Lambton's medical officer of health says the science and evidence surrounding the development of COVID-19 vaccines is very clear and compelling.
Dr. Sudit Ranade told Sue Storr on CHOK (103.9 FM, 1070 AM) Tuesday morning, the province will decide who gets the vaccine first and if it should be mandatory for some people.
"So now you have a situation where you've got this one intervention that's going to make a huge impact where the science is very clear and where the harms are actively minimal, because it's two shots, you come in, you get your two shots and then you basically go on with the rest of your life," said Ranade. "The science is incredibly clear and compelling, and then it becomes more of a political decision to say what are the other factors here that might come into play."
Dr. Ranade said the vaccine does have some mild side effects.
"In general, there were no serious side effects that were reported, there were common side effects that you would note with any vaccine, your arm gets sore for a few hours, maybe you get a little red spot there, maybe you get a headache. Interestingly, some of the side effects were a bit of diarrhea, so some of those consequences like headaches and so forth, happened a little bit more frequently."
Dr. Ranade said the initial supply of vaccine will not be adequate to eliminate the need for safety protocols like social distancing and masking. He added that Sarnia-Lambton may have to wait a little longer for the vaccine because of its relatively stable position in terms of cases.
-With files from Sue Storr
