Dear Editor:
RE: Board to ask province to add COVID-19 to immunization act, Jan. 13.
UGDSB chair Linda Busuttil presented a motion to ask the province to add COVID-19 to the list of designated diseases under the Immunization of School Pupils Act.
The article states the act “applies to all students who attend private or public elementary and secondary schools, requires that all children under the age of 18 registered in school in Ontario must be immunized, or in the process of becoming immunized.” This statement is not entirely truth.
The Immunization of School Pupils Act states medical, conscience or religious belief exemptions are in place. COVID-19 is not on the list as it is not finished safety and efficacy trials until 2023.
I find Busuttil’s statement that “What we know is that, before the symptoms come is when the transmissibility happens,” incredulous.
A rhetorical question is, “Didn’t we previously call an asymptomatic person healthy?”
The availability of the internet allows information sources at my fingertips. No need to wait for the weekly! I can browse science paper reviews as they are published for reports such as the adverse effects from the COVID-19 injection, its efficacy or the unreliability of rapid testing.
Mental and financial stress in homes, hours of lost learning for students, siblings, the decreased income and juggling acts for caregivers along with any isolation has caused greater harm, mentally and physically, than the COVID-19 risks in children.
There is a risk/benefit established for all drugs before they are approved. This risk/benefit information regarding COVID-19 is very well documented. I ask that for this newspaper provide a balanced COVID narrative to allow informed consent to be formed.
The $3- to $4-million dollar UGDSB funding request for rapid antigen tests needs to be redirected.
Joyce Sloat,
Mapleton
*Editor’s note: The vast majority of medical experts agree that the risks associated with contracting COVID far outweigh any risks associated with getting vaccinated. Most also agree that rapid tests, while not as reliable as PCR tests, can help reduce viral spread if used correctly and in tandem with other public health measures.