Public health administering COVID-19 vaccine to those 12 and older
Both Algoma Public Health and Public Health Sudbury & Districts are now booking youth ages 12 to 17 and caregivers for COVID-19 vaccinations.
As announced last weekend, Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues to expand, with youth aged 12 and over now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, either at community clinics or at participating pharmacies.
Both health units say by pre-registering, individuals will be contacted directly to book an appointment during the month of June, where youth 12-17 and any family members who have not yet received their first dose may be immunized together.
Visit the health units’ sites for links to book for a vaccination.
A look at the local numbers …
Public Health Sudbury & Districts is reporting six new cases of COVID-19, four in the Greater Sudbury area and two in the Sudbury District.
Considering resolved cases, there are now 31 active cases within the jurisdiction.
The health unit also reported one new death in the daily summary but there was no explanation or mention of how it came to be.
It means that 30 COVID-related deaths have occurred in the Sudbury jurisdiction since the pandemic was declared in March of last year.
There has been a big increase in the number of people admitted to Health Sciences North.
There are 44 admitted patients, eight confirmed with the virus and 36 waiting for results.
Of the eight, seven are in intensive care and of the 36, one individual is also in ICU.
There were only 14 admitted cases the day before.
Algoma Public Health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 from Sault Ste. Marie and area.
Considering resolved cases, there are 24 active cases in the district with three individuals in hospital.
Two of the three hospitalized are not from the district but are receiving medical treatment.
Del Duca adds his voice to reopen schools
Liberal leader Steven del Duca is the latest to add his voice to calls for the reopening of Ontario’s schools before the first stage of the government’s recovery program begins June 14th.
Del Duca says local public health units, in consultation with school boards, should be allowed to decide whether in-person classes can be resumed.
He says that’s the most responsible way to get our children back into the classroom.
Del Duca says the province’s one-size-fits-all approach isn’t the best way to go since some regions are still seeing high numbers of new COVID-19 infections.
Long term care behind
The provincial financial watchdog says the Ford government is way behind on its pledge to create 15-thousand new long-term care spaces by 2024.
In fact the Financial Accountability Office is predicting only half that number will be in place by the target date.
The agency adds that the number of Ontarians aged 75 or older is expected to increase by 52 per cent by the end of this decade but the number of spots in long-term care homes will rise by only 38 per cent.
We were not ready
The federal Auditor-General says the Public Health Agency of Canada ignored warning signs over the past decade and that meant it wasn’t prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
A report from Karen Hogan says audits in 2010 and 2013 brought to light serious shortfalls in the national emergency stockpiles of personal protective equipment and testing supplies but no corrective action was taken.
Hogan says inventory control was so poor that the agency had little idea what supplies they had on hand when requests for help from the provinces started streaming in early last year.