(March 27, 2021)<\/p>\n
By: Tyler Brownbridge, Windsor Star<\/p>\n
Ontario will offer staff working in nursing homes another chance to get a COVID-19 vaccine but stopped short of mandatory vaccination as a condition of employment.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly the staff in long-term care were really the first group to be prioritized for the vaccines\u2026 If you\u2019re first in line, I can understand people wanting to have a little more time to watch and wait around the world and see what\u2019s happening for their own sense of comfort and their own peace of mind,\u201d Long-term Care (LTC) Minister Merrilee Fullerton said Friday. \u201cBut it\u2019s very clear now that the vaccines are extremely safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Public health officials will return to LTC homes to offer vaccines to those who were initially reluctant or to new staff, she said.<\/p>\n
According to a report by the Ontario COVID-19 science table, 98% of residents and 74% of staff in long-term care (LTC) had received at least a single dose of a vaccine as of March 21.<\/p>\n
\u201cEight weeks after the start of vaccination, the estimated relative reduction in SARS-CoV-2 incidence was 89% in LTC residents and 79% in LTC staff,\u201d the report says. \u201cThe estimated relative reduction in COVID-19 deaths in LTC residents was 96% after 8 weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the 7,292 lives lost to the pandemic, 3,892 were LTC residents and 10 were members of the staff.<\/p>\n
Public health data confirmed four new cases in LTC residents Friday and six new cases in LTC staff with no new deaths in either group.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, LTC advocates have scheduled a media conference on Monday to demand the Ontario government start allowing seniors living in nursing homes to go outside again.<\/p>\n
\u201cResidents, families and advocates at once furious and heartbroken at the ongoing violation of residents\u2019 fundamental human rights,\u201d a statement says. \u201cThe vast majority of residents and staff are vaccinated and yet residents are being denied the right to even walk outside and see the springtime, after a year of lockdowns and isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement was issued by Voices of LTC, the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) and the Advocates for Long-Term Care Reform in Ontario.<\/p>\n