Ontario’s COVID-19 markers are currently moving in the right direction, but the province’s top doctor is preparing for the fall, when trends are likely to worsen, with plans to include a new round of booster doses. The Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said the preparations include scenarios for passing various stakeholders in the health system, such as an “aggressive” flu season combined with a flare-up of COVID-19. Ontario will buy more than six million doses of flu vaccine, he said in an interview, and expects to offer further doses of COVID-19. “So another booster for our community members who are most at risk for COVID, and then potentially opening it up to the general public for another booster,” he said. The third installment is currently available to people 12 years of age and older and the fourth installment is available to people aged 60 and over or adults First Nation, Inuit and Metis, as well as their adult household members. People with immunosuppression – such as transplant recipients – aged 60 and over and long-term residents can receive a fifth dose. Moore expects a new generation of vaccine to be available in the fall, targeting both the original COVID strain and a more up-to-date one, such as Omicron. “We are looking at delivery models through your pharmacy, primary care and your public health associates,” he said. “This would be something that could start as early as October. We will start with the highest risk, depending on age or occupation, so that healthcare workers or people over 60 can offer it to them and then expand further based on availability and demand. » If another wave of COVID-19 threatens the health system and its ability to cope with the unfulfilled surgery, Moore said there is a chance the mask commands will return “if necessary, absolutely necessary”. “Certainly any further public health measures beyond that, I do not think they will ever be needed, given the benefits of the vaccine we have seen and the effectiveness of coverage at the population level,” he said. Provincial mask orders for public transportation and healthcare facilities will expire this weekend – though hospitals say they will continue to require masks. The mandates remain in place in long-term care and nursing homes, and Moore recommends that they be maintained at least until the summer of 2023. The province is also preparing for the possible approval of vaccines for children under the age of five. An application by Moderna for a COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to five years has been under consideration by Health Canada since late April. It took Health Canada almost three months to approve the Moderna vaccine for teens and almost four months for children ages six to 11. Moore said younger children may not be able to be vaccinated until at least the end of the summer. “We already had plans on how to distribute it through our partners in primary health care, as well as our partners in pharmacies,” he said. “So we are ready. Now it just ensures that the vaccine is safe, that it is effective and that it will indeed fully protect children. “And I do not mind spending this extra time making sure the data is correct.” The Morning and Afternoon Newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
