Chair’s Speaking Notes
November 1, 2021 Board of Health Meeting
Good evening, Bonsoir, Kwey (pronounced k-way), Aingai
(pronounced i-ng-nye), Taanishi (pronounced tawn-shai),
Community Builder of the Year Award
To begin my verbal update
tonight, I am pleased to share that, in a virtual event held on Tuesday,
October 5th, the United Way of Eastern Ontario jointly awarded their
Community Builder of the Year Award to Eastern Ontario’s Medical Officers of
Health and their respective health units.
Specifically, this CBYA award recognized these Medical Officers of Health and their units for their
continued efforts to bring equity and social justice into health care
practices—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even before the
onset of the pandemic, local public health authorities from across
the region have recognized the complex impacts that poverty, systemic racism, discrimination,
and unequal access to information have on an individual’s or group’s health
outcomes. However, the pandemic compelled these teams to be a guiding
voice for how public health, and other community institutions, can better
support the most marginalized people, and why this is critical for the
health of communities at large.
Dr. Etches participated in this virtual event alongside
her peers – Dr. Robert Cushman from the Renfrew County and District Health
Unit, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis from the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and Dr. Paula
Stewart from the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit. Together,
they accepted this award and recognition on behalf of their teams.
As
CBYA recipients, their names will be also engraved permanently on one of UWEO’s
four Walls of Inspiration, based on their health unit’s district.
Congratulations to Drs. Etches,
Cushman, Roumeliotis and Stewart and to their respective teams!
Adoption
of the City’s New Official Plan
I am happy to report that last Wednesday,
October 27th, City Council considered and approved its new Official
Plan. This new
Official Plan is the primary document that will guide planning for Ottawa’s
growth and redevelopment for the next 25 years and getting to this point – of
having a Council-approved new Official Plan - has been a long and arduous
process.
We have an IPD memo listed on
tonight’s Agenda, which is our third update on this subject, so Board Members
have become somewhat familiar with this effort. However, I wanted to take the
opportunity tonight to recognize the efforts of OPH staff in the development of
Ottawa’s new Official Plan and the integration of health perspectives into Official Plan policies.
Though this work has been supported by
many at OPH – and all should be commended for it – I especially want to
recognize Inge Roosendaal, Senior Planner with our Healthy Communities branch,
and Birgit Isernhagen, Program Planning and Evaluation Officer with our
Environmental Health team, for their work, dedication and commitment to this
innovative partnership with the City’s Planning, Infrastructure and Economic
Development (PIED) department.
I also want to thank PIED’s General
Manager, Mr. Stephen Willis, and his team for their openness to working with
OPH over the past 2+ years.
Congratulations to everyone involved!
Radon Awareness Month – 100
Radon Test Kit Challenge
November
is Radon Awareness Month. For those who may not be familiar, radon is a naturally occurring radioactive
gas released when uranium in soil and/or rock breaks down.
Studies by Health Canada have shown that radon
concentrations vary a great deal across Canada, however we know that all areas of
the City of Ottawa can be affected by radon, which can seep into a building through dirt floors, cracks in
foundations or concrete, sump pumps, joints and basement drains. Well water can
also contain trapped radon, which may be released into the air when water is
drawn.
Though radon does not tend to be a health issue
outdoors as atmospheric mixing dilutes the gas to low concentrations, in a
confined space it can accumulate to high levels, which can present a health
risk. In fact,
exposure to high levels of radon gas over an extended period of time is the
leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. For people who smoke, and those
who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, this risk is even higher.
Because radon is invisible, odourless and
tasteless, the
only way to know if a home is affected by this invisible gas it to test for it.
Now for the good news - This year we have been invited to
participate in the 100 Radon Test Kit Challenge, organized by the Take
Action on Radon organization and funded by Health Canada. Organizers will
be providing Ottawa Public Health with 500 free test kits for
distribution.
Given
that we spend more time indoors during the winter months, this 100 Radon Test
Kit Challenge provides the perfect opportunity to test our homes for radon gas.
All
residents in the City of Ottawa are invited to participate in the 100 Radon
Test Kit Challenge to learn more about radon gas and how easy it is to fix this
problem, if it’s identified.
Tomorrow
I will be sharing more detailed information to Board of Health and Council
colleagues about the 100 Radon Test Kit Challenge and asking them to pass it
along to their respective networks to encourage Ottawa residents to register
for one of 500 free test kits starting on Thursday November 4th.
COVID-19 Vaccination
I am pleased to share that on October 18th,
Ottawa reached another important milestone in our local COVID-19 vaccination
efforts, with 90% first dose vaccination in the City of Ottawa among the
eligible population. This is a great accomplishment and I would like to thank
Ottawa residents for helping us get here. I would also like to extend my
sincere appreciation to employees at OPH and the City of Ottawa for supporting
this great milestone.
Still on the subject of COVID-19 vaccination coverage, as
I reported to you in my last verbal update, in early September OPH updated its
Employee Immunization Policy to include a requirement for all employees to be
fully immunized against COVID-19 and the City introduced a new Mandatory
Vaccine Policy requiring all City employees to be fully vaccinated against
COVID-19.
I would like to thank City Manager, Steve Kanellakos and
his team for reaching over 90% confirmed vaccination coverage among city
workers. Thank you also to every city employee who got vaccinated and then
provided their proof of vaccination to the City.
That concludes my Verbal
Report. I would be happy to take any questions.
Board of Health Meeting
Dr. Vera
Etches – Verbal report
November 1,
2021
Good afternoon, Kwey, Ulaakut, Taanishi, Bonjour,
In tonight’s Verbal Report, I will provide an update on
the local COVID-19 situation and vaccine rollout in Ottawa, talk about OPH’s
work to support schools this fall, including increased access to COVID-19 testing,
and provide an update on our influenza and school catch-up immunization
campaigns.
Current COVID-19 Situation and Immunization in Ottawa
I continue to wish to express my gratitude to people in
Ottawa, our partners across the City of Ottawa, many health, social services,
education, business and other sectors for persevering through this COVID-19
pandemic. / Je tiens toujours à exprimer ma gratitude aux gens d'Ottawa, à nos
partenaires de la Ville d'Ottawa, à de nombreux secteurs de la santé, des services
sociaux, de l'éducation, des affaires et autres pour avoir persévéré pendant
cette pandémie de la COVID-19
The situation is better. Mortality rates have dropped,
hospitals are busy working on catching up on procedures and surgeries and more
people have access to the social supports they need in their lives. We are
getting there and a cautious approach is keeping COVID-19 manageable.
I want to specifically thank the OPH managers and all OPH
team members who continue to work hard on so many fronts, and to congratulate
them on the Community Builder award that recognizes their work. From
surveillance reporting, through communicating to many stakeholders ever
changing information, the significant efforts to keep increasing immunization
rates and keep outbreaks from happening or growing, as well as the efforts to
return key supports like dental, mental health and substance use, sexual health
and healthy growth and development services to the community, the OPH team is
putting clients first and demonstrating ongoing adaptability.
In terms of accomplishing non-COVId-19 focused work, it
is no small thing that the City Official Plan has a public health emphasis to
it. How our City is built affects the population’s level of physical activity
and social connection and mental health. I am thankful to Inge Roosendaal,
Birgit Isernhagen, and Mike Ferguson for working to improve health through the
City plan, which will have an impact for decades to come.
COVID-19 rates in Ottawa have been declining slowly in
recent weeks, with rates highest among 5-11 year olds, where an increase was
seen last week. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 remained around
10 throughout October. The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal has been low and
continues to fluctuate.
Outbreaks are most often detected in schools, though
other workplaces like a hospital, shelter and restaurant are currently
affected. While people in school or of school-age account for 45% (98 ) of all
people testing positive for COVID-19 last week, the majority of these
situations have not led to an outbreak; 38 people in school are linked to an
outbreak, which is defined as 2 people testing positive within 14 days who are
linked and where at least one person could reasonably have acquired the
infection in the school. However, this number of people testing positive is
disrupting children’s learning and families’ ability to work when close
contacts have to isolate.
Though Ottawa continues to make progress in increasing
our COVID-19 vaccination coverage, uptake has been declining week over week.
People 18-39 years of age have the lowest rates.
Vaccination coverage continues to be generally lower in
Ottawa neighbourhoods with less socioeconomic advantage than in neighbourhoods
with higher socioeconomic advantage. The gap in vaccination coverage between
the most advantaged (quintile 1, or Q1) and least advantaged (Q5)
neighbourhoods continued to narrow, with Q5 neighbourhoods seeing more gains in
coverage. The percentage point difference between Q1 and Q5 neighbourhoods for
at least one dose now stands at 10 (compared to 11 percentage points on Sept 27th)
and for fully vaccinated is 12 percentage points (compared to 14 percentage
points on Sept 27th). The risk of COVID infection among individuals
who are unvaccinated or who have only received one dose is 9-fold higher than
it is for people who are fully vaccinated. / Le risque d'infection par le COVID
chez les personnes non vaccinées ou ayant reçu une seule dose est 9 fois plus
élevé que chez les personnes entièrement vaccinées
As Chair Egli has noted, on October 18th we
reached the milestone of 90% first dose vaccination among Ottawa’s eligible
population. In terms of vaccination coverage for our total population, as of
last night, 79% have received one dose and 76% are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 vaccines continue to be available to people born
in 2009 or earlier at our community clinics, pop-up clinics, neighbourhood
vaccination hubs across the City, some family physicians’ offices, and a large
number of participating pharmacies as well as at the Akausivik Inuit Family
Health Team clinic.
Workplaces, community organizations, places of worship
and other groups can also still request a mobile vaccination team to
administer first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on-site, at their own
location.
We are expecting new eligibility announcements soon. I’m
going to turn it over to Marie-Claude Turcotte, OPH’s Manager of Immunization,
to outline plans for vaccinating additional populations over the coming months.
(PowerPoint speaking notes)
COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
Update
Slide 1 (Intro):
Thank you Dr. Etches. My name is Marie-Claude Turcotte
and I am the Manager of Immunization. I am joined by Phil Jansson, OPH’s
Program Manager for Communications. We will be providing an update on our
COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, priorities and strategies for the upcoming months. Our goal remains the same –
to decrease COVID transmission and severe outcomes with the protection of the
COVID-19 vaccine at a level of 90%+ coverage amongst all eligible populations.
/ Notre objectif reste le même : de réduire la transmission de la COVID et les
conséquences graves grâce à la protection du vaccin contre la COVID-19 à un
niveau de couverture de plus de 90 % parmi toutes les populations éligibles
Slide 2 (Ottawans are Highly Vaccinated):
Ottawa administered its first COVID-19 vaccine on
December 14th, 2020 and since then we have operationalized 16
community clinics, over 40 pop-up clinics, more than 100 mobile vaccination
teams, and have now administered over 1.7 million doses in less than 12 months.
As noted, we reached the milestone of 90% first dose
vaccination among Ottawa’s eligible population and continue to focus on
narrowing the gap in vaccination coverage between the most advantaged (Q1) and
least advantaged (Q5) neighbourhoods. We are seeing a steady increase in demand
in our neigbhourhood vaccine hubs, and I am happy to report that we have
administered over 10,000 doses in the hubs and mobile clinics.
These efforts would not have been possible without the
many community partners and city-wide efforts. And of course, Ottawa residents,
for doing their part by getting their COVID-19 vaccines.
Slide 3 (Expanded Eligibility):
In the coming weeks we are expecting announcements on
expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccines.
Last Friday, the National Advisory Committee on
Immunization (NACI) updated its recommendations on third doses. These
recommendations now call for third doses to be administered 24 weeks after
their second dose to individuals that are 70 and over,
First Nations, Inuit and Métis adults and frontline healthcare workers.
This is in addition to the existing recommendations for third doses for
severely and moderately immunocompromised individuals and residents of
long-term care homes, retirement homes and high-risk congregate care settings.
We expect the Province to adopt these expanded recommendations in the coming
days.
Pfizer has submitted their application to Health Canada
for approval of their COVID-19 vaccines for children 5-11 years old. This
application is going through the regular vaccine review and approval process
and we expect a decision to be made in the coming weeks.
These anticipated announcements would result in 77,000
five to eleven year olds becoming eligible for vaccination as well as about
106,000 individuals who are 70 and over becoming eligible for a third dose
over the next several months. Additionally, we expect around 17,000 health care
workers and over 21,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis adults to also becoming
eligible.
As you will see in the coming slides, our team is ready
and able to expand operations to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to any resident
who wants one.
Slide 4 (Current Vaccination Strategies):
It is in the context of this expanded eligibility that we
will be adjusting our COVID-19 vaccination strategies and priorities.
Immediately upon Provincial guidance and direction being
provided, our operations will focus on rapidly vaccinating as many 5-11 year
olds as possible. Once approved and adequate supply is available our current
planning scenarios project being able to offer a vaccine to everyone who wants
one within the first four weeks and our goal is to reach 90% coverage.
Our second priority will be to continue the ongoing
administration of first and second doses for the people born in 2009 or
earlier, with an objective of achieving 90% full vaccine coverage by the second
week of December.
Concurrently, operations will be expanding following changes
to third dose eligibility and we will continue to support the administration of
the influenza vaccine.
Slide 5 (Partnerships)
The progress we have made, and our upcoming goals and
priorities, would not be possible without the partnerships and collaboration of
many teams and organizations. / Les progrès réalisés, ainsi que nos objectifs
et priorités à venir, ne seraient pas possibles sans les partenariats et la
collaboration de nombreuses équipes et organisations
The City of Ottawa continues to be an important partner
in supporting the vaccination efforts providing supports and expertise from
various departments for the vaccination rollout. We are grateful for this
partnership.
We are currently working with Kids Come First Health Team
to proactively plan operations and communication strategies for vaccinating
5-11 years olds. We have also partnered with all the school boards to
proactively plan for pop-up clinics after educational hours to increase ease of
access to vaccination.
We are exploring the possibility of standing up
additional clinics with first Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations. Our
hospital partners, CHEO and The Ottawa Hospital are also supporting the
vaccination of people with allergies and complex medical conditions.
As part of our ongoing efforts in narrowing our gap
between Q1 and Q5 neighbourhoods we have been partnering with Ontario Health
Teams, including The Ottawa Health Team – Équipe Santé, which brings together
many partners and expertise for supporting the vaccination of vulnerable
populations.
Pharmacies continue to be an important partner, with over
200 locations across the city. They will continue to be an easy and convenient
access point for residents and will be able to administer both COVID-19
vaccines for 5-11 year olds and influenza vaccines.
The number of physicians and community pediatricians who
have put up their hand to assist in the vaccination efforts continue to grow
and we welcome additional support from primary care. Currently, there are about
60 physicians assisting mobile teams in providing third doses to residents in
congregate care settings and over 100 have signed up to assist either at our
multipurpose clinics, school pop-up clinics and some are administering vaccines
in their offices.
Slide 6 (COVID-19 Vaccine Plan: 5-11 Year Olds):
Pfizer has made a submission to Health Canada for
regulatory approval of their COVID-19 vaccines for children and we expect a
decision to be made in the coming weeks.
Immediately following provincial guidance and direction
on the administration of COVID-19 vaccines our team is ready and able to mee
the additional demand by scaling operations to seven clinics, seven days a
week. / Immédiatement après les conseils et les directives de la province sur
l'administration des vaccins COVID-19, notre équipe est prête et capable de
répondre à la demande supplémentaire en étendant nos opérations à sept
cliniques, sept jours par semaine
Our team has partnered with school boards to proactively
plan school pop-up clinics. These targeted pop-up school clinics after
educational hours will start no later than seven days after provincial
direction and guidance is provided and adequate supply is available in Ottawa.
The prioritization of the first round of school pop-up
clinics was done with the objective of lowering the burden of COVID-19
transmission in the 5-11 population. This was done by considering various
elements, including the vaccination coverage of the surrounding school
community, geographical and school board distribution and other operational
considerations including input from school boards. For parents this means that
the distribution of school pop-up clinics does include both rural and urban
areas and several schools are represented from each school board.
To support parents in planning for their children’s
vaccinations Ottawa Public Health will continue to work closely with school
boards and proactively share the schedule for these clinics in the coming
weeks. / Pour aider les parents à planifier la vaccination de leurs enfants,
Santé publique Ottawa continuera de travailler en étroite collaboration avec
les conseils scolaires et communiquera de façon proactive le calendrier de ces
cliniques au cours des prochaines semaines
Our partners continue to support the rollout of vaccines
for the 5-11 population. As part of ongoing operations will be offering
specific clinics for Indigenous populations and CHEO will be hosting
vaccinations clinics for medically complex individuals.
This means that on day one, parents with 5-11 year old
children will have various options and supports to receive a vaccine as quickly
as possible.
Slide 7 (The Ottawa Vaccination Plan):
OPH has been administering COVID-19 vaccines for almost
12 months. During this process we have been able to build strong partnerships
that have resulted in the expansion of locations offering COVID-19 vaccines,
the reduction of barriers and an increased capacity to meet potential demand
for vaccination.
Every partner plays an important role as we work towards
community immunity. While each channel has a different capacity, OPH led
clinics will be able to administer over 36,600 doses per week. This includes on
average of 25 school pop-up clinics per week. Additionally, our four community
clinics will transition to seven-day operations once third dose eligibility is
announced and further expand to 7 community clinics to offer more locations for
5–11 year olds. Community clinics are the primary location and we encourage
parents to book an appointment through the provincial booking system for their
children. We will continue to have ten neighbourhood vaccine hubs in priority
neighbourhoods to increase ease of access to the vaccine.
An easy and convenient option for residents are the over
200 pharmacy locations across the city that will be ready to administer third
doses and 5-11 year old vaccines once eligibility is expanded.
For select frontline health care workers who work at
local hospitals and are eligible for third doses, hospitals are taking a
coordinated approach to offering vaccines and they will be providing further
details to employees directly. Community health care workers who are eligible
for third doses may book through the Provincial booking website at one of our
clinics or receive vaccination at a pharmacy. Further details will be shared
once eligibility is expanded.
There are many opportunities for residents to access
COVID-19 vaccines and our operations will be ready and able to expand in order
to meet the increased demand and ensure that every resident who wants a vaccine
is offered one.
I will now turn it over to Phil Jansson who will talk
about our communications and engagement strategies.
Slide 8 (Communications & Engagement Strategies for
5-11):
Thank you, Marie-Claude. We know that our journey
towards community immunity is not yet over – 5-11 year olds play a very
important role in this massive task. With this next step, communications and
engagement efforts will be critical in supporting parents in making the
decision to get their children vaccinated.
Our communications strategy for this phase of the
campaign has three key components. We will build on our experiences with the
12+ population to share clear and credible information to help build
confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines for parents, caregivers and their children.
We will leverage our communications channels to share critical information with
residents on where to access a vaccination clinic, and we will collaborate with
partners, and continue to innovate to reach diverse audiences in new ways to
maximize impact.
Last week, we launched a website with the latest
available information on vaccines for this age group, and we reached out to
parents through our Parenting in Ottawa social media channels to learn more
about their anticipated information needs, concerns and questions. We will
continue to explore opportunities to hear from parents through our existing
engagement channels and our many community partners.
Our team has been working with Kids Come First and CHEO
partners to collaborate on communications and engagement initiatives, including
messages and videos to help prepare parents and children for vaccination, as
well as information sessions with local experts to respond to questions about
the COVID-19 vaccines.
I would encourage parents to visit our website at
OttawaPublicHealth.ca/ChildCOVID19vaccine and to follow Parenting in Ottawa on
Facebook and Instragram for more information and updates on the vaccine
roll-out for 5-11 year olds.
Slide 9 (Child Friendly Clinics):
To build a supportive environment for children, our
clinic operations will look different. We will set our hours of operations
around families’ and parents’ hectic schedules. Our staff are being provided
enhanced training as we recognize children may be nervous to receive a
vaccine. /
Pour créer un environnement favorable aux enfants, le fonctionnement de notre
clinique sera différent. Nous fixerons nos heures d'ouverture en fonction des
horaires chargés des familles et des parents. Notre personnel reçoit une
formation améliorée, car nous savons que les enfants peuvent être nerveux à
l'idée de recevoir un vaccin
We are exploring additional strategies for reducing
needle discomfort and fear, like numbing spray for kids and our clinic layout
will have more private areas to ensure that kids are provided with the most
positive experience possible.
Slide 10 (It takes a community):
This concludes our update. I want to thank all our
partners who have supported the rollout and residents of Ottawa who have rolled
up their sleeves as we work together on building community immunity. Five to 11 year olds’
vaccinations will be a critical component of increasing our community immunity
and we are ready to administer vaccines as soon as eligibility expands. / Je
tiens à remercier tous nos partenaires qui ont appuyé le déploiement et les
résidents d'Ottawa qui ont retroussé leurs manches alors que nous travaillons
ensemble à renforcer l'immunité communautaire. La vaccination des enfants de
cinq à onze ans sera un élément essentiel de l'augmentation de l'immunité de
notre communauté et nous sommes prêts à administrer les vaccins dès que
l'admissibilité sera élargie.
Thank you. Merci.
(Dr. Etches resumes)
I want to underline the rationale for immunization of
children 5-11. While most children will not experience severe outcomes from
COVID-19 infection, some will and vaccination decreases the risk of severe
outcomes. As well, vaccination of 5-11 year olds helps them to stay in school
and benefit from the social and developmental supports provided by in-person
learning. Lastly, when children are less likely to transmit COVID-19 because
they are immunized, they are helped indirectly by the benefits that come from
keeping COVID-19 manageable in the community – more access to activities,
parents and guardians with more access to employment, and less concern that
adults they care about and depend upon will require hospitalization.
Je veux souligner le bien-fondé de la vaccination des
enfants de 5 à 11 ans. Si la plupart des enfants ne subiront pas de
conséquences graves de l'infection par le COVID-19, ce ne sera pas le cas de
tous, et la vaccination diminue le risque de conséquences graves. De plus, la
vaccination des enfants de 5 à 11 ans les aide à rester à l'école et à
bénéficier du soutien social et développemental offert par l'apprentissage en
personne. Enfin, lorsque les enfants sont moins susceptibles de transmettre le
COVID-19 parce qu'ils sont vaccinés, ils sont aidés indirectement par les
avantages qui découlent du fait que le COVID-19 reste gérable dans la
communauté - plus d'accès aux activités, parents et tuteurs ayant plus d'accès
à l'emploi, et moins d'inquiétude que les adultes qu'ils aiment aient besoin
d'être hospitalisés
OPH work to support schools this fall
As I mentioned earlier, about half of the recently
reported cases of COVID-19 are in people aged 19 and younger, which causes
challenges with keeping children and youth in school and parents/guardians able
to work. Given this, OPH’s work with schools and in supporting school
communities is a top priority.
On October 15th, I issued an Open Letter to
parents of school-aged children noting that while many parents and guardians
now have the protection of vaccination, it is still very important for families
to continue to be cautious and keep choosing actions that make COVID-19
transmission to children and youth less likely. The most common source of
COVID-19 infections for children and youth are household members. Daily
screening for COVID-19 symptoms, physical distancing, limiting the number of
close contacts we have, wearing a mask when indoors or in close contact with
others, getting vaccinated if eligible and staying home and getting tested when
sick or identified as a high-risk contact continue to be very important.
We continue to support schools with case and contact
management and safety measures to ensure the school environment is as safe as
possible. / Nous continuons à soutenir les écoles en matière de gestion des cas
et des contacts et de mesures de sécurité afin d'assurer que l'environnement
scolaire est aussi sûre que possible
When someone associated within a school tests positive
for COVID-19, the entire school community is notified. We recognize that
receiving such news can be stressful for parents and guardians and that waiting
for more information can cause anxiety.
In September, OPH shared a “Return to School Letter” that
included tools such as videos and factsheets for parents to support their
child's mental health and well-being. This letter also highlighted services
offered by our community partners such as short-term counselling for children
and youth from counsellingconnect.ca and mental health and substance use
system navigation help for children and youth 21 and under using 1call1click.ca.
If you are concerned about your child’s mental health, please access these
services for support.
Also, OPH’s Parenting in Ottawa team has partnered with
the Ottawa Collaborative for Parenting Support on a “Just Ask” series for
parents to help build resilient families. To learn more about how to explore
different challenges of parenting visit parentinginottawa.ca/justask.
OPH investigates all situations where someone in school
tests positive. We work closely with the school to determine high risk contacts
and to quickly communicate with parents and guardians of students who are
directly affected. Over 90% of the time, we are meeting our goal to reach
people who have tested positive and their high-risk contacts for COVID-19
within 24 hours of OPH receiving confirmation of lab results. Usually, high
risk contacts are limited to one cohort dismissed in relation to one person
testing positive, but sometimes multiple cohorts can be affected due to a bus
or recess exposure, for example. OPH uses the most cautious approach when
assessing who is a high-risk contact.
When there is an outbreak of COVID-19 at a school, OPH
will respond with targeted approaches to prevent wider spread. OPH may
recommend school-wide testing and/or school closure as a last resort if we
think there could already be wider spread across different cohorts/classes. We
are finding larger outbreaks can happen with multiple different introductions
of COVID-19 into the school from household and community sources.
In my October 15th open letter to parents, I
invited their feedback, noting that it helps us improve our communications. As
a result of recent feedback from parents, OPH has undertaken a review of how we
correspond with the school community when someone tests positive for COVID-19 and
when an outbreak is declared.
Finally, I’m happy to share that, in addition to the
COVID-19 Assessment and Care Centres, there are many new options for parents
and guardians to seek COVID-19 testing for their children and their families
more easily, including school take-home test kits – now available in every
school for students and staff when testing is needed, schools are able to send
children home with a take-home test kit that can be returned to the school or
one of the Assessment Centres. As well, appointment-based ‘Do-It-Yourself’
test kits can be picked up and returned through the CHEO- Brewer Park Arena
location.
School-wide PCR testing may be recommended for schools in
outbreak if there is evidence of two or more cohorts in outbreak, if one cohort
in outbreak may have exposed other cohorts, or if a substantial proportion of
the school population has been dismissed due to potential exposure. If
school-wide testing is offered to a school, parents, guardians and school staff
are notified by invitation and given detailed instructions.
We are also working with the province to implement Rapid
Antigen Testing as another option. This form of testing provides results in
15-20 minutes, however it does not replace PCR testing when there is a greater
risk of COVID-19 infection - such as for people with symptoms or who are high
risk contacts. If a positive result is received on rapid antigen testing,
follow up PCR testing is required to confirm the result as some positive rapid
antigen results are “false positives”. It is important to note that given the
current lower rates of COVID-19 in Ottawa at this time, widespread use of rapid
antigen tests can result in more false positive results. Medical experts note
that rapid antigen testing is most useful in contexts where COVID-19 cases and
risk of transmission is high and if performed multiple times a week. We are
exploring when rapid antigen testing might be a beneficial adjunct in the
school setting.
More information will be shared when the program is
available in Ottawa.
Fall Influenza Immunization
As mentioned by Marie-Claude, Ottawa Public Health is
using a targeted approach for this season’s community flu vaccine clinics to
accommodate the anticipated COVID-19 vaccination program for children aged five
to 11 and the expansion of third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for some
individuals.
Therefore, for the 2021-2022 flu season, Ottawa Public
Health will be offering flu vaccines by appointment for the following groups:
- Children aged six months to two years and their
household members
- Individuals experiencing barriers to getting the flu
vaccine which include:
- Being a newcomer to Canada
- Having no Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) card
- Having no
primary care provider, such as a doctor or nurse, and those who have had
difficulty accessing the vaccine at a pharmacy.
Individuals in these groups can book their flu vaccine
appointments by visiting OttawaPublicHealth.ca/Flu, with appointments
available starting tomorrow - November 2 at our four community clinics – that
is, the Eva James Community Centre, the Ruddy Family YMCA-YWCA, the Minto
Sports Complex and J.H. Putnam Public Schools.
New this flu season, individuals two years of age and
older can visit participating pharmacies to receive their flu
vaccine. Individuals aged six months and older may also receive their flu
vaccine from their family doctor or nurse practitioner.
Anyone aged six months and older who lives, works or
attends school in Ontario is eligible to receive the publicly funded flu
vaccine at no cost. Getting your annual flu vaccine is an important way to help
protect yourself, your family and high-risk individuals in your community
against seasonal flu. / Toute personne âgée de six mois et plus qui vit,
travaille ou va à l'école en Ontario est admissible à recevoir gratuitement le
vaccin contre la grippe, financé par les fonds publics. Recevoir le vaccin annuel
contre la grippe est un moyen important de vous protéger, ainsi que votre
famille et les personnes à haut risque de votre communauté, contre la grippe
saisonnière.
When we are vaccinated, we can help reduce flu
transmission in the community and keep our hospitals from being
overwhelmed.
School catch-up Immunization
As previously reported to the Board, due to school
closures over the past two school years, almost three cohorts of middle school
students did not receive their required school health immunizations (i.e., HPV,
Hepatitis B and meningitis vaccines). Our goal is to immunize over 30,000
students with an aim of reducing the risk of students acquiring vaccine
preventable diseases and preventing cancers, such as cervical and anal cancers.
Ottawa Public Health is currently running in-school
vaccination clinics, to provide students in Grades 7 and 8 with these vaccines.
We will be completing the first cycle for the HPV,
Hepatitis B and meningitis vaccines in all schools by Friday, November 5th
and are currently reaching out to all schools to plan the second cycle in
spring 2022 to administer 2nd doses of the Hepatitis B and HPV
vaccines and to immunize any students we may have missed in the first cycle.
Students who did not participate in the first cycle in the fall are eligible to
receive their vaccines in the spring. In Ontario, school vaccines can also be
administered in primary care settings if the doctor or nurse practitioner has
agreed to offer this service.
In conclusion, so many people, partners and dedicated OPH
team members continue to keep COVID-19 transmission low through informed
choices that emphasize lower risk activities. Thank you.
As we continue to open up new possibilities for COVID-19
transmission, Ottawa will benefit from also increasing the barrier to
transmission provided by COVID-19 vaccination. The availability of approved,
safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for children 5-11 will be an important
next aid in keeping children in school and parents at work. I look forward to
seeing Ottawans take up this protection when it arrives.
As this period continues to be stressful for many, I want
to end by reminding people there is a place to turn when things seem too
difficult and there are supports available. / Alors que cette période continue
d'être stressante pour plusieurs, je veux terminer en rappelant aux gens qu'il
existe un endroit où se tourner lorsque les choses semblent trop difficiles et
qu'il y a des soutiens disponibles
For parents who are expecting and for parents of children
up to 6 years old OPH’s Healthy Growth and Development team offers multiple
services. Parents can call the Baby Help Line, seven days a week, at
613-580-2424 ext 23774 to speak to a PHN and get telephone support or be
referred to the home visiting program. Parents experiencing perinatal mental
health challenges are being prioritized for home visiting services.
In-person appointments are also available at our
Parenting In Ottawa locations by calling the Baby Help Line.
To access support and speak to a public health nurse,
there is also the possibility of calling Ottawa Public Health COVID-19
telephone line 613-580-6744 Monday to Friday from 8am-4:30pm, translation is
available in multiple languages for residents with language barriers.
For parents of children of all ages, OPH continues to
develop and promote resources to build resilience, positive coping strategies,
and increase awareness and access to services for mental health and substance
use health. We encourage everyone to learn more about what resources and
services are available, such as short mental health videos for parents,
multilingual fact sheets, conversations with experts, and more, through the OPH
s PIO website (www.parentinginottawa.ca) the OPH website (www.ottawapublichealth.ca/covidmentalhealth), and for direct services
through the 1call1click.ca website, which is available for all children, youth
and families.
That concludes my Verbal Report. I would be happy to take
any questions. / Cela conclut mon rapport verbal. Il me fera plaisir de répondre à vos
questions.