Ontario considers expanding second booster shots as sixth wave surges
Ontario is considering wider eligibility for second COVID- 19 booster shots, but no new public health restrictions are planned as the province rides another surge in cases, says Health Minister Christine Elliott.
“It doesn’t appear necessary that we need to take any further precautions,” Elliott told reporters Thursday at North York General Hospital as the province reported new COVID- 19 infections are up 22 per cent over the last seven days.
The new cases include Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who tested positive with mild symptoms.
“I would say this is not unexpected that we would see numbers continue to go up, but we do have the capability in our hospitals to manage any increases,” Elliott added.
Elliott was responding to criticism that the province and chief medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore have been lying low as infections mount following Ontario’s end to vaccine passports and mandatory masking in most indoor public spaces.
Hospitalizations of COVID- 19 patients are up 27 per cent in the last week to 807, with 166 of them in intensive care units. Those numbers remain well within the health system’s capacity.
However, wastewater analysis suggests new daily cases are around 30,000, according to the volunteer science table advising Moore and Premier Doug Ford, and some local public health officers are warning residents to wear masks in indoor public settings and to maintain physical distancing.
“We need some guidance from the government right now,” New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath said at the legislature. “It’s pretty much a hands- off approach.”
Elliott said advice from the chief medical officer is to stick with the reopening plan, but left the door open for changes when asked if the possibility of more restrictions is off the table entirely.
“One can never say entirely,” replied Elliott. “But we need to move on and continue … with the reopening of our economy … so that people can get back to a more normal way of life.”
Ontario is waiting for guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization ( NACI) in the next few days on which age groups should be eligible for second booster shots of COVID- 19 vaccine.
Second booster shots are currently available in Ontario to chemotherapy patients, as well as residents of nursing homes, retirement homes and other congregate settings, and the immunocompromised.