Breaking down barriers: Who are the unvaccinated in Toronto?

People receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday, June 27, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

TORONTO -

While the number of people fully vaccinated in Canada continues to climb, there remains a good chunk of the population that have not received one or both shots.

Over the past few months, health officials and politicians have been urging residents to get vaccinated, citing an impending fourth wave and the rise of the Delta variant as further evidence that herd immunity is necessary to stamp out the spread of COVID-19.

The Ontario government even started releasing vaccination data this week showing how many new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are in people who are considered fully vaccinated in an effort to show how effective it can be. The government also released new isolation rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated people on Wednesday.

In Episode 6 of Life Unmasked, the team looks into why so many people haven’t rolled up their sleeves yet to get the shot. With such extensive advertising and nudging by elected officials, is it a matter of hesitancy—or a matter of access? How many are self-proclaimed anti-vaxxers and how much of this vaccination gap has to do with a simple lack of communication?

Clinical Pharmacologist and founder of Unambiguous Science Sabina Vohra-Miller and chair of the Toronto Board of Health Joe Cressy join Life Unmasked to talk about what may be holding people back from getting the vaccine and what is being done locally to get shots into arms.

Life Unmasked airs first on the iHeart app every Thursday morning before becoming available on other streaming platforms. If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for an episode, please email [e-mail].