Doctors urge Ontario to open 4th doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults
CBC
Some doctors are calling on Ontario to allow all adults to get a second booster of a COVID-19 vaccine this summer, something that the province is currently limiting to only a portion of the population.
Around 7.4 million Ontarians have received one booster, and nearly 90 per cent of those shots were administered at least five months ago, according to Public Health Ontario data.
Studies have shown the COVID-19 boosters begin to lose some effectiveness four months after being administered, leading to growing calls for Ontario to widen eligibility for a second booster, equivalent to a fourth dose of vaccine.
"We know that the protection provided by those vaccines has been effective in reducing serious illness and death, but it's waning," said Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a family physician in Ottawa.
Ontario is currently limiting fourth doses to people over age 60, as well as adults of any age who are Indigenous, living in long-term care, or immunocompromised. About 1.4 million people qualify, leaving roughly six million people who had a booster last winter ineligible to get another shot now.
CBC News asked the Ministry of Health last week how many vaccine doses Ontario currently has in stock, but officials did not provide an answer.
Next door in Quebec, all adults became eligible for fourth doses in May.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said last week that the provinces should offer a booster shot this fall to all people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19 infection, regardless of how many boosters they've previously received.
That recommendation applies to includes everyone age 65 and older. NACI said people age 12 to 64 "may be offered" additional doses in the fall.
There are no indications that Ontario plans to change its policy on fourth-dose eligibility this summer.
"We are reviewing NACI's most recent guidance and will be providing details for fall booster shots over the coming weeks," said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in an email to CBC News.
That doesn't satisfy Kaplan-Myrth.
"Ontario is kind of saying, 'Just wait, we'll give you something in the fall.' But that's not good enough when it's already past time for people to have boosters now," she said in an interview with CBC News.
Dr. Steve Flindall, an emergency room physician in the Greater Toronto Area, is also advocating for the province to open up the extra booster to all adults.
A growing number of Manitoba's MRI machines now use artificial intelligence, with a plan to have more than half using the technology by spring.
A mobile unit the Saskatchewan government bought in 2002 for providing mammograms to Saskatchewan women will soon retire.
The Prince Edward Island government is rolling out the province’s first-ever policing standards, which officials say will make police services more consistent, transparent and better supported.
Residents in Niagara Falls, Ont., continue to wait for news on the future of Marineland’s property and dozens of animals, including up to 30 belugas and four dolphins — nearly two months after the federal government turned down the theme park's request to export the mammals.
Canadian travellers hoping for a new year without having to worry about a labour dispute may be out of luck, as 2026 will see most major airlines from this country facing off with unions across the bargaining table.
Food prices are soaring. Food prices keep climbing. Food prices are defying cooling inflation.
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Ontario legislation that mandated air conditioning in all resident rooms in long-term care (LTC) homes has saved dozens of lives, according to a new study.
Gusty winds, rapid fall in temperature prompt special weather statement for Waterloo region and area
The mid-week warmup in Waterloo region, Guelph and area will abruptly come to an end on Friday, Environment and Climate Change Canada warns.
Water in two more schools in the N.W.T. show lead levels above Health Canada's guidelines for drinking water, according to the territorial government.
Ontario's ethics watchdog says it will investigate whether the province's labour minister contravened any laws in his handling of a controversial training fund.
Mitchell Rose, the 32-year-old man charged with three counts of attempted murder in St. John’s, will spend the next month on the forensic unit of a psychiatric hospital.
Nearly eight years after Halifax sold the historic Khyber building in the hopes it could be revived, the municipality says the site has become a “threat to safety” — and is taking it back.