I got into a FB argument this week with a Canadian who didn’t understand this. He started out blaming Trudeau for the vaccine shortage due to reasons as well as lockdowns. After some back and forth with my supplying stats and references and explaining he doesn’t fully understand how are system works, he told me I have drunk the kool aid. We have Q types here too, albeit in smaller numbers.
My discussion of Covid is general. Yes, there was the occasional politician, sometimes municipal, who attended an anti mask rally, flouted rules or implied things were contrived. There was occasional blaming of the medical advice, doctors and vaccine distribution - and certainly a few attempts to politicize things.
But these public attempts were very infrequent in comparison to the US. In general, they were badly received by most of the public. They were not encouraged by the media, which did not inflame things and which did a good job of educating the public, and respecting the science. On the whole, unhelpful politicization happened to a surprisingly small degree in Canada. I was shocked. I gained some respect for Ford. I stand by my summary.
I think the real tell is that Canadians would have the same compliant vax uptake numbers, whether there was a Liberal or Conservative government in Ottawa.
And is it really just compliance? Or a nation more willing to abide inconveniences such as masks and distancing, simply to protect others.
Sometimes America seems hyper focused on, ‘Why should I be inconvenienced, in any way, to protect someone else?’ Quite firm they have no obligation to protect anyone but themselves. And I suppose it’s true, you can’t legislate making people care about others.
Hell, a bunch of them elected, and continue to support, an absolute shitbag who literally laughed at the idea of helping people.
Still, vaccination rates in Canada could be better than they are. Covid fatigue is a thing. I would like to see more people, particularly students, become fully vaccinated. I am less keen on vaccine passports but it beats more restrictions.
A partial excerpt from cnn.com
Trump supporters are a big reason why Canada and the UK are beating the US on vaccinations
(Analysis by Harry Enten, CNN
Published Sat. July 24 2021.)
Poll of the week: A new Angus Reid poll from Canada finds that 86% of Canadians 18 and older have gotten or want a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible. The same poll shows that just 8% of Canadian adults do not want a Covid-19 vaccination.
(My addendum: polls may somewhat overestimate the vaccination desire of if Canadians are not transparent about their views.)
This matches what the real-world data is showing us: Canadians are far more driven to get vaccinated than Americans.
What’s the point: Just two months ago, less than 5% of Canadians were fully vaccinated against Covid-19. At the same time, about 40% of Americans were. Today, a little less than 50% of Americans are fully vaccinated, while a little more than 50% of Canadians are.
Among adults, more than 80% of the Canadian population is at least partially vaccinated, while the US has still not reached 70%.
A big reason (though not the only one) why Canada has overtaken the US is pretty clear: Political polarization is playing a smaller role in who is and is not getting vaccinated there. We see a similar phenomenon in the United Kingdom, where more than 50% of the population is also fully vaccinated.
(Note that those ages 12 and above are eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine in Canada and the United States, while, for most, the vaccine-eligible age in the UK is 18.)
In the Angus Reid poll in Canada, 85% of adults who voted for the center-left Liberal Party in 2019 have been at least partially vaccinated. It’s a similar 84% for the progressive New Democratic Party.
Those percentages look similar to what we’re seeing in the US for progressives. In a late June NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, 88% of those who voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election said they had been vaccinated. A July CBS News/YouGov poll showed that 84% of Biden backers were at least partially vaccinated. A June Fox News poll put it at 81%.
But the difference between the two countries becomes clear when you examine conservatives. Among those adults who backed the Conservative Party in Canada’s 2019 election, a lower 69% had received at least one dose.
Still, that’s far greater than the 52% of Donald Trump supporters who have gotten a dose in an average of the Fox News, Marist and YouGov surveys.
It’s worth noting that the US’ vaccination patterns don’t just differ from Canada’s. They also differ significantly from those of another key ally: the United Kingdom. (q.v. Article goes on and on, only an excerpt is provided.)
As a side note, what’s up with the reported 100 unvaccinated American athletes in Tokyo (e.g. a claimed vaccination rate of 85%)? They understand how hard they have worked. That if they get infected, both they and others will be isolated. Maybe even that the chance of infection is not negligible.
My only guess is that they are uneducated credulous fools, who have been told by some other fool that the vaccine will pollute their precious bodily fluids.
Canada has now surpassed the UK in fully vaccinated population.
I think this shows almost all of our parties, or whatever stripe, all align on the critical stuff. It’s implementation and focus that differs but they are variations on a theme. Which makes sense in a healthy democracy. The US comes across as obviously not healthy and at least has the virtue of providing an object lesson.
Countries over 1 million population that are ahead of Canada in fully vaccinated (as % of total population) Total vaccinated (1 or 2 shots) in brackets
- United Arab Emirates 68.4% (77.7)
- Chile 63.07% (71.91)
- Israel 61.33% (66.57)
- Uruguay 61.26% (72.98)
- Qatar 58.65% (68.78)
- Hungary 55.64% (57.93)
- Canada 55.18% (70.90)
Canada should be in the #6 spot by the end of the week if not earlier.
It should be noted vaccination in the UK and some other countries means 18+. Canada and the US allow vaccination in those older than 12.
I didn’t know that. Good point.
I did not know this originally. But it is relevant because younger people feel immortal and are less likely to want health interventions. They are also less likely to get very sick from coronavirus and perhaps more likely to misinterpret government messaging. They can still get very sick and infect others, though this is seemingly much less common than one would have originally guessed. This may partly explain the surprisingly low vaccination rates in the 12-18 group, though parental politics is probably a much bigger factor. Parents against vaccination can argue other countries did not deem it necessary. In Ontario, although most young people follow parental wishes they can make their own health care decisions providing they can articulate the risks and benefits well enough to demonstrate capacity.
12 posts were split to a new topic: Discussion About Other Topics Split Off from Covid Vaccines in Canada
Wow, it’s amazing how an American narrative around vaccine refusal just bubbles up around here.
But what’s wrong there? It’s all part of the reason we get refusals in Canada even though no political party has played the hoax card.
Like it or not, about 15% of the population, give or take, is refusing this. It’s worthwhile to know why so we can
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Do better if there’s a next time and
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Convince the refusers to stop their nonsense.
Back on topic, Canada moves up a rank in the fully vaccinated countries (above 1 million)
(And I note that some countries, notably the UK, are not vaccinating teenagers yet, so this does impact their numbers)
- United Arab Emirates 68.9% (Up 0.50%)
- Chile 63.13% (Up 0.06%)
- Uruguay 61.88% (up 0.62%, moves up one spot)
- Israel 61.48% (up 0.15%, moves down one spot)
- Qatar 58.59% (down 0.06% - data adjustment?)
- Canada 56.10% (up 0.92%, moves up one spot)
- Hungary 55.80% (up 0.16%, moves down one spot)
Funny how we’re not hearing anymore about how terrible Canada is when it comes to vaccinating it’s population.
Moderating:
This thread was reported for being off topic and derailing the original thread. I have split the hijack into a separate thread entitled, Discussion About Other Topics Split Off from Covid Vaccines in Canada. Please continue your discussions there unless you are directly addressing COVID Vaccines in Canada.
Indeed, Trudeau announced we have enough doses on hand now to fully vaccinate everyone. If they’ll take it.
Of course the usual suspects will find some other reason to slag him off. “Why’d he waste money on enough doses for everyone when he knew 15% of the population would refuse the vaccine?!?”