This area has Ontario's highest vaccination rate. One of the lowest is just 100 km away

A lone man pickets on the main street of Smiths Falls, Ont., hoisting up a miniature Canadian flag andhis homemade sign a mid-dayone-man protestagainst COVID-19 vaccinations.

Some stare, but no oneengages. After all, the area is home to the highest vaccination rate in Ontario.

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unitwhich includes communities like Smiths Falls, Brockville and Carleton Place reports 91per cent of its eligible population is fully vaccinated, while nearly97per cent have one dose.

That's multiple percentage points ahead of the next highest health unit, Thunder Bay.

It's no surprise toDick Michel. He saw first hand how many people got vaccinated while volunteering at clinics in Athens, a tiny township 25 kilometres from Brockville. He stood in the pouring rain and hot sun, helping park hundreds of cars and manage the flow in and out of the clinics.

"It's just a great feeling," he saidof the high vaccination rate. "I think it's just pure awareness and the fact that people are willing to get involved and be part of the solution."

The reasonstheregion's uptake is so high dependon who you ask. Many people who spoke to CBC mentioned how rural the health unitis more than half of its 174,000 residents live in the country and that means people look out for others.

Brockville residentMark Kisieliusthinks it's because locals are "civic-minded."

"Everybody's very involved," he said. "And without our vaccinations, we can't be involved."

WATCH |'People are very civic-minded in this town'

People are very civic-minded in this town

3 years ago

Duration 0:58

Residents of Brockville say the high vaccination rate in the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit stems from the importance of community in the area and concern about the well-being of fellow residents.

Penny Paterson, who was out for a walk in downtown Brockville, jokes that there are "fewer rednecks."

For paramedic Christopher Scott, it's the area's larger elderly population. Scott's team helpedgiveshots to homebound,vulnerable seniors right in their home. The health unit credits the program with helping boost uptake.

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"These people ...are at risk of severe disease and death, and so I think they have taken upon themselves to protect themselves," said Scott.

The health unit reports 99.9per cent of those 60 years and olderare fully vaccinated.

WATCH |Proactive measures might be key to vaccination success in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark health unit

Proactive measures might be key to vaccination success in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark health unit

3 years ago

Duration 1:23

Paramedics Jonathan Sylvester and Christopher Scott say vaccine outreach programs and collaboration between health officials have helped reach at-risk residents who otherwise may have fallen through the cracks.

Cornwall 'ringing the alarm'

About one hundredkilometres east down Highway 401, however, local health officials are "ringing the alarm."

The City of Cornwallhasoneof the lowest vaccination rates in Ontario, withjust 69 per cent of eligible people fully vaccinated in some neighbourhoods.

That's well below theoverall rate for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), where 84 per cent ofeligible people have had both shots. Provincewide, the numberis 82 per cent.

Dr.PaulRoumeliotis, the EOHU's medical officer of health, thinks Cornwall probably has the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita in Ontario right now.

"We're getting some outbreaks in congregate settings. All of that is, in a negative way, a perfect storm to increase the cases," he said.

The local hospital had admitted 18 patients with COVID-19 as of Friday, compared to only two on the same date in September. Positivity rates in Cornwall are alsofive times higherthan Ontario's average.

"That's a lot of people walking around that could spread the illness," Roumeliotis said.

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Cornwall resident Emma Shago has had oneshot and said she's waiting for the "perfect moment" to get her second.

Shago thinks the city is divided over vaccinations. She said she was initially on the fence about getting immunized, but got her shot after workers running a vaccination clinic came to her parents' door, saying there were extra doses.

"I'm thinking that the people who aren't quite for it, maybe they have a stronger voice and they are spreading more awareness of what they believe," she said.

One longtime Cornwall resident spent 15 minutes explaining why vaccines weren't provenand vaccine mandates weren't fair.

"Media has put fear and anxiety into people," she said."If you don't get vaccinated, you're the culprit.You're the bad guy now because apparently the hospitals are full capacity."

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has said the currently approved mRNA vaccines are "highly efficacious in the short term" against COVID-19. Last month, Moderna released real-world data showing its vaccine was 96 per cent effective at preventing hospitalization even amidthe more transmissible delta variant and 87 per cent effective at preventing infection.

The womanreturned half an hour later asking to have her name kept off the record.

Jenelle Bullochlikens the mindset to music she hears on the radio in Cornwall.When she moved from Toronto,locals warned her that top-40 radiois five years behind the times.

It's helpedher understandnew ideas aren't adopted overnight.

"You have to first be informed ... and then you have to go through a process of thinking about it," she said. "There's probably a big population of people who do need to spend that time thinking."

'We're just going to keep on going'

Dr. Jeff Kwong,a scientist with the Institute for Clinical Evaluation Sciences,uses thefirst three letters of Ontario postal codes to get a better sense of places where vaccination rates are high and low.

He says discrepanciesbetween communitiesare common, withnumbers even rangingwildly from one neighbourhood to another.

"I think there are truly areas where there may be people who have certain attitudes towards the COVID vaccine compared to other areas," said Kwong."Maybe they feel like COVID is not such a big deal. They don't know anyone that's gotten the disease."

With the Delta variant, vaccine uptake should be as close to 100 per cent as possible, Kwong said.

Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unitis nearly there.

"We're just going to keep on going," said Dr. Paula Stewart,itsmedical officer. "Ninety-five[per cent] is the target. And then once we reach that, probably go to 98... we will make it there!"

WATCH |Cornwall has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Ontario. Residents tell us why

Cornwall has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Ontario. Residents tell us why

3 years ago

Duration 3:04

Residents of Cornwall, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Ontario, say many in their community are hesitant because of concerns about side effects and influence from right-wing politicians.