Ontario under new orders as emergency doctors call for vaccine rollout transparency
People in Ontario dealt with their first day under a stay-at-home order Thursday, while federal officials warned access to vaccines in Canada will remain a challenge until at least April.
Kristen Bones was at an outdoor rink at Toronto’s Greenwood Park at noon, when a few dozen people laced up their skates and hit the ice.
“You really don’t know what the restrictions are. It’s kind of confusing to us,” Bones said about a lack of clarity around Ontario’s new COVID-19 rules.
Bones ad that she is unsure if her son, who is an only child, can spend time with his small group of friends.
The number of COVID-19 cases, including the new United Kingdom variant, are increasing rapidly in Ontario.
The stay-at-home order came into effect as Ontario reported 62 more deaths and 3,326 new novel coronavirus infections.
Other new health measures in the province include a requirement for people to wear masks inside businesses and restrictions on the size of gatherings. All non-essential retail stores may only open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Premier Doug Ford has said everyone must stay home and only go out for essential trips.
Canada has seen daily averages of 7,727 cases of COVID-19 in the last week, and hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise.
Ontario has so far avoided bringing in a curfew such as the one enacted in Quebec last weekend.
Hospitalizations continued to rise in Quebec to 1,523, with 230 people in intensive care. The province reported 2,132 new cases and 64 more deaths due to COVID-19, including 15 in the past 24 hours.
Quebec’s health minister announced a new strategy to wait up to 90 days before administering booster shots to patients who have received a first dose of COVID19 vaccine. Christian Dube said Thursday it will allow the province to vaccinate more vulnerable seniors and reduce pressure on the health-care system.
Dube said the 90-day interval will be reduced once more vaccines are available.
Canada’s vaccine advisory committee has recommended the second dose of approved COVID-19 vaccines be given a maximum of 42 days after the first.
Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, said there is not enough data to show the efficacy of the vaccines when the second dose is given beyond that time frame.
Njoo said a steady supply of the vaccine is still months away so people must continue to take precautions as they wait their turn.
“This is a difficult and pivotal point for Canadians,” Njoo said.
Canada will have received a total of 929,000 doses of the two approved COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the week. Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, vice-president of logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said that includes delivery of 380,000 doses this week.
Fortin said Canada expects to receive more than one million doses a week of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines beginning in April.
“This will signal our transition to the ramp-up stage,” Fortin said Thursday.
Limited supply will remain a significant issue for the time being, he added.
An organization representing emergency doctors is calling for a clear description of who is being prioritized for first doses and why.
The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians said Wednesday in a statement that many members in areas with limited human resources have not been vaccinated, while urban providers who have less patient contact appear to have received shots.
The group wants priority to go to those directly caring for patients who are critically ill or suspected of having COVID-19.
The statement said communication so far doesn’t support claims that the vaccine rollout will follow an ethical framework.
Many doctors don’t know when they will be vaccinated and the association said that needs to change.