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Without knowing it, Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca may have just added a shot of excitement into the provincial election.
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As Del Duca himself would tell you, he’s not a very exciting man and so far, this election campaign has been anything but exciting.
His pledge to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of scheduled, what some call mandatory, vaccinations for school children might change that.
“If elected, Ontario Liberals will make the COVID-19 vaccine for kids part of the universal roster of vaccines that are required for kids to attend publicly-funded schools,” Del Duca said Saturday.
I have claimed to be relying on science and medical advice, but each time Dr. Kieran Moore has been asked about this, he’s said there needs to be more study. For a variety of reasons, Moore has said he isn’t ready to add this vaccine to the school list.
Del Duca is making a political, not a medical or scientific play here.
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Despite vaccinations being open to children aged 5-11 since late last year, uptake hasn’t been that high. Del Duca thinks his policy is the right way to increase vaccinations, but it might just be a way to anger parents who’ve been hesitant about giving a shot to their children they’ve already taken themselves.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, which tracks vaccine administration across the country, the percentage of adults aged between 18 and 49 who are fully vaccinated in Ontario ranges from 87-89%. Those are the ages of people most likely to have children in the school system and the vast majority are vaccinated.
Yet for the 5-11 age range, just 55% have one dose and 39% have two compared to 83% in the 12-17 year old age range with two shots.
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I don’t understand it, but my kids are older and fully vaccinated. Yet, I can recall the anxiety that parents of young children have about vaccinations, what to feed their kids, what to give them and what to protect them from.
These are very real concerns for parents.
It’s not a matter of timing, the vaccine has been available for six months and the interval between doses is supposed to be no more than two months. There have been community clinics, school clinics, appointments available at local pharmacies at all hours but the uptake isn’t there.
Not enough for Del Duca who not only blames Doug Ford but also loses the plot by getting highly personal.
“I think a lot of parents in this province have seen the current leader of the province effectively wave a white flag of surrender on vaccinations because Doug Ford, from the very beginning, has wanted this to be all over,” Del Duca said.
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It’s a nasty tendency of the former Wynne attack dog to ascribe to his opponents the worst motives. To not just say that they’re wrong on policy but to claim Ford has a moral failing in not being able to raise vaccination rates for kids.
Across Canada though, just 41% of kids in that age group are fully vaccinated, which means that Ontario isn’t an outlier. Among provinces that have significant populations, Alberta is at the lowest at 32% while Quebec is the highest and they’re only at 48%.
Parents across Canada, and across party and political lines, have concerns about giving their youngest kids the COVID-19 vaccine. For Del Duca, the answer appears to be that he should force it or appear to force it on them.
Parents aren’t holding their young children back from being vaccinated due to some moral failing of Ford that Del Duca wants to rant about, they’re holding them back because they have concerns. A leader would deal with those concerns.
Ford has said he’d consult with Dr. Moore, Del Duca obviously wants to rely on his pollster rather than doctors.
