Hamilton city councillors unanimously approved a motion to push Ontario to institute a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy and vaccine passport program following a 10-0 vote during Wednesday’s board of health meeting.
The move came at the end of a public health forecast that revealed an impending fourth wave set to hit the city in the fall due to the spread of the Delta variant among those not fully vaccinated.
“Obviously, our number one focus is for the health and the safety of our Hamiltonians,” downtown councillor Jason Farr said upon reading his motion.
Farr said the idea is to motivate hesitant locals into getting a shot and potentially changing the mind of anti-vaxxers who he alleges are not concerned about the safety of others.
“I’m not into letting the conspiracy theorists stopping my son at a gym and trying to convince him that the whole thing is wrong and that they’ve got a microchip and they own us now, whoever ‘they’ are,” Farr said.
As of Wednesday, an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 residents in four ‘lagging’ regions in the city have still not had their first vaccine shot. At the peak of the city’s vaccination program in July, about 9,000 shots per day were making it into the arms of Hamiltonians. The current rate as of early August is now down to just 1,700 a day.
Officials estimate around 15,000 more Hamiltonians need to get shots to achieve 80 per cent first-dose coverage and just over 37,000 more to reach achieve 75 per cent fully vaccinated.
Associate medical officer of health Dr. Nihn Tran told Farr he appreciated the thought but said the idea needs more “clarity on scope,” previously telling councillors that a passport program at the city level would be difficult to set up without provincial help.
Tran said a significant issue with the rollout would be which settings should be deemed passport zones.
“Which settings? Are they in work settings, school settings, public settings, or are they in essential public settings versus not,” asked Tran.
He went on to say that other options that would need to be fine-tuned in scope are whether one can just show vaccination status or would there be “softer mandates” requiring vaccine status or a negative test.
“I think it’s important to understand the will of the board in terms of where you would like it and in terms of direction and scoping of it,” said Tran.
Farr said he had “essential” settings, like a grocery store or hospital, in mind as a typical venue requiring some proof of vaccination before entry.
Coucnillor Brad Clark added that the motion should include the caveat “where permissible by law” since there have been instances where courts have upheld an individual’s right to pass up a vaccine, particularly among those with health issues.
On Monday, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore said the province’s decision not to have a mandatory immunization policy was a “government decision.” He went on to say that he didn’t believe that “any door has been formally closed” on the possibility.
Moore said he didn’t believe a mandate or passport is necessary as much of the Ford government’s vaccination targets are close to being met through work with the 34 public health units, primary care partners and pharmacies.
“I know people have concerns that it has quieted, but I am very confident as we head to September, we will have more and more people coming forward realizing the risk is going to rise as we head indoors,” Moore said.
On Tuesday, health minister Christine Elliott downplayed the suggestion of vaccine passports amid continuing pressure from experts and advocates that suggested the move would aid businesses amid fears of the fourth wave.
Elliot said she believes government-issued cards would be susceptible to fraud.
Meanwhile, federal immigration minister Marco Mendicino revealed Canada will be creating a vaccine passport for international travel.
The vaccine certificate will be common across all provinces and available to all citizens, permanent residents and temporary residents living in Canada who are fully vaccinated.
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