There's been a rise in the number unvaccinated COVID patients admitted to Bluewater Health this month.
Chief of Staff Dr. Mike Haddad said the situation at the hospital has been a bit upsetting the last couple of weeks. He said most of the COVID hospitalizations are people in their 50s and 60s.
"95 per cent of the time it's fellow citizens who, for whatever reason, didn't get vaccinated -- whether it's by choice or they just didn't get to it. And some of them just tell me it's because of all of this, quote-unquote, stuff out there with this confusing information," said Haddad.
At the height of the pandemic, the Sarnia hospital had around 40 COVID patients in its care, including 10 to 12 in the ICU on life support.
Haddad said their current numbers are good, but they don't have much margin for error and the system is at full capacity.
"We've had more than 300 COVID patients over the past 18 months... 58 deaths. These are all of our neighbours and fellow citizens and they all have families. We don't want to see this again, especially nowadays that we have something to prevent it from happening," said Haddad. "It's very clear to me that if you are vaccinated and you have a competent immune system that can be taught by the vaccine, you're 99 per cent not going to end up in our ICU -- that's very clear."
Haddad said the vaccines have some rare side effects, but the fact of the matter is they are working more than 90 per cent to keep people away from hospitals.
"And every time I see someone who is sick from this who requires admission, I actually feel sorry for the family and the patient because it could have been prevented. Most of the time they're so short of breath and they're regretful, saying 'I wish I did this before,' and I'm like 'well I know, but it's too late now.'"
Haddad said it deludes us not to take advantage of the vaccine.
"And if we need a booster shot, so be it -- I'm getting mine this week. There are a lot of vaccines that require booster shots."
Haddad said 95 per cent of the medical staff in Lambton chose to get vaccinated before any mandate. He said it's best to follow the people who work in health for a living, adding that you should go with the 95 per cent.
"If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to talk to your primary care provider, your family doctor, your nurse practitioner, your specialist -- they'll give you the information and advice, as opposed to just getting it from Facebook."
On Friday, Lambton Public Health reported two COVID-related deaths in hospital -- one individual was in their 60s, the other in their 90s. The vaccination status of both patients was not released due to privacy concerns.