A professor with Ryerson University who specializes in health and safety is suggesting that public health units should consider vaccinating youth above issuing second doses as programs expand to include those aged 12 and older.
Thomas Tenkate says doses may be more helpful in managing where the bulk of new COVID-19 cases are now being seen in the pandemic, which is generally in those under 19.
“I would sort of put some focus on vaccinating the people who aren’t vaccinated, who don’t have the first dose, who we’re seeing those new cases in,” Tenkate told Global News.
About 73 per cent (580) of Hamilton’s 796 active cases as of Tuesday are with people under the age of 50. Twenty-five per cent of all new cases are tied to those under the age of 19.
Public health opened up bookings for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 12 and up on Sunday in the hopes of driving its family-friendly vaccination clinics to get entire families vaccinated as quickly as possible.
The move comes after Health Canada cleared its use for teens in early May.
Clinical trials by the drugmaker last month showed the Pfizer vaccine was found to be safe and effective and produced robust antibody responses in 12- to 15-year-olds.
Meanwhile, Ontarians who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in mid-March can now book their second shot this week as the province looks to use up its stockpile before it expires.
Tenkate says issuing a second dose is critical for exiting the pandemic but suggests the province’s policy of a four-month wait instead of the recommended 28 days from manufacturers doesn’t appear to be negatively affecting Ontario’s success in decreasing caseloads.
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Ontarians can book 2nd dose of AstraZeneca vaccine for those who received 1st dose mid-March -
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What you should know about getting a second AstraZeneca shot -
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Ontario pharmacies waiting on more Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses -
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Ontario opens provincial COVID-19 vaccine booking system to people 12+
“From what I understand, there is evidence that, you know, up to the four-month mark is fine. But once you get over that, there’s some questions,” Tenkate said.
Ahmad Firas Khalid, a Hamilton health policy expert with McMaster University, says with the arrival of another 600,000 doses of the Pfizer shot arriving in Canada this week, he believes second doses and giving youth their first shots could go “hand in hand.”
“I think we need to start definitely vaccinating children over the age of 12 because we want to reopen school,” Firas Khalid told Global News.
The health expert says in-person schooling is a big question his colleagues are discussing, and whether a return is safe if not all staff and students have had a shot.
Another is the timeline for doors to reopen on an in-person return.
“I think that the majority of people will be vaccinated, including our children, by September,” Firas Khalid said.
“Can we reopen earlier? Hard to tell at this point. It all depends on the supply and the rates that we can vaccinate.”
Hamilton reports 45 new COVID-19 cases
Hamilton reported 45 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest one-day total the city has recorded since 44 cases were revealed on March 8.
The city has 796 active cases as of May 25 with 63 per cent of those among people between the ages of 20 and 59.
On Sunday, public health recorded just one new workplace outbreak at the Food Basics on Barton Street East near Centennial Parkway North involving two workers.
There are now surges at 17 workplaces across the city involving 122 total cases.
The city has a total of 41 outbreaks involving 470 people, as of May 25.
Public health says the reproductive number is still at 1.03 as of Tuesday — signifying that the average number of people an infected person is passing COVID-19 on to.
The city’s seven-day moving average of cases was at 98, last reported on May 23.
The percentage of Hamilton tests returning from Ontario labs as positive for COVID-19 is 8.4 per cent, above the province’s last reported daily number, 6.2 per cent on May 25.
There are 98 patients with COVID-19 in Hamilton hospitals as of May 25. Hamilton Health Sciences says they have 61 patients, with 24 in intensive care units (ICU) and St. Joe’s 37 patients, with also 24 in an ICU.
St. Joe’s says its ICU occupancy rate is now at 125 per cent as of Tuesday, while HHS facilities are at 120 per cent.
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