A researcher and co-chair of Ontario’s Science Advisory Table says the province is set to begin a “full-court press” on essential workers with Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine program.
Dr. Brian Schwartz says the table plans to get “more specific” in targeting those hot spots that have emerged in recent weeks and have been driving up case numbers.
“The science keeps evolving because our original plan with vaccines was to get all the elderly people — well we’ve pivoted on that,” said Schwartz.
“But now it’s really to get to younger populations that are in those essential workplaces as the science is evolving or knowing more.”
The table has been pushing the Ford government in recent days to redirect its focus on “truly essential indoor workplaces” ensuring mask and distancing protocols are adhered to in addition to offering essential workers sick pay if they need to stay home after exposure or need time to get a vaccine.
The category has become a growing concern for public health units across Ontario since mid-February as hundreds of cases have been emerging, particularly with food-based facilities.
On Tuesday, health units in Peel Region and Toronto ordered businesses with five or more recent COVID-19 cases to shut down for 10 days.
As of Wednesday, Hamilton reported two more workplace outbreaks after recording three staff cases at Pioneer Balloon Canada in East Hamilton and infections with a pair of workers at the McDonald’s on Upper Wentworth across from Limeridge Mall.
The city has 13 current outbreaks in work settings connected to 97 infections. The workplace surges represent about a quarter of the city’s 43 ongoing outbreaks.
Some have grown fairly large in recent weeks, including closed outbreaks at Connon Nurseries in Waterdown and DHL Logistics in Mount Hope in which each facility reported over 30 cases each.
Vaccine hesitancy may be one of the challenges the program faces in targeting hot spots since demographics that include essential workers tend to be connected with a socially disadvantaged region in Ontario, according to Schwartz.
“So we really have to work very hard to get into the demographics that may be a little bit hesitant and may be harder to reach,” Schwartz said.
Hamilton’s medical officer of health says the city is working “different routes” to make vaccines available to essential workers living in COVID ‘hot spot’ neighbourhoods.
During a general issues committee meeting on Wednesday Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said that phase of the vaccine rollout targeting “racialized populations” has “complexity” and that public health is working with the province to locate “meaningful” populations to distribute doses to.
Richardson says the confusion for many in the demographic surrounds where they get their information since many move from community to community in their daily lives.
“It becomes very confusing for people because they live in one community, work in another community, get their media from a third community, and happen to have their health care provider in another community. So they’re getting messages all over the place,” said Richardson.
As of Tuesday, Hamilton clinics have administered 156,742 COVID-19 vaccines, with close to 64,000 administered through the fixed site at Hamilton Health Sciences.
The clinic at St. Joe’s has now administered about 35,000 doses, 23,000 of which have been through mobile clinics, 18,000 with the First Ontario site, 11,000 at pharmacies, and around 5,000 at primary care clinics.
Hamilton reports 301 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death
Hamilton reported more than 300 new cases on Wednesday a day after revealing just 40 cases in what public health called an “underestimation” of data.
A spokesperson for the city said Tuesday’s number was tied to a “fluctuation” involving ongoing investigations, lagging transfers of data between health units and error detection.
Despite the anomalies, Wednesday’s number is now the highest one-day total reported by the city since the pandemic began.
The city also reported another virus-rated death in a person over the age of 80. Hamilton has now had 346 virus-related deaths since the pandemic began in 2020.
Aside from new outbreaks at Pioneer Balloon and a McDonald’s outlet, the city also revealed surges at a school and a supportive housing facility.
Two cases at Laurier Place on the Mountain joined the growing list of infections within supportive housing units across Hamilton. There are eight ongoing outbreaks among the facilities involving 35 cases as of April 21.
The Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School board has three schools in outbreaks. The board is reporting 18 COVID-19 cases tied to 12 schools as of April 21.
Hamilton has 43 outbreaks as of Wednesday involving more than 240 total cases.
Outbreaks at Hatts Off Girl’s Country Home in Dundas, Turtle Jack’s in Stoney Creek and a TD Canada Trust Branch in East Hamilton had outbreaks close on Tuesday.
Active cases were up on Wednesday by just over 260 cases to 1,645. The city’s seven-day average of new cases dropped slightly day over day to 174.
The weekly case rate per 100,000 is 203 as of Wednesday.
There have now been 15,858 total coronavirus cases locally since the pandemic began last year.