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The Medical Officer of Health for the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit said recently the COVID-19 virus will be part of "our new normalcy."
Dr. Jim Chirico spoke during the Health Unit's weekly press conference and said he thinks COVID-19 will become "endemic, meaning it's going to be with us for some time. We will see different variants, for sure."
Chirico has not wavered in his message that the most effective way to protect oneself is by following public health measures and getting vaccinated.
"The best protection we can have — to get back to a more normal lifestyle — is a similar view to what we have with the flu, in that we live with it every year, however, we prevent serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths with people being vaccinated," he said.
This approach ties in with the Health Unit's push to have more of the population receive the vaccine.
"When you look at the millions and millions of people that have been vaccinated — and, yes, there have been some rare instances of problems — but that's what the system is designed to pick up," Chirico added. "There is absolutely no question in my mind the benefits of these vaccines far outweigh any of the rare and serious consequences. We have serious consequences from all medication. It's a risk."
The Health Unit has acknowledged an expected plateau in local vaccination rates and has adopted some strategies to reach people who are hesitant to roll up their sleeves.
"We recognize that not everyone has the same timetable for when they would like to access the vaccine and that there may be barriers preventing people from accessing that vaccine," said Andrea McLellan, Director COVID-19 Immunization Strategy.
The Health Unit has said it is planning mobile clinics, pop-up clinics, and alternative ways of reaching those individuals who have not been able to access their first dose vaccine. Appointments have been moved up as supply exceeds demand.
See related: If you had a COVID-19 vaccine appointment booked August 3 or later, it's been cancelled
And, more and more walk-in clinics are being made available: 750 COVID-19 vaccination walk-in spots available at Memorial Gardens Monday
"Immunization rates tend to plateau in a certain timeframe," noted Chirico. "You're never going to get 100 per cent of the population. When you consider it is a new vaccine — to get rates as high as we have them — and to be as comparable as we are to the rest of Canada and Ontario, I'm extremely pleased with the number of vaccinations."
See also: COVID-19: Canada pivoting vaccine plan as supplies begin to outstrip demand
And: Province won't make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for any industry, Ford says
Dr. Carol Zimbalatti, Public Health Physician for the Health Unit also spoke about vaccine hesitancy related to the rapid roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine brands, saying global urgency to develop and manufacture them led to an unprecedented collective effort and response.
"A lot of resources were poured into developing these vaccines quickly," Zimbalatti noted. "There was the same amount of work that went into it but it was done in a more concentrated fashion because we had so many more resources thrown at this. Likewise, in terms of the approval processes."
Zimbalatti added all checks and balances for the vaccines were in place throughout that process. "It was very important that all the necessary steps and necessary due process took place to approve vaccines."
