Region’s top doc continues to urge Brampton residents to get vaccinated

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Published June 23, 2021 at 6:03 pm

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Peel’s top doctor continues to urge Brampton residents to get the first COVID-19 available to them, regardless of which one it is.

Speaking at Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown’s weekly news conference Wednesday morning, Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel’s Medical Officer of Health, emphasized the importance of being fully dosed in order to stave off the Delta variant.

“Let me be clear. The vaccines are an incredible feat of science,” said Loh. “It’s clear that they work and that they are safe and effective.”

Loh maintains that vaccinations remain the way to getting our society back open.

“The surges in Porcupine in the north and Waterloo closer to home remind us that one-dose protection is only partially effective against infection.”

Loh said his message is simple.

“I encourage all of our residents to get vaccinated with two doses of any approved product as quickly as possible. Whether you are getting your first or second dose, mRNA is mRNA. The labels may say Moderna or Pfizer, but both are using the same technology to protect us.”

Because of the current shortage of the Pfizer vaccine, and the current reliance on Moderna, Loh said some people have literally walked away from appointments when they found out they were to receive the Moderna shot.

Loh compared the decision to someone fleeing a sinking island, but passing on the first available flight because it wasn’t with their preferred airline.

“I cannot say this clearly enough. Please take what you are offered. If you are refusing a second dose, please know this. You are leaving yourself partially unprotected, your family partially unprotected and you are harming our reopening efforts.”

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