Ontario hospitals working to "urgently" reactivate mass vaccination clinics

Ontario hospitals are working to re-open mass vaccination clinics across the province, according to the president of the Ontario Hospital Association.

Anthony Dale, CEO and president of the Ontario Hospital Association, tweeted about the mass vaccination clinics on Monday. He said it will impact other clinical procedures, but that it is necessary in light of the current COVID-19 situation in the province.

“There’s no other choice,” he tweeted. “As we said on Saturday this is truly a race against time.”

Ontario hospitals are moving to implement instructions to urgently re-activate mass vaccination programs. This will have a major impact on other clinical services but there’s no other choice. As we said on Saturday this is truly a race against time. #onpoli #onpoli #VaccinesWork

— Anthony Dale (@AnthonyDaleOHA) December 14, 2021

On Friday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore, told reporters that everyone aged 18 and over will be able to book their third dose appointments on January 4. The tweet from Dale suggests that booster doses may be available to more age groups sooner if capacity allows.

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“Over the past several days, there has been a sharp increase in the number of daily new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario and a significant increase in the proportion of those cases made up by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. These are very concerning signs, particularly as the colder weather and holiday season increase the likelihood of indoor social gatherings,” Dale said in a statement over the weekend.

Rising overall and Omicron cases represent a serious threat to Ontario’s hospital system through December and into January. Vaccination is our best defence in the race against COVID-19. Read our OHA statement: https://t.co/TkmHwoLrM0 #onhealth #onpoli pic.twitter.com/55Qmn4i12R

— Ont. Hospital Assoc. (@OntHospitalAssn) December 11, 2021

He emphasized that the hospital system could quickly come under severe pressure if Omicron takes hold in the province.

“In short, COVID-19 – and the Omicron variant in particular – represent a major threat to the hospital system,” he said.

Dale said that the best defence available right now is vaccination and encourages anyone who has not yet had a first, second or third dose to do so. In Ontario, people aged 50 and older are currently able to book their third dose appointments.

“In this race against time, our strongest defence is vaccination,” he said. “We encourage all eligible Ontarians to book appointments as soon as possible, especially those who have not yet received their first or second doses, including school-age children.”

According to the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, Omicron cases in the province are doubling every three days. As of Monday, 30.8% of COVID-19 cases were the Omicron variant, according to the Science Table’s dashboard.

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is expected to provide a COVID-19 update on Tuesday at 3 pm.