By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada: With the Omicron-driven pandemic wave sweeping the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians are growing more angry and frustrated with people who still refuse to get vaccinated.
Trudeau said that while most Canadians have stepped up to get their shots — putting Canada near the top of the list of countries with the highest vaccination rates — the unvaccinated remain a problem.
When people see that we are in lockdowns or serious public health restrictions right now because of the risk posed to all of us by unvaccinated people, people get angry.
According to vaccine tracker, almost 87 per cent of Canadians aged five and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 80.6 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Trudeau said the record case numbers being driven by the Omicron variant are leading to more hospitalizations and forcing cancellations of elective surgeries, putting Canadians' health at risk.