The first pillar of Ford Govt’s fall prep plan: flu shot campaign
Lucas Meyer
The first part of the Ontario Government’s long awaited fall preparedness plan was revealed Tuesday, with Premier Doug Ford announcing a major flu shot campaign in an effort to maintain hospital capacity.
“It is so, so critical, never before has the flu shot been so critical,” he said, announcing a $70 million campaign, with an initial order of 5.1 million doses and more on the way.
Other planks of the Keeping Ontarians Safe the government says includes expanding testing and case management, outbreak response, reducing service backlogs and recruiting, training and retraining of health care workers.
When asked why this was the first part to be released when flu shots are rolled out every year, Ford pointed out it’s just one part of the plan.
“If we lay it all down at once, the message isn’t going to get out to the people, so over the next few days and I think it’s the best plan for all of us, it’s to roll out one, roll out another and another,” he said. “If we just ram it down on the table and just start rolling it all out, it’s just not going to be absorbed.”
Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott said the push is to get more people to get them and lead
“Last year, 280 people in Ontario died from the flu, so this is really important for the health and safety of Ontarians, but also to make sure that we can maintain capacity in our hospitals in order to deal with the flu,” Elliott said, adding the first shipment should be arriving by the of the month, with initial doses going to seniors first.
Ontario reported 478 new cases Tuesday, the highest one-day total since May 2nd, including 153 cases in Toronto. ***(https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-ontario-is-responding-covid-19)
School related cases also increased, up to 141 in 116 schools (two temporarily closed), from 90 cases in 75 schools a day ago.
When asked about future measures such as bringing back lockdowns to deal with the spike, Elliott said they are examining various possibilities.
“We don’t have anything specific that we’re prepared to move on right now, but we are looking very carefully at several different scenarios,” she said.
As for releasing future modelling estimates, Ford says he encourages his public health officials to do so.
“I'm concerned, I really am,” he said.
Ford said options to address any flareups in long-term care include getting community paramedics and infectious disease specialists inside facilities and installing HEPA air filters.
“PLAN TO HAVE A PLAN”
NDP and Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath said it’s insulting for the government to do a day-by-day approach of their plan especially given what the first installment was, arguing Ontarians are more than competent to learn more.
“It sounds to me like they have a plan to have a plan, but don’t have actually, a plan,” she said. “Of course flu shots are important, I think everybody knows that flu shots are important.”
“But what we didn’t hear is addressing some of the pressure that increased demand is going to create,’ she said.
Dr. Michael Warner, medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital, said there has to be much more transparency.
“I don't need a model to tell me that I’m more nervous now than I was in March,” he told NEWSTALK1010’s The Showgram. “It’s embarrassing to me to have a premier stand at the front of the room and not tell people straight what’s going to happen.”
“I’m a bit fed up.”
Warner said while hospitalizations are manageable now, there’s more people coming to hospital with COVID-19 and if this isn’t managed well with flu season, there will be more demand for beds while health care workers wait several days for test results.
“Then we get into a real crisis where people can’t get the care they need, that’s the situation I’m trying to avoid and I also think our kids need to be protected from not being in school, that means everything else that is voluntary, like going to a restaurant, going to a bar, should be seen as voluntary and schools should be seen as fundamentally necessary and essential,” he said.
Ford also urged Health Canada to push rapid testing, but added he continues to have positive conversations with federal officials on the pandemic response.