Doctor Wajid Ahmed urges parents to get their children 12 to 17 vaccinated before the start of school.
Windsor-Essex's Medical Officer of Health can empathize that some parents may be hesitant after media reports of side effects but insists the risks posed by COVID-19 far outweigh any risks of side effects from the vaccine.
"For those who have, unfortunately, ended developing pericarditis or myocarditis, those symptoms were mild," he said. "They were managed and treated without any significant medical treatment."
His plea comes as the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit plans pop-up vaccination clinics and a social media campaign encouraging parents to get their kids vaccinated now.
"I love my children like everyone else in the region, in the country. I got my son vaccinated," Ahmed said.
Vaccination appointments for those 12 to 17 have been open since June, but the region's vaccination rates for that age group are low. Just 49.6 per cent have had at least one shot, and only 8.6 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Ahmed said those students who return to school in September who have not had both shots are at a distinct medical disadvantage and would put the school system at risk.
"If they're unvaccinated, one case can result in more cases, and overall it would put the school system at a disadvantage, and maybe looking at some outbreaks and shutting down our education again," he explained. "No one wants that."
He wondered if maybe part of the hesitancy was because some parents may not be old enough to remember what life was like before vaccinations became routine.
"It's regarded as one of the greatest medical achievements," said Ahmed about vaccinations. For some of the younger generation that hasn't seen some of these deadly diseases -- they feel maybe they are not at risk. But, with a global pandemic raging in every part of the world, everyone is vulnerable."
* With files from Maureen Revait
