On Wednesday, the city officials of Toronto announced that approximately 90% of the residents must be vaccinated to achieve here immunity against COVID-19, particularly the more transmissible Delta strain.
According to a statement by Mayor John Tory and Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa during their COVID-19 update on September 8, a total of 336,000 Torontonians must have both of their vaccine shots to reach the 90% goal.
It was also emphasized during the update that compared to other variants of the virus, the Delta strain can significantly infect more people in less time. Therefore, apart from the possibility of hospitals exceeding their patient limit, not having a proper safeguard for this more contagious variant will also lead to more people being exposed to severe health risks.
Hence, the higher the percentage goal set.
Mayor Tory emphasized that for the fight against the Delta strain to be successful, the cooperation of the residents of Toronto is crucial. “This is something we will get done as a city,” he pointed out.
Moreover, Dr. De Villa urged people to appropriately determine which activities are essential or not to avoid being an easy target to COVID-19. Apart from encouraging Torontonians to get their shots, she also advised residents to keep their social contacts minimal to stave off the possibility of being infected.
“We have everything we need to control this in our power right now,” de Villa emphasized. “Vaccination continues to be the best protection.”
So far, 164,000 Toronto residents have already had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, making them eligible to have their second jab. It is also notable that the city has seen a surge of 18% regarding appointment bookings for the first dose after it was announced that a vaccination card would be required to access and participate in public establishments and events.
The Facts:
Despite the claims by Mayor John Tory and Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa, suggesting the 90% vaccination rate will be needed in order to achieve so-called “Herd Immunity”, many scientists can’t disagree more.
It is clear that the “Delta” variant of the COVID-19 virus is escaping the vaccine, and a considerable number of fully vaccinated patients having more “break thru” infections. This information comes directly from the most vaccinated country in the world – Israel.
As a reminder, Israel had most of its adult population fully vaccinated early at the beginning of the pandemic, and at this point, is administering a third “booster” shot to its citizens.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, in his recent address to the nation, stated that the most vulnerable citizens in Israel at the moment are those who received both vaccine shots. The effectiveness of the second dose has declined significantly, he said, especially in offering protection against the “Delta” variant.
Dr. Kobi Haviv, the director of the largest hospital in Jerusalem, in his recent interview with Chanel 13 confirmed, 80-90% of hospitalizations are among fully vaccinated individuals.
We would assume the Mayor and the Medical Officer of Health would be in possession of this data and use it to develop a different course of action. However, for an unknown reason, it is not the case.
We can only speculate about the real motives of such disinformation by local politicians and health authorities, and hopefully, at some point, our leaders will stop confusing politics with science.
