Author: The Buchanans Rolling Down The Road

What can be said, about a crusty old curmudgeon, with no fixed address … not much I guess.

Do restrictions work?

Sunday October 3rd 2021

COVID-19 has changed our lives, I think we can all agree with that simple statement, no matter what your personal opinion on this pandemic might be, it has changed our lives and world.

Here in Ontario we have now seen four surges in new case counts, and we have endured three provincial lockdowns in eighteen months, but we seem to be avoiding another lockdown for now, and being the largest population base in Canada we need to look at the numbers to see why.

Population:

This chart just shows the populations of all the different provinces and territories, it also shows the growth over the last decade.

We want to look at two provinces specifically for this comparison, so pay attention to Ontario and Alberta.

Ontario 14,733,119

Alberta 4,428,112

COVID-19 cases:

This chart shows the new COVID-19 cases, again by province and territories. And once again we want to look at two main provinces but Saskatchewan is worth a note because their number is terrible as well.

Ontario 668

Alberta 1630

Saskatchewan 471

I remember in July when Alberta and Saskatchewan removed all restrictions with regard to mask wearing, social distancing, and venue restrictions. With promotions and ads, and on every Canadian newspaper, heck Alberta even allowed the Calgary Stampede to take place with few or no restrictions. And I thought that sure would be nice, to be able to enjoy a “normal” summer, as I for one was feeling very restricted here in Ontario in comparison. But right about now I’m thankful for all those annoying restrictions. So while Ontario has 3 times the population of Alberta and 12 times the population of Saskatchewan, Alberta has over 2 times the cases than Ontario and Saskatchewan’s case rate is even worse.

My next thought was maybe the outbreak in Alberta was just because of a low vaccination rate so next I was going to look at the numbers comparing Ontario’s and Alberta’s vaccination rates, here are the numbers.

But as the charts above show Ontario and Alberta are not too far apart when we look at both the percentages of total population with vaccinations as well as the percentage of the eligible population vaccinated.

Conclusion? While vaccinations are important, because the majority of the cases are of the unvaccinated people, and an even higher percentage of the people in the hospitals and the ICU wards are unvaccinated. So the big difference has to be the restrictions!

So those restrictions that we all loathe, do work, the mask wearing, the social distancing, the venue limitations and now the vaccination passports are keeping Ontario’s fourth wave of new case counts under control, so as Alberta is implementing another lockdown, Ontario is allowing more fully vaccinated people into venues as a comparison, and if the vaccination passports keep us from a fourth lockdown then I will wear my mask indoors, and follow whatever guidelines the sciences team suggests to move us forward.

Here is today’s graph of the world vaccination rates, and let me start by saying that China’s data is suspect, as accurate and factual information from China is virtually nonexistent. Next I notice that India is getting one dose into the arms of citizens, kind of like Canada did when vaccines were hard to get. Russia is just plain failing with only a 33% vaccinated rate, and another number that looks suspect is the United Arab Emirates, can the population of 12 and under only be 7% of total population? And remember when the Olympics were being held, and Japan was so far behind on vaccinations and now their even ahead of the United States

But whether you believe the numbers or not here is a glance at where a few countries are on the vaccination front.

So please don’t be offended if I put on my mask when I’m in a group, or avoid people that I know are not vaccinated, or I just avoid groups in indoor settings, don’t take it personal, I’m just protecting me.

Be well, Stay safe, and protect yourself!

What the heck!

Wednesday September 22nd 2021

It is a couple of days after Canada’s federal election, and thirty six days after being called, we are pretty much where we were before the election was called. The results are another liberal minority government, oh maybe a seat or two more but still twelve (12) seats short of their desired majority.

This map as much as it looks like a five year old was colouring it actually shows the results of yesterday’s election.

And the reason I’m using it is because it shows the the political division in Canada by the provinces, and there is some very convincing relationships as to the COVID vaccination rates. It is Alberta and Saskatchewan that are struggling with the fourth wave because of their low vaccination rates, and provinces like Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island who have the highest vaccination rates also are seeing lower forth wave cases.

So as the map shows the blue conservative areas are the high case areas while the red liberal areas have less cases and also have higher vaccination rates. And Ontario is blue except for the metro Toronto area that is almost all red, and Ontario’s vaccination rate is better than the western provinces but lower than the eastern provinces.

So what happens now? 600 million dollars and thirty six days later and we are right back where we started with a minority government.

So this is when all the political parties have to look their party leaders, especially the one that called the election in the first place. As well as the Green Party who’s leader has failed to get elected for the third time, the NDP and Conservative leaders that failed to make any gains, and the PPC party that got no people elected at all and even the Bloc party that’s only mandate is to have Quebec separate from Canada … I know but it doesn’t have to make sense when it political.

They have done it again, the Americans have just kicked the land border crossing for Canadians down the road again. So now the report is that they are not opening the border to Canadians till after October 21st, so what does that mean for our winter travels?

So here are the vaccination numbers from September 19th, so if it is not safe to let Canadians into the United States, than I hope the newly elected government of Canada closes the border to American travellers immediately as they a full 13% behind us on their vaccinations.

Keeping in mind that I can fly to any American city with an airport on a plane with a few hundred perfect strangers, keeping the land border closed makes about as much sense as, well I can’t think of anything right now. Now I do appreciate their concern about my health because of their vaccination failures but I am willing to risk the impending danger of getting infected by the border guards, because that is the only contact we would have at the land border as opposed to all those other passengers on an aeroplane.

So we are still playing the waiting game, as our departure date nears as we now have under thirty days left at LHR (Lake Huron Resort). Three weekends left in this camping season and a week of winterizing before we roll out.

Today is the first day of Ontario’s vaccine passport, well it’s not really the passport yet, because the QR coded app is not ready yet, so right now we are just using the certificate of vaccination along with personal identification. And we are hearing from a lot of small businesses that they should not have to police this, and I agree but the only other option is most likely another lockdown, so this seems like a better choice to me.

And for those people that think it’s unfair and it’s an infringement of their rights, all I’ve got is oh well. It’s a far better choice than a fourth lockdown, for people that have got vaccinated and have no problem wearing a mask in public to protect those that have a medical issue preventing their getting a vaccination, and for those that are afraid of any possible side effects of the vaccine, you should be thrilled that you can stay home where your safe from all the unknowns of modern medicine.

Yes I know that was a little sarcastic, but a quick look west to Alberta should be a quick reminder of where stupidity will get you, and I for one don’t want to be locked down again this fall. As someone that has followed the guidelines put forward by the medical community to keep me safe and well I have little or no patients for some fool searching the web for any information from Dr. Google that contradict real medical facts. I do believe that you have a right to make your own choices, but your choices should not negatively effect my rights either, and keep in mind that you are fast becoming a smaller minority as your fellow anti-vaxxers are now getting the shot to enable themselves to travel and enjoy their lives at eat in restaurants … jus’saying.