TORONTO Even though 40 per cent of Ontarians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, doctors warn that in rare cases people can still set sick while waiting for the second dose and need to continue to take precautions. Those on the frontlines say the recent uptick in vaccinations will help quell Ontario s third wave, but warn a single shot is not a silver bullet. Some of the province’s top infectious disease specialists say, anecdotally, they have seen patients come through their hospitals after getting their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Public Health Agency of Canada says roughly 1.3 per cent of Canadians have contracted COVID-19 after receiving their first shot.
Concerns over common side effects shouldn t scare you from getting COVID-19 vaccines, doctor says
CBC News has received messages from audience members who ve reported a range of reactions to their vaccinations, with some hesitant to return for a second dose. But an infectious disease expert said the end result of protection against COVID-19 is worth the common side effects.
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Posted: May 01, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: May 1
Why you need a 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccine when the 1st shot works well
The National1 month ago
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Studies show that getting one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine offers more than 70 per cent protection, but the second dose is what helps fully strengthen the immune response.1:59
Ontario hospitals relying on patient transfers to cope with crush of COVID-19 cases Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
Ontario’s hardest-hit hospitals have transferred more than 550 patients by helicopter and ambulance in the past two weeks as the third wave threatens to overwhelm intensive-care resources in COVID-19 hot spots.
But even with a record number of transfers easing the burden, some hospitals in coronavirus-battered communities in the Greater Toronto Area are preparing new protocols in case they run out of beds as severely ill patients flow in at unprecedented rates.
When Doug Ford closed a whole whack of outdoor facilities on Friday, Canada’s scientific and medical community responded with a collective “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease specialist at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, is one of the experts calling out the province for their lack of data-driven decision making. “The people in our ICUs are not coming there because they spent time in parks,” he says. Here, Chakrabarti tells Toronto Life about what we do need (paid sick days and more time outside), what we learned from last summer’s Trinity Bellwoods bender, and why the current restrictions are just driving actual dangerous behaviour underground.