Ontario’s health minister says vaccines in Ontario won’t be mandatory, but those who refuse to be immunized will face some restrictions.
Political leaders in Ontario say the province is on track to distribute a coronavirus vaccine as soon as it is approved by Health Canada. That could come this week.
The province’s health minister, Christine Elliott, said she believes there are two types of Ontarians who are wary about receiving the vaccine, ones she calls the strict anti-vaxxers who, under no circumstances, want to be immunized.
"There may be some restrictions placed on people that don’t have vaccines for travel purposes, to be able to go to theatres and other places," Elliott said. "That will be up to the individual person to decide whether they want to receive the vaccine to be able to do these things or not.”
Elliott said the other group includes those who want to wait and see how the vaccine affects others before they take it.
The provinces’ chief medical officer of health recently said the law is clear that the province can’t force someone to take a vaccine. However, health officials say Ontario will issue proof of immunization, which will likely allow access to facilities such as long-term care homes and may be a requirement for school attendance.
