'We've all but ended pandemic' among the vaccinated, but unvaccinated face fourth wave

London, Ont. -

As London and Middlesex gets closer to a return to normal, the soft sell approach around vaccination is being replaced by a tougher tone from local leaders.

"It felt like a weight had been lifted," said Middlesex County Warden, Cathy Burghardt-Jesson when describing a reunion with her sister on the weekend. "Why? Because we got the damn vaccine."

The Mayor of London is now asking vaccinated people to help push the region over the finish line.

"If you have had your shot, please do whatever you can to convince those who are vaccine hesitant, for whatever reason, to roll up their sleeve," Mayor Ed Holder instructed.

Per cent of MLHU residents that have received at least one dose by age group (Source: Middlesex-London Health Unit)

Daily case counts continue to trend in the single digits, but Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie warns the vast majority of new cases and hospitalizations is among the unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated.

Dr. Mackie adds that based on infection rates, unvaccinated people in the region are experiencing a fourth wave almost exclusively among themselves.

"Almost all those cases are among people not vaccinated, which means for the vaccinated, this vaccine campaign has essentially ended the pandemic," he told a media briefing.

Two doses of COVID-19 vaccine are required to provide maximum protection against the more transmissible Delta-variant of COVID-19.

As of July 3, the most recent data available, 77 per cent of eligible people in Middlesex-London have received at least one dose.

Two groups are lagging behind, people 30-34 years old (64.2 per cent) and healthcare workers.

The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) says 66 per cent of its workers are single or fully vaccinated, although the hospital believes the actual rate is higher because the data is based on employees self-reporting their status.

"It’s too early to discuss mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers at this point in the campaign, but there is significant interest in that across the province," said Dr. Adam Dukelow of LHSC. "For now we are proceeding with on-site clinics, education and information campaigns."

The latest vaccine messaging also includes myth-busting.

Dr. Mackie turned to his Twitter account to dispel a recent theory that vaccines reduce fertility.

The claim is literally science fiction.

"A major driver of the false claim that the vaccine affects fertility is... wait for it... an Amazon Prime movie called Utopia based on a UK sci-fi flick from 2013," Dr. Mackie tweeted.

Tweet by Dr. Chris Mackie - Monday July 12, 2021 (Source: Twitter/@Healthmac)The medical officer of health adding that the reasons for vaccine hesitancy appear to be multi-faceted, but there are common themes.

"About half of people cite something around safety of the vaccines, there are a number of falsehoods spreading about the vaccine."

To make vaccination simpler, the MLHU and its partners will offer more than a dozen drop-in clinics over the next month that do not require appointments.

The locations and times can be found on their website.