Immunization clinics or social media. The medical officer of health for the Porcupine Health Unit has declared zero tolerance to aggressive, inappropriate behaviour or comments from people reluctant to be vaccinated or opposed to the idea altogether.
Dr. Lianne Catton says in-clinic incidents have been reported the past couple months, escalating recently.
“We do expect to have a safe environment and ensure the safety and privacy of everyone at clinics: the staff, the volunteers, the immunizers, the families going to be immunized as well,” she states.
Commenting on PHU’s social media posts has also been suspended.
“However,” the MOH adds, “we’ll continue to have that important, healthy dialogue with individuals who send their messages through the appropriate channels in an appropriate manner.”
Meanwhile, Catton says 88.6% of the PHU population over the age of 12 has been vaccinated once. That’s about one percentage point over the provincial average. 81.3 percent have been inoculated twice. That’s just below the Ontario rate.
