According to a recently published study by public health researchers, evidence of COVID-19 vaccination requirements, commonly known as vaccine passports, led to more Canadians under the age of 50 receiving their first dose shortly after the policies were implemented.
Researchers say understanding the effectiveness of those policies can help public health officials across the country prepare for long-term pandemics.
“We were in the future,” Nazeem Muhajarine, a professor of epidemiology and networking proficiency at the University of Saskatchewan who contributed to the study, said in an interview Tuesday with CBC Radio’s evening edition.
“What lessons can we learn from this proof of vaccination policy so that this might be one of the tools that we can use in future public health crisis situations?”
The researchers, from the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Regina, the University of Toronto, and the Coronavirus Variant Rapid Response Network (CoVaRR-Net), a network of researchers from across Canada, began studying the efficacy of vaccine passports across Canada. the board. Canadian jurisdictions from June 2021 to November 2021, Muhajarine said.
They found an “immediate and substantial” increase in first-dose vaccination rates among Canadians of all ages in the days following the announcement of the evidence for vaccination requirements, according to the findings of the study, published in this month’s issue of Health Affairs, a peer journal. -Journal of Fitness Policy Reviewed.
Provincial governments, including Saskatchewan, introduced vaccine passports in 2021, after the first primary waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and when other people began getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The passports, which included a QR code, indicated a person’s vaccination status.
Proof-of-vaccination policies required proof of vaccination for certain non-essential services, such as restaurants, the study notes, and were “touted as a promising tool to increase vaccination coverage” and to “facilitate a ‘return to normal. ”by permitting the lifting of the remaining public fitness protections’.
The researchers’ vaccination rates, by age organization and time period, in the seven weeks before and after the rollout of vaccine passports across Canada.
Nationally, researchers estimate that first-dose vaccination rates increased 17. 5 percent in the seven weeks after provinces announced proof-of-vaccination policies, according to the study.
For those under 50, the surge in vaccination rates lasted up to three weeks after the policies were announced, before stabilizing in peak age groups within six weeks, according to the study.
Upticks were more drastic and lasted longer in younger demographics, such as people aged 18 to 29, it says.
“Young people are more likely to be outdoors — to participate in social activities, go to restaurants, sporting events and concerts, etc. ,” Muhajarine said.
“This was one way, at that time, that they could actually continue to have their social life. So this was expected.”
Young people between the ages of 12 and 17 also saw a sharp increase in vaccination, although this only lasted two weeks, according to the study. The researchers suggest that this can be attributed to accessibility, such as unfavorable appointment times.
While the study notes that “proof-of-vaccination policies were highly debatable in Canada,” as in other countries, it also indicates that they can be effective short-term policies to increase vaccination rates in the event of a long-term pandemic. .
However, other approaches would likely be needed to reach unvaccinated people and build public access and confidence in vaccines long-term, the study suggests.
The researchers also recommend that long-term policies explore how to move vaccine-related resources, such as doses, “in a targeted manner. “
Saskatchewan Health Minister Everett Hindley told reporters Tuesday that there will be no vaccine passports.
Journalist
Nicholas Frew is a CBC Saskatchewan journalist founded in Regina who specializes in generating data-driven stories. Originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, Frew moved to Halifax to attend journalism school. In the past, he worked for CBC’s newsrooms in Manitoba and Alberta. Prior to joining CBC, she interned at Winnipeg Free Press. You can reach him at nick. frew@cbc. ca.
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