Ontario Will Announce Expansion Of Covid 19 Booster Shots On Wednesday

Dr.  Kieran Moore will provide the update, which will also cover the rapid distribution of the antigen test in the province, at 11am.
The announcement comes amid a seventh wave of the virus in Ontario, which has seen a recent spike in case numbers, positivity rates and hospitalizations.
Currently, the souvenir is only available to people aged 60 and over, immunocompromised people and indigenous peoples.
Moore said Thursday that he expects a decision on the extension to come sometime this week.
At the time, the province’s top doctor expressed concern about the relatively large number of people in Ontario who have yet to receive a third dose of the vaccine.
“Of those five million who haven’t had even the first reminder … one million of them are over 50, and we know that age is a really important risk factor for COVID, serious outcomes and hospitalization,” Moore said.
“So we’re asking first before we open another million … consider getting vaccinated in July.”
While Ontario has seen a 20 per cent week-over-week increase in COVID-19 cases, an increase in the positivity rate from 8.4 per cent to 11.2 per cent and signs that hospitalizations and deaths are rising, Moore said he expects that the province could see the current wave peak this week.
With files from The Canadian Press

title: “Ontario Will Announce Expansion Of Covid 19 Booster Shots On Wednesday " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-04” author: “Nancy Purtell”

Dr.  Kieran Moore will provide the update, which will also cover the rapid distribution of the antigen test in the province, at 11am.
The announcement comes amid a seventh wave of the virus in Ontario, which has seen a recent spike in case numbers, positivity rates and hospitalizations.
Currently, the souvenir is only available to people aged 60 and over, immunocompromised people and indigenous peoples.
Moore said Thursday that he expects a decision on the extension to come sometime this week.
At the time, the province’s top doctor expressed concern about the relatively large number of people in Ontario who have yet to receive a third dose of the vaccine.
“Of those five million who haven’t had even the first reminder … one million of them are over 50, and we know that age is a really important risk factor for COVID, serious outcomes and hospitalization,” Moore said.
“So we’re asking first before we open another million … consider getting vaccinated in July.”
While Ontario has seen a 20 per cent week-over-week increase in COVID-19 cases, an increase in the positivity rate from 8.4 per cent to 11.2 per cent and signs that hospitalizations and deaths are rising, Moore said he expects that the province could see the current wave peak this week.
Speaking with CP24 on Tuesday afternoon, infectious disease physician Dr.  Dale Kalina said he is interested in learning more about the data the province will release about the time frames for fourth doses and their effectiveness in younger populations.
“We know that you don’t get much benefit from fourth doses unless you’re someone who has an immune system that requires a lot of these repeated shots,” Kalina said.  “The people who really need boosters, in general, are people whose immune systems aren’t working particularly well.  So people over the age of 70 or if you are taking medicines that suppress your immune system.’
Kalina added that he expects to see more information come to light in the coming months about newer vaccines that specifically target the microbe and produce further immunity.
In the meantime, he advised that if you can get a booster shot, you should get one.
“If you’re a healthy person under the age of 60, you should encourage everyone you know to get third doses, people your age, people who are younger than you, these are the ways I think it will increase safety for as long as possible more people,” he said.
With files from The Canadian Press