Nevertheless, three quarters believed the health-care system was better prepared with COVID-19 resurgences than during the first wave.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said Tuesday it was preparing for the potential of simultaneous outbreaks of the flu and COVID-19.
The agency said provincial and territorial governments have ordered more than 13 million doses of vaccine — an increase from last season’s order of 11.2 million doses.
Collins says the CMA has been assured by public health officials there will be enough doses to meet demand but says they cannot predict what the uptake will be. Still, they encourage all Canadians to get the vaccine.
Each province and territorial government decides how much to purchase for their populations, where they are distributed and when to begin the rollout.
While this varies, many start their vaccination programs in October or early November.
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford stressed multiple investments to bolster the health system as it attempts to address a backlog of surgeries while grappling with COVID-19 and the coming flu season.
“We put a billion dollars into testing and tracing, which is absolutely imperative. We also have the immunization program for the flu vaccine which is 5.1 million doses. That is the largest ever in Canadian history,” Ford said.
While virtual care has reduced in-person appointments, Collins said doctors still need to see some patients face-to-face.
In addition to PPE, she said each visit requires cleaning supplies to sanitize between visits and time and staff to do that work. Collins said that all costs money.
“Doctors need to know … that there’s a concerted effort to co-ordinate (resources) amongst those different bodies and to communicate clearly to physicians what is available and to support those physicians,” she said.
“There are people with all kinds of other health-care conditions that need to be seen, they need to be assessed. And so there needs to be protection for them, protection for the doctor seeing them.
“Because COVID is among us.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2020.
By Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
Source:- mississauga.com
