9,000 people on P.E.I. have chosen not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Here's one.
Shane Ross | CBC News | Posted: November 3, 2021 9:00 AM | Last Updated: November 3, 2021
Comedian-actor Dennis Trainor says he's not ready to make the decision
Dennis Trainor knows his decision to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 has consequences.
As an actor and comedian, it means he can't attend concerts, movies or other events in the arts community he serves. He can't sit down in a restaurant to have a meal.
It's affected his relationship with friends and family.
"The division between families, friends is very apparent," Trainor said. "Personally, yeah, I've felt that."
Nonetheless, Trainor is among roughly 9,000 eligible people on P.E.I. who have chosen not to receive even one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. (Another 9,000 of those eligible did get one shot but not the second needed to be fully vaccinated, for a total of 18,000.)
Trainor has been among the people protesting outside the P.E.I. Legislature and the CBC building in Charlottetown against the loss of freedoms related to COVID-19 restrictions.
But it's wrong, he said, to label him and others as "anti-vaxxers" for questioning the process. He believes vaccines can work, and was vaccinated as a child.
For the COVID-19 vaccine, he's still wading through what he calls the "quagmire of information versus misinformation" and isn't yet comfortable making the decision to get the jab.
"What's the rush?" he said. "It comes down to, really, an intuitive choice… freedom of choice."
5 million deaths so far
Worldwide, more than 5 million people have died from COVID-19.
According to the World Health Organization, the COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved are safe and effective. However, it notes that research is still ongoing into how much vaccines protect not only against disease but also against infection and transmission.
Dr. Heather Morrison, P.E.I.'s chief public health officer, and many other medical professionals strongly encourage all eligible people to get both recommended doses of an authorized vaccine. P.E.I. has had a total of 319 positive cases since the pandemic began, with no deaths and only two hospitalizations.
According to data provided by Health P.E.I., people who are unvaccinated made up 79 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in 2021.
It comes down to a basic question of freedoms and liberties or health and safety. — Dennis Trainor
Trainor said he would rather rely on his immune system or explore other alternatives rather than accept the vaccine.
He said he can live with public health restrictions for now. His actor's income doesn't allow him to dine in at restaurants much anyway, and though some people in the arts world may not reach out as often as they once did, he is still finding work online.
Like everyone else, he wants things to get back to normal. He knows the majority of people will disagree with him on how to get there.
'Everyone's entitled to their opinion'
"If you take an opposing view to — it doesn't matter, whatever — you're going to run into that kind of debate. It all depends on whether you treat that situation with respect, and everyone's entitled to their opinion. It's still a free country, right?"
One of the pro-vaccine arguments Morrison and others have made is that getting the shots will help prevent COVID-19 from spreading as easily through a population, and thus help protect children and people with compromised immunity.
Here is how Trainor responds to that.
"Do I believe I'm putting people at risk by not getting vaccinated? I believe that personally, I may be putting my thoughts and beliefs at risk.
"Other people? It's always been the intention — and hopefully the way that a person operates themselves — to be able to protect themselves, whether it be through interaction with others or just even respecting one's thoughts and opinions. That's one way to really not put yourself at risk as far as being vaccinated or not.
"My choice still stands as one who believes that it's your choice to do so [be vaccinated] to protect yourself. It's also my choice to protect myself in those ways as well. So again, it does come down to respect. It comes down to what's mentioned in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
Corrections:- An earlier version of this story said 18,000 Islanders have chosen not to be vaccinated. In fact, 9,000 of those have received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine but not the second shot needed to be considered fully vaccinated. November 3, 2021 11:50 AM