In all this hostility and division, we may be missing some important and hopeful information. Let's not miss the good stuff because it may be the only thing that keeps us going.
These are dark days. It is so difficult to see Canadians so deeply divided. I will state my opinion clearly here and then, hopefully not again. Truckers are great people. Make no mistake about that. Their jobs are tough. They are often not paid well. They are often the victims of road hostilities at the hands of non-truckers on the road. They are often disrespected. I have heard so many stories. As we are about to see in the next few days, we need them. They deserve our respect.
They have the right to protest. We all do. But I don't believe the actions of a very small minority represent the ideals and intent of the majority. I worry that we are not hearing from the majority. Hostility and extreme actions make better news than the ordinary trucker, many of whom are vaccinated, who may have some legitimate concerns. It's sad that their voices may have been drowned out by the extremism and conflict.
Please know this, in the last number of years, as a result of listening to many stories, I have come to admire the work you do and how committed you are to delivering the goods and supplies that keep our economy running. I truly hope that your voices are heard.
As our eyes have been focused on Ottawa and now the Ambassador Bridge, we may not have paid attention to the progress we continue to make against COVID-19. It is actually quite remarkable. I continue to stand by the science. Vaccines, mandates, restrictions and vaccine passports have allowed us to tackle yet another wave. You and me and every law-abiding, hard working trucker.... we did that.
Read this and be ever so hopeful.
There are 2,059 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Ontario.
That's down from 2,254 yesterday and 2,939 a week ago. I am discouraged by events of the day but those numbers make me want to sing!
Of those that are hospitalized today, 44 % were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19 on admission.
There are 449 patients in the ICU. There were 555 a week ago. Again, I have a singing heart.
These numbers continue to decline despite schools re-opening three weeks ago and restaurants re-opening last week. A slow and steady re-opening works. A slow and measured reduction in restrictions including mandates and passports will work. Make no mistake, every province is set to move away from mandates and passports in short order. Protesting may not have been necessary. We were heading in the direction the protestors wanted anyway and no, I am not speaking from a political point of view, I am speaking from a science and public health point of view.
And get this. Read this and sing. As of today, 89 % of Ontarians aged five and older have received one dose of vaccine, 84% have received two and 47 % have received three. Remember that two doses of vaccine do not protect you from getting the Omicron variant but they do reduce your risk of serious illness by more than 80 %. Three doses of vaccine reduce your risk of getting the Omicron variant by 60 % and the risk of serious illness and hospitalization by more than 90%.
That 84% number, that means that the vast majority of the population, including truckers, are vaccinated.
We are getting there!!
There were 1.3 thousand comments on a recent post of mine. I voiced my opinion about the protests in Ottawa. I will accept all of the comments including those that express a lot of criticism. If I use my right to voice my personal opinion on a very divisive political issue, I had better be ready to take the hard knocks. But there is one comment I will not accept. In that comment it is suggested that because of the leadership role I have taken as a physician involved in the fight against COVID-19 ( I am paraphrasing here) that I do not have the right to express my personal or political opinions.
We all have the right to voice our opinions, political and otherwise. We have the right to stand up for what we believe in and protest against what we don't believe in. We have the right to stand up against injustice, to support the people we love, to fight for the vulnerable and to work to change what needs to be changed. That is our right as Canadians who live in one of the oldest democracies in the world. We have the right to all of this but not if the way we fight harms others or undermines our democracy, our economy or the rule of law.
There is a peaceful and diplomatic solution to every problem and every crisis. That peace needs to start with each of us individually. Peace results from a deep understanding of who we believe to be our enemies. Peace is always achievable but it starts with you and me. With the words we use, the hand we extend and the trouble we take to understand our differences.
Let the virus be our enemy, not each other.
I pray for that peace for all of us tonight; a peaceful end to protests and a peaceful end to the pandemic.
Anne-Marie
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