McGill should lead using evidence based public health guidance on vaccination
By Dr. Charles Larson, Interim Director of Global Health Programs at McGill University
On August 17, 2021, a letter was submitted to Principal Suzanne Fortier and Provost Christopher Manfredi, currently signed by over 200 McGill faculty, recommending “…implementation of a mandatory vaccination policy for students, staff, and faculty who wish to participate in any on-campus activity.” In response, on August 19th the provost issued a response indicating that, as matters currently stand, under Quebec law people have the right to refuse to undergo a medical procedure (in this case COVID immunization) unless otherwise justified because other reasonable means are insufficient, which the McGill administration considers not to be the case under the current situation in Quebec. While respecting the decision of the McGill administration, in my opinion, this decision is not consistent with the best, evidence-based public health practice. We are currently in the fourth COVID pandemic wave, largely as a result of the highly transmissible delta variant that is resulting in alarming rates of severe disease in student-aged populations. The evidence clearly indicates that vaccination, along with distancing, masks, hand washing, and voluntary isolation when symptomatic have the potential to end this epidemic.
Unvaccinated individuals create a preventable risk to themselves, others unvaccinated, and as is now evident, to vaccinated individuals. Unvaccinated individuals, unless medically indicated, do not have the right to expose others to preventable severe disease and death. A mandatory vaccination policy will greatly reduce, if not eliminate, these risks. Given the absence of any effective measures to deal with vaccine hesitancy and the absence of a mandatory vaccine policy will result in exposure to unvaccinated COVID positive students, staff, or faculty leading to the increased likelihood of breakthrough transmission among those who are vaccinated.
I would urge all of you who will be directly impacted by current policies, whether vaccinated or not, to follow the above-mentioned COVID prevention best practices. As an institute McGill should lead by example and use overwhelming public health evidence to guide its policies and protect its community and implement a mandatory vaccine policy.
About the author:
Dr. Charles Larson, MD, MSc, is the Interim Director of the Global Health Programs at McGill University. He is currently the National Coordinator of the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health.