Saskatoon mom says COVID-19 vaccine rules need space for people with legitimate medical exemptions
A Saskatoon woman wants the city and the province need to reevaluate how medical exemptions are are handled under current COVID-19 vaccine mandates
“I would like people to respect one another and have empathy for one another and support one another. Division is never going to get us to the other side,” Lee told CTV News.
Tamara Lee has three boys, two of them play hockey, but she can’t get into the rinks to watch or help get the youngest who’s five years old on the ice.
In an interview with CTV News, Lee said she reacts to vaccinations, the most severe was the H1N1 vaccine in 2008 which left her skin irritated, itchy, and bruised. A condition she continues to deal with as a result.
Lee said her conditions include eczema and Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which made her reluctant to get the first COVID shot.
She said she was left with little choice, but to get it because it was required in order to get a doctor to write off on her exemption.
That shot she received on Sept.17 gave her a reaction also.
“I can’t sleep, my skin is bruised and bleeding. I can’t get my wedding ring off because I’m swollen … I’m itching all the time so it’s very disruptive,” Lee said.
Because of that, she has an exemption form with her doctor’s signature saying she reacted to the vaccine and that those conditions still exist now, weeks later.
Lee doesn’t want to be viewed as anti-vaccination and isn't against the vaccine in general but wants consideration for those who can’t get it.
“Just stop the ‘you have to do this, or if you don’t do this, you’re killing people’ It’s just insanity,” Lee said.
To add to her frustration, Lee says, her three children also react to vaccinations which she learned when they were infants and had the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis shot at four months old.
Nazeem Muhajarine is an epidemiologist at the University of Saskatchewan and say, only about one percent of people have a reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine, but since it’s a new vaccine it’s important that reactions are reported to a doctor and documented.
“Because people need to know, the medical system needs to know everyone needs to know when people have these kinds of notable reactions,” Muhajarine told CTV News.
Muhajarine also says, Saskatchewan should follow the lead of provinces like Nova Scotia which just implemented a policy on exemption.
“It is time that our province has a well laid out and well known plan what people need to do if they are claiming a medical exemption,” he said.
Mayor Charlie Clark responded to the idea of reexamining the exemption for those who react to the COVID vaccine saying, the current rules are for the greater good.
“The reality is that we can either have some conditions where we can have these activities and sports and other things, or we cannot. If we are unable to provide certainty that there isn’t likelihood that COVID-19 being spread, then we’re only putting the health system more at risk which we already know it’s at capacity,” Clark told CTV News.
The mayor realizes there are some very limited situations where people can have exemptions, but he says it's important to be realistic about the risk COVID-19 is posing and the impact it’s having right now.
“These rules are not being made up just to try and make people’s life difficult. They’re’ trying to keep people from getting COVID and dying and having it spread more throughout our community,” Clark said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Thieves use stolen forklift to rip cash machine out of U.K. bank
Police in the U.K. are searching for a group of suspects seen on video using a forklift to steal a cash machine from a bank.
'There was a lot of black smoke': Crane operator sounds alarm while trapped during highrise fire in Halifax
A tower crane operator alerted emergency crews after noticing a fire on a construction site in Halifax Tuesday morning.