Parents and experts say they want clearer guidance about how kids under 12 who aren’t eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations fit into Ontario’s reopening plan.
The province will allow more indoor activities to resume later this week but Stephen Ouderkirk says his family is sticking to outdoor social gatherings with their newborn son who can’t get vaccinated.
“We feel kind of stuck, where there’s clear guidance on what we can do individually but not us as a family,” he said in a recent interview.
“I know I can go into a restaurant and all that, but what can we do with him?”
Ouderkirk said he’d like clear guidelines from the province on how to navigate the months ahead, especially as he prepares to return to work as an elementary school teacher in the fall with students who also aren’t currently eligible for vaccines.
Experts have echoed his sentiment, saying young children and other unvaccinated populations shouldn’t be forgotten as jurisdictions start lifting pandemic measures that have defined the last year and a half of life.
As of Monday, 79 per cent of adults in Ontario had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 56 per cent were fully vaccinated. Youth aged 12 to 17, who were the last demographic group to become eligible for shots, had a 60 per cent first-dose coverage rate and a full vaccination rate of 20 per cent.
The pace of the vaccine rollout and drop in daily infections has led the province to speed up its reopening plan by several days, allowing gyms and restaurants to resume indoor operations this Friday while raising capacity limits for indoor social gatherings.
She says she’d like to see details on whether unvaccinated children will be subject to different guidelines when restrictions are eased further, and more assessment of where risks are greatest for them.
University of Toronto epidemiologist Ashleigh Tuite says young children are at risk of being left behind as restrictions roll back and says some rules like masking in public places should stay for now.
“I think we’re leaving them behind right now,” Tuite said.
Research indicates young kids aren’t as likely to become severely ill from COVID-19. But Tuite noted that those statistically rare outcomes will be seen more frequently as restrictions roll back and the virus circulates further among children, making it essential for some precautions to remain in place.
As one example, for someone non or partially vaccinated, gathering indoors with fully vaccinated individuals is allowed but with some measures in place.
Tuite pointed to masking in public places as an effective infection control measure that should stay in place as more businesses reopen. Face coverings will still be required under Step 3 of Ontario’s reopening plan and beyond, with the policy being re-assessed going forward.
Tuite also noted that the province needs a safety plan for reopening schools that goes beyond relying on vaccination rates in adults and older children.
“Vaccines help to reduce the risk of introduction of cases in the school setting, but they’re not going to alone serve to protect children once they’re in the school setting,” she said.
Last week Ontario’s top doctor began calls for all eligible people – especially young adults and teens – to get vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of the planned return to schools in September.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore noted last Tuesday that classes in Ontario schools, as well as many colleges and universities, are due to pick up in less than two months with the goal of holding more classes and extracurriculars in person.
“By getting vaccinated and reducing the risk at a community level, we protect our children,” Dr. Moore said late last week.
Ontario’s opposition parties have said the government needs to improve ventilation and mandate smaller class sizes as it prepares its back-to-school plan.
Pediatric infectious disease physician Dr. Nisha Thampi agreed that higher vaccination rates will help protect children but noted that the dynamic is complicated as people interact with others outside the home with different vaccination statuses.
Families with mixed vaccination status should keep following guidelines like staying home when sick, gathering outdoors where possible and wearing masks inside, she said.
She also stressed that people should keep up with regular handwashing to protect young children from other viruses that are expected to start circulating as social circles grow.
When it comes to how kids fit into the reopening plan, Thampi said she’d like to see more guidance about whether different rules will apply to them when restrictions roll back further, with details on what settings are most risky for them.
“It’s going to be messy when we hold kids to a higher standard of infection prevention than adults,” she said, pointing to the idea of vaccine passports, which were recently been announced in Quebec.
Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have recently reflected considerations for families with mixed vaccine status in their pandemic policies, exempting young children of vaccinated parents from self-isolation rules when entering the provinces, an approach Thampi said makes sense.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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