Anti-vax group stages protest outside Windsor’s health unit – Windsor Star

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After targeting a local pediatrician who promotes giving COVID-19 vaccines to children, anti-vax protesters turned their attention Monday to the medical establishment that came to the doctor’s defence.

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Demonstrators lined up along Ouellette Avenue outside the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit for several hours Monday afternoon.

The battle between local health leaders and people opposed to vaccines and related mandates flared up again on Aug. 3 when protesters gather outside the office of Dr. Huma Kazmie.

Kazmie had been quoted in the media both touting the safety of vaccines for children and criticizing unvaccinated adults as “irresponsible.”

Following the protest, Windsor Regional Hospital, the Essex County Medical Society and the health unit issued a joint statement in support of Kazmie.

The organizations stated in the media release that “attempting to intimidate parents and children who have made a decision to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine is not appropriate.” They also wrote that “public discourse should not interfere with access to medical care children need to address other medical concerns.”

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Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, the region’s acting medical officer of health, later levelled even more criticism. He said the protestors should be “cognizant of the impact it could have on children and the parents going to a pediatrician’s office.”

He also asked that going forward, “those who choose to articulate their grievances and disagreements do so at venues that don’t affect the care of children and their families.”

Protest organizers, angry at the suggestion they intimidated children and parents, held Monday’s demonstration at the health unit instead of another clinic or doctor’s office “in diplomatic acknowledgement of Nesathurai’s request.”