the vaccine can use a doctor’s note in place of proof of vaccination until the province creates a digital vaccine certificate program that incorporates medical exemptions.
In the early stages of the passport program, people will have to show their second dose vaccine receipt and health card ID to prove they are fully vaccinated.
Ford promised the vaccine passport program would only be in place “as long as is necessary.”
Gardner said the program should be in place for the duration of the fourth wave.
“We shall see how long that is, but it could be for many weeks,” said Gardner.
To read more about the vaccine passport system coming into effect on Sept. 22, click here.
