Santos lone Winnipeg councillor not vaccinated

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This article was published 25/07/2021 (1207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) is not vaccinated against COVID-19, citing an unspecified medical reason.

The Free Press surveyed all 15 city councillors, plus Mayor Brian Bowman. All have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, except Santos.

“In accordance with the Personal Health Information Act, and a medical condition I am unable to provide details about, Councillor Vivian Santos has been unable to get vaccinated,” her staff wrote in an email Monday.

Santos declined an interview, with her staff asking “that her family’s personal health privacy be respected.”

The email said Santos “has done everything possible to mitigate and adhere to the provincial public health measures that help to reduce the transmission and spread of this terrible disease.”

Last week, the medical head of Manitoba’s vaccine rollout said there are few reasons to not get a shot.

“I want to be very clear that there are very few people who shouldn’t be vaccinated for health reasons,” said Dr. Joss Reimer.

Manitoba’s clinical practice guidelines for COVID-19 immunizers, last updated July 19, does not list any medical condition where a vaccine shouldn’t be given, but instead advises those patients consult with a health-care provider. That’s often over a concern they might not get adequate protection from the two shots, such as people with a recent stem-cell or organ transplant.

The document suggests people receiving chemotherapy receive their shots at a certain point in their treatment cycle when the vaccine is most likely to be effective.

It also noted people with certain exceedingly rare allergies (such as polyethylene glycol, a common ingredient in cosmetics and foods) should speak with their doctor.

As of July 21, no Manitobans had been told to not get a shot due to allergies, Reimer said last week.

This month, the Free Press surveyed all 57 Manitoba MLAs and found only Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler and Seine River MLA Janice Morley-Lecomte are not fully vaccinated.

Both PC MLAs cited privacy, declining to provide an explanation for not getting a shot, or whether they had one of the two required doses.

Their constituents and donors expressed a variety on views, while opposition parties said elected officials have a duty to set an example and make it public if they have a medical condition.

Health researchers have warned officials declining to get immunized without an explanation can fuel vaccine hesitancy.

Despite not being vaccinated himself, Schuler is urging Manitobans to roll up their sleeves.

“We need Manitobans to continue to follow the fundamentals and get vaccinated, to ensure we keep on a positive trajectory to a post-pandemic Manitoba,” Schuler wrote in a Monday news release, which announced another extension of the province’s COVID-19 state of emergency.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca