Top doctors in Ontario call for uptick in flu vaccinations amid debate over mask mandates

Toronto’s top doctor stood in solidarity with Federal Minister of Health and Ottawa’s Chief Medical Office of Health as they called on parents to make sure their children’s flu and COVID-19 vaccines are up to date amid a debate over mask mandates.

“Vaccination is something that has made a huge difference in COVID-19 and we know it is particularly valuable right now,” said Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos.

“We have safe and effective vaccines available to protect our children and to protect our entire communities and of course to protect our health care system,” added Toronto’s medical officer of health Dr. Eileen De Villa.

In the first three weeks since the flu shot has become widely available, Toronto Public Health has put needles in the arms of more 20,000 people, but fewer than 800 of those were children under five, the group most impacted right now by viral infections.

While full data on flu shot uptake is not yet available, typically in Ontario only about 40 per cent roll up their sleeve.

“We know it has been a challenging Fall thus far and we are anticipating more challenges in respect of viral respiratory illnesses, notably RSV and influenza,” said Dr. De Villa.

During a crowded school board meeting in Ottawa last night where a mask mandate was being debated, the Chief of Staff at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontraio (CHEO), Dr. Lindy Samson painted a grim picture of their situation, saying to make room for the wave of sick children they’ve had no choice but to cancel many procedures including brain and heart surgeries.

“Many of those kids have already had to wait too long for those appointments and now the wait has been prolonged even more. None of this is ok for the kids and their families,” said Dr. Samson.

Dr. Samson also said some kids are waiting 13 hours to see a doctor and others who need critical care are waiting days for an ICU bed.

“Never in the 25 years that I’ve been in CHEO has this number of patients required intensive care for viral difficulties or admission to hospital to manage viral infections a single point in time.”

Ontario’s Health Minister Sylvia Jones was asked about the situation in Otttawa during question period.

“It’s obviously deeply disturbing for all of us to hear stories about parents who have to wait with their children to get admitted as they wait for that bed to open up in hospitals, but I also think it’s important for use to understand and acknowledged that these are not new issues and not new problems. We were left with a health system in dire need of investments and our government has made those investments.”

Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore has stopped short of introducing another mask mandate, but instead has strongly encouraged people to wear masks in indoor settings, especially if your family has young children.

He had previously said he would reconsider a mask mandate if hospitals began cancelling surgeries.

“This is different from COVID. This is about protecting our children,” he said when asked why he would not mandate masking earlier this month, adding that the majority of those affected by these illnesses, children under the age of four, are not able to mask properly.

“Please, parents, grandparents, siblings, if you have respiratory symptoms, you must mask around those that are vulnerable,” said Dr. Moore.

Ontario has left it up to individual school boards on whether they would like to institute a mask mandate in the classroom.