Toronto Board of Health asking for $5.1 million to fight upcoming virus season

Toronto’s Board of Health is asking the province for an additional $5.1 million to add to their budget in order to prepare for the fall and winter virus season as COVID-19, RSV and flu cases are already popping up.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said the extra annual funding would be used for Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) hubs that help prevent and mitigate the impacts of outbreaks, particularly in long-term care and retirement homes, shelters and group homes.

“[The hubs] are absolutely crucial to the response particularly within congregate settings congregate living settings like long-term care homes, where people live together and where you have people who are at higher risk and how those hubs work,” said Dr. de Villa.

She said they are expecting the extraordinary COVID-19 funding provided by the province for the last few years to wrap up despite the city still facing challenges.

“This is the kind of thing that we anticipate is going to be needed on an ongoing basis. We certainly have seen the value. What we’re seeking is funding to ensure that that value is still in place and that we protect health as best as possible,” Toronto’s top doctor said.

“I hope the province recognizes the importance of this and puts their money where their mouth is and provides the $5.1 million that we’re asking for,” added city councillor and member of the Board of Health Chris Moise.

The Ministry of Health tells CityNews since 2020, the government has invested over $100 million in IPAC hubs and has increased funding to public health units by 16 per cent.

The government has also provided a one per cent increase in base funding per year for Toronto’s Public Health Unit beginning in 2024.

Vaccines are currently available for the RSV virus for those 60 years of age or older. The flu vaccine is being administered to high-risk individuals and will soon become available to the general public.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech has been approved by Health Canada and is expected to be released across pharmacies on Oct. 30.

Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch said it’s always hard to predetermine what flu season will be like in Canada.

“The key with the flu is we always say it’s predictably unpredictable. I think the truth is that yes, we’re going to have one. Yes, vaccines are going to roll out soon. It’s not quite clear how severe it’s going to be, but we know what we can do to protect ourselves against this threat that’s going to be coming,” he said.

Dr. Bogoch said to expect cases to start to trickle up this week, but vaccines are essential.

“It’s hard to know what level of protection the influenza vaccine is going to provide against getting the infection. But we know from decades of experience that influenza can impact every single age and cohort, the youngest and the oldest are more significantly impacted, but the flu can really pack a punch,” he said.

“The flu shot, while not perfect, still provides decent protection against infection. [It offers] decent protection against more manifestations of the virus, including hospitalization and death. It’s really important for people to get the flu shot.”

He adds strong community outreach and access to these vaccines is key.

“People have to know what’s going on, it’s massive. You can have all the vaccines in the world. But if people don’t know they’re around or have difficulty accessing them, we’re obviously going to get low uptake.”

We know that lowering these barriers to vaccination and improving the vaccine rate does tremendous good,” he added.

As for masking without mandates, it’s up to the individual person to make that decision for themselves.

“They’re not perfect, but they certainly can help reduce one’s risk of getting infected if they’re in an indoor setting where we know the vast majority of these respiratory viruses are transmitted.”

“If you want to reduce your risk of infection, you can put on a mask. It’s really as simple as that,” said Bogoch.