Ontario will likely experience waves of COVID-19 for the next 6 to 8 months that will only stop if the vaccination rate reaches at least 90%, according to the region’s top doctor.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore made the comment during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“Our strategy in Ontario, if we want to get back to a new normal, is to build the highest level of protection,” Moore said.
He said he believes that when Ontario hits a 90% vaccination rate, the region will hit a state where it becomes difficult for the COVID-19 to spread quickly in the community.
“Instead of having waves that we’re going to have to tolerate, we’ll have small outbreaks that we’ll learn to live with,” Moore said.
“(Those waves) will have a smaller impact on the health-care system and allow us to start to pull away some of the public health measures. That could happen as early as six to eight months from now.”
As of Tuesday, more than 75% over the age of 12 in Ontario are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but first doses have stalled in recent waves.
Ontario officials released the vaccine data in a news release, saying the region is deploying its “last mile strategy”.
Moore remained firm though that Ontarion doesn’t have any intentions to introduce a vaccine passport.
As per the head of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, the region could have 1,300 daily COVID-19 infections in 3 weeks if cases continue to rise at its current rate.
Over the last few weeks, the table’s scientific director Dr. Peter Jüni had voiced his concerns regarding the rising rate of coronavirus transmission because of the Delta variant.
