“This virus is not going away,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore told CBC Toronto on Thursday.
“We’re anticipating in early January to start to see sadly yet another rise in COVID cases and it could be accentuated through the holidays.”
Moore cautioned that immunization from COVID vaccines fades after about six months, and encouraged anyone who has not received a booster dose to get one, as well as their flu shot.
“There is no question that we will have deaths in Ontario from influenza, sadly, as we have occur annually and a portion of those deaths will be in children,” Moore said, promising that the province will release data on flu deaths in children when it is finalized.
CBC Toronto spoke with Moore following his earlier appearance on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning, in which Moore expressed disappointment with the lack of masking on the TTC. Moore himself was seen without a face mask at a recent event hosted by the magazine Toronto Life.
Asked about that discrepancy, Moore replied that he “absolutely” wears a mask in public spaces like the mall, on public transit, and in box stores. But given the level of ventilation, number of people present and because there was food and drink, he said he felt comfortable removing his mask at that particular event.
That kind of calculation is one all Ontarians will have make as they head into the holidays with more social gatherings, he said.
“As we get together for the holidays, everyone will have do their own risk assessment…. We’re asking people to be reasonable, to be prudent.”
Province expands bivalent booster eligibility
Those comments come as Ontario is expanding eligibility for the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine to children aged five to 11, as the province’s chief medical officer of health says he is expecting another surge in cases following the holiday season.
“We’re absolutely wanting parents to come forward and protect their children through immunization,” Moore told Metro Morning on Thursday.
“We anticipate seeing a rise in COVID cases in mid-January or so. And that’s why we really want to maintain that level of protection for all Ontarians going forward and into the holidays.” Families with kids in that age group will be eligible to book bivalent doses starting Dec. 21, the province said in a news release.
Public Health Ontario data shows 40 per cent of kids aged five to 11 have completed a primary series of a COVID-19 vaccine. The province is recommending kids five and older get a booster if it’s been six months since their last dose, or three months for those at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
‘Real crisis’ in pediatric hospitals.
Moore said that boosters for more children will help to alleviate pressure on pediatric hospitals, which continue to face strain under high demand for treatment of various respiratory illnesses, including COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — though there are signs that demand is easing.
Matt Anderson, president and CEO of Ontario Health, told Metro Morning Thursday that front-line health professionals are telling him there is a “real crisis” happening in pediatric hospitals and they are struggling to meet patient needs.
“That is by far where we are seeing the greatest pressure right now,” he said.
Dr. Kieran Moore and Ontario Health CEO Matt Anderson discuss the healthcare crisis calls they’re hearing from frontline workers
The province’s top health officials address strain on the healthcare system and what they’re doing to make sure things don’t get worse.
Moore noted that there has recently been a decrease in patients of all ages seeking hospital care for symptoms of COVID-19, but he is concerned that could change in the new year if too many people fall behind on their immunizations.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 peaked in October with about 2,000 patients, he said. Now there are about 1,100 to 1,200 people in hospital with the disease over recent days.
Moore said that the number of Ontarians getting COVID boosters has declined in recent weeks, from a peak of roughly 30,000 per day earlier in the fall to about 16,000 per day currently.
More than 50 per cent of those aged 70 and older have had a bivalent booster, he said, while about 18.5 per cent — or roughly one in five — of all eligible Ontarians have had a shot.
“We can’t let that wall of immunity that we built in Ontario erode at all given that the virus continues to want to change and we need to stay protected,” he told host Ismaila Alfa.