Trudeau encourages vaccination against COVID-19, says Canadians are “angry” at the unvaccinated

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told residents that there is still time for them to get vaccinated, saying that health workers in the country would rather vaccinate than intubate.

He included praise of those who have “stepped up” so far to get vaccinated while reprimanding those who have not, suggesting they are responsible for continued lockdowns.

“It’s not just about governments and health workers frustrated that there are Canadians who still choose to not get vaccinated. It’s fellow Canadians as well,” he said. “When people see that we’re in lockdowns … because of the risk posed to all of us by unvaccinated people, people get angry,” he added before saying the government has taken many steps to incentivize receipt of the vaccine. 

“That front line health worker who’s giving you your first dose of the vaccine… will be immensely pleased to be able to give you that first dose of the vaccine, even today. Because they’d much rather be giving you an injection…than intubating you in an ICU,” he added.

Trudeau said back in September that the unvaccinated would have difficulty finding things to do in the country. “In many provinces, you won’t be able to go to dinner and a restaurant, or go to the gym, or go to the movies, or go to a sporting event, unless you’re fully vaccinated,” he said at the time.

“So, people who haven’t yet chosen to get vaccinated, but are considering it, need to see that our country is deciding that we will move forward for everyone who is vaccinated, and try to convince through all sorts of information campaigns and direct appeals, but also with a federal framework that does everything it can to get as many people vaccinated as possible, because that’s the way through this pandemic.” 

Trudeau’s recent remarks came just as the Canadian government announced that it would be sending out 140 million rapid tests to the provinces this month. As of Wednesday, January 5, Canada has seen 2.3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the onset of the pandemic, with 30,508 deaths attributed to the illness, a rate of 0.012 percent.