Ontario to launch school-based COVID vaccine clinics as students, teachers head back to class | The Canadian News

In a bid to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among children ages five to 11 in Ontario, the provincial government says it is launching vaccination clinics in schools.

The government made the announcement on Wednesday, as students and teachers prepare to return to in-class learning next Monday.

According to provincial data, 82% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

However, only about 48 percent of children ages 5 to 11 have received their first vaccine.

in a Press release issued Wednesday, the province said that to “further encourage voluntary vaccination for children aged five to 11, the government has asked school boards to work with local Public Health Units (PHUs) to add vaccination clinics during the school day for students.

The provincial government said school boards are also “expected to work with PHUs” to share documents and information with families about the vaccine.

“In the coming days, parents will receive a form that offers the opportunity to safely and conveniently provide public health units with the authority to vaccinate their children at a school-based immunization clinic,” the statement read. .

Asked why vaccine uptake in the province is so low among children ages five to 11 and why vaccination hasn’t been made compulsory in schools, Ontario’s chief physician Kieran Moore said that ” It’s a new vaccine.”

“And as a result of that, we want more experience with (it) before we require it,” he said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Moore added that to date, no other jurisdiction in Canada has required COVID-19 vaccination in schools.

However, Moore said he “would love to see more uptake of the vaccine” among children.

He pointed to the United States, saying the pediatric vaccine has shown “significant protection against the rare risk of hospitalization in children and intensive care unit use.”

“It’s almost a 20-to-1 ratio, just like we’re seeing in adults,” he said. “The relative risk is much higher in unvaccinated children compared to vaccinated children.”

Moore said he hopes to see the same benefit among vaccinated children in Ontario.

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province is seeking to provide families with more options to “reduce barriers” and make it easier to get their children vaccinated.

According to Lecce, the province plans to have some of the school clinics up and running next Friday.

“That is the speed at which we are moving because of the imperative to increase vaccination rates and protect these settings as much as possible,” he said.

Speaking to reporters at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Toronto Zoo on Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged parents to take advantage of school-based vaccination clinics once they become available. .

“When kids bring home a permission form, parents, when you have them, sign them, sign them and get them back,” he said.

Ford said he is “cautious” but “optimistic” that schools across the province will have a “good opening” on Monday.

“We’re going to throw as much as we can, making sure we have a good opening,” he said.

In the press release, the provincial government said it is also supporting a mass vaccination clinic at the International Center in Mississauga with “dedicated times” for education and child care staff.

The provincial government said it is also opening 10 vaccination clinics in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area that offer dedicated time slots for early care and education staff.

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