Holder 'mad as hell' as 10,000 unwanted Moderna doses wasted

London, Ont. -

London Mayor Ed Holder has reached his boiling point with the one in five people still unvaccinated in London and Middlesex County.

“Aren’t we just mad as hell that 10,000 doses of Moderna go into the garbage, when they did not have to,” Holder told a media briefing.

Despite pleas to the public, the Middlesex London Health Unit (MLHU) was unable to use the doses before they expired Aug. 12.

“We were able to move through significant amounts of Moderna product prior,” explained Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alex Summers. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find candidates for those vaccines.”

Vaccinations dropped to just over 11,000 during the first week of August, a steep decline from a month ago when over 50,000 shots were being administered each week in Middlesex-London.

As of Aug. 7, 81.4 per cent of individuals 12 and over were single vaccinated, and 69.7 per cent had received both doses.

Dr. Summers says the latest estimates from the co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table indicates the delta variant has left the 18.6 percent of unvaccinated people in this region with a blunt choice.

“If you are unvaccinated, there is an 80 to 90 percent chance that you will get COVID-19 in the next six to twelve months.” explains Dr. Summers. “The choice is not between getting vaccinated or not vaccinated— it’s between getting vaccinated and getting COVID-19. Period.”

Holder also repeated his earlier call for the the senior levels of government to take all necessary steps to require proof of vaccination from people participating in higher risk activities.

So far, the federal government’s commitment last week to issue vaccination passports for travel (or other purposes) has yet to result in an uptick in demand for vaccinations in London and Middlesex County.

Dr. Summers referenced the two most recent outbreaks in this region to show the potential effectiveness of vaccine mandates.

The outbreak at Grand Wood Park Retirement Home where everyone was vaccinated stopped at just two cases.

Only seven of the 15 primary cases connected to the outbreak at Delilah’s on Richmond Row were fully vaccinated.

“The outbreak (at Delilah’s) would have been smaller in magnitude, if not prevented, if proof of vaccination was required to attend these types of events,” he explained. “Case in point, we have Grand Wood Park Retirement Home that began and stopped at two cases.”