Some optimism but continued concern about COVID-19 as the first vaccines are issued in Ontario.
A personal support worker at a long-term care home in Toronto was the first to receive the vaccine this week.
The province’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. David Williams, is hoping people don’t become complacent because of it.
“I was hoping it to be the opposite that people would see the need to get back to the task of sticking stringently to all the criteria, the public measures that have been with us, very strong and consistently until at least until May or June,” says Dr. Williams.
That’s when Williams believes wider distribution of the vaccine will come.
Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Jaffe says the impact of vaccination is going to take time before they’re comfortable with living those public health measures like mask-wearing and physical distancing.
“Usually, for infectious diseases were looking (at) 70-80% of the population has to be vaccinated for what we call herd immunity. We’re not going to get there with this vaccine until probably the summer,” says Dr. Jaffe.
Until then, Dr. Williams says the current task is lowering the number of cases.
“Our work right now is to do our Public Health measures and to get that number down so we can start coming down the second wave in the slope there,” says Dr. Williams.
Ontario reported a record 2,275 new cases Tuesday with 20 related deaths.
Another 1,810 cases are now considered resolved.
