Health unit urges community to prioritize routine immunizations
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) advises the community to keep up with routine immunizations.
"Maintaining routine immunizations is important for people of all ages, including adults, as it helps to protect your future health," says Dr. Colin Lee, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit's associate medical officer of health.
SMDHU emphasizes that vaccines are an invaluable public health tool that has led to disease elimination, containment, and control.
National Immunization Awareness Week is April 22 to 30. It is an annual event that highlights the importance of immunization. This year's theme is "Protect your future. Get immunized."
"Over time, the amount of protection some vaccines offer declines, such as those for tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough), so it is important to receive booster doses in adulthood to keep yourself and those around you safe from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases," says Lee. "Additional vaccines, such as for shingles, may also be needed by individuals as they age to protect them from some diseases at different life stages based on their age, health conditions, job, lifestyle or travel habits."
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
According to a national vaccine survey conducted in 2021, over 5.3 million Canadians (4 million adults and 1.3 million children) had omitted or delayed routine immunizations due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Over the past two years, the health unit has been working to reach children and youth with the vaccines they require under Ontario's Immunizations of School Pupils Act.
The health unit states that vaccination directly protects the individual who received the vaccine and offers indirect protection to those who cannot receive vaccinations or may not respond to immunizations.
"Everyone must catch up with their vaccines with confidence, knowing they are safe and protecting their future health against vaccine-preventable diseases," concluded the health release.
For more information, call the Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Here's what every key witness said at Donald Trump's hush money trial. Closing arguments are coming
After 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders, testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Norway hands over papers for diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian prime minister
Norway on Sunday handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that has infuriated Israel.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.
J.H. Tabaret statue at uOttawa vandalized
The statue of J.H. Tabaret at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has been vandalized, as a picture taken by CTV News shows red paint sprayed all over it.