TORONTO – Time is up. Since today, staff in Ontario’s long-term care homes, if they want to continue working in these facilities, must be fully vaccinated. The original deadline set for workers in the sector among the most affected by Covid-19 has been postponed from November 12 to December 13, said LTC ministry spokeswoman Vanessa De Matteis, following the recommendation of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. →
The Covid-19 pandemic has presented challenges for Ontario’s critical care system. As infections trend upward, the scientific community cautions that hospital admissions will likely climb in the weeks to come.
On December 6, the Ministry of Health reported 168 patients in the province’s Intensive Care Units (ICU) due to Covid-related critical illness. That is the highest number of Covid-related ICU patients in more than two months, when the number reached 171 Covid ICU patients on September 30.
TORONTO – It is a deep crisis that the home care sector is going through. During the Covid-19 pandemic there has been an unprecedented flight of personnel to other parts of the health system. “We have literally lost over 3,000 nurses, qualified therapists and personal support workers,” said Sue VanderBent, CEO of Home Care Ontario, which represents home care providers in Ontario, “and this is very bad news for Ontario residents who are receiving home care because now the number is so small that many people are left waiting at home for a nurse or therapist or PSW who will not arrive.” →
TORONTO – Vaccination mandate for all health workers. This is the answer that the Science Advisory Table of Ontario gave to Prime Minister Ford calling the imposition necessary as “it is proven to protect the residents of Ontario”. →
TORONTO – After the two doses, elderly residents of long-term care and retirement homes are now recommended the booster vaccine. To recommend its administration is the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) which has included this suggestion among its guidelines updated in recent days. Residents of these facilities “are at greater risk of Covid-19 infection due to their daily interactions with other residents and staff, as well as being at greater serious illness due to their age and previous pathologies”, reads the document. →