City planning booster shot clinics for education workers

Ottawa Public Health and the City of Ottawa are working on COVID-19 booster clinics for education workers in the coming days as schools remain closed.

Dr. Vera Etches told reporters Tuesday that the final details have yet to be determined, but a plan is in place to help prioritize booster shots for teachers and school staff.

"We are looking to have a new point of access, in partnership with Kids Come First, that would hopefully be stood up this week," Etches said.

Kids Come First is a health team made up of more than 60 organizations, nearly 1,100 physicians, and youth, family and caregiver partners.

The provincial government announced Monday that schools in Ontario would remain closed for two more weeks, shifting classes online, while the Omicron variant surges.

Etches said Ottawa Public Health is continuing to push the importance of vaccination for everyone.

"I want to encourage people; don't give up on thinking you that you can get a booster dose appointment because there are appointments being put up every week and we do have a plan to have enough capacity for everyone who wants to have a booster shot in the next few weeks. Please don't think you will be left behind."

To date, more than 317,000 residents of Ottawa have received booster doses and 62 per cent of children 5 to 11 years old have had their first dose.

Etches pointed out that boosters are available through pharmacies, the provincial portal, neighbourhood vaccination hubs and primary care clinics.

Prioritizing booster shots was one of the demands made by local teachers' unions in an open letter encouraging Etches to keep schools closed until safety is improved.

Etches says she continues to be an advocate for reopening schools as swiftly as possible.

"The provincial decision to delay in-person learning in schools must have been very difficult to make. We know that schools should be the last places to close for the health and wellbeing of children and youth," she said. "Now that the decision has been made to move to virtual learning for the next couple of weeks, we will work with school boards to ensure that children who may need more support can connect with the resources they and their families may need in the weeks ahead."

Etches stressed the need for diligent, daily screening of symptoms and the self-isolation of households if someone develops symptoms. With testing limited, she says assuming COVID-19 symptoms are Omicron and keeping isolated for five days will help drive down transmission of the virus.