Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says with the province already in its seventh wave of COVID-19, second booster shots are expected to be made available to everyone aged 18 to 59 as early as next week. In an interview with Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s top doctor tells CityNews the second booster dose would not exclude Ontarians from another follow-up shot three months later, as it will be reformulated to add extra layers of protection. Dr Moore says the deployment is a government decision that will be made next week. Currently, people aged 60 and over are eligible for a second booster shot. “We’re going to make it, so people 18 to 59 are eligible for a second booster,” Dr. Moore confirmed to CityNews. “This can include healthy healthcare workers – anyone aged 18 to 59 who is eligible for a second recall. If you have an underlying medical condition, please get in touch. Go to your local pharmacist or public health vaccination clinic. They are there to immunize you.” Dr. Moore says the upcoming second boosters will be of the original strain and include only Pfizer or Moderna. In the fall, Dr. Moore says the government is considering a vaccine with “a core strain” and an additional strain of an Omicron variant. Either the BA.1 or BA.5 subvariant — which has become dominant in the province. “That’s where we’re still undecided,” Dr. Moore said. “In the fall, we will have an additional vaccination strategy and we will develop, a high-risk strategy first, and then at the population level, where we will provide this newer vaccine.” The province’s top doctor says no one should delay getting a second booster once they are eligible. “You will be eligible again in the fall for this vaccine,” says Dr. Moore. “We anticipate giving five to six months of protection. This is what we learned from previous executives. it may be longer now with this new vaccine. This will help us get through the tough winter days of November, December, January, February and March, when we traditionally have respiratory viruses coming back.” Top doctor says flu shots (flu shots) will be available in Ontario.
Dr. Moore: Annual vaccines for COVID-19 could be the new norm
Ontario’s chief medical officer of health reiterated that three months is usually the recommended time to wait between vaccinations. However, Dr Moore says they could extend that to five or six months if someone was vaccinated in July. “We make sure we have the capacity if we have an increase in people coming in to be vaccinated on days and weeks,” says the top doctor. “We can open further and we are reviewing it on a daily basis.” On the issue of Ontarians needing annual COVID-19 vaccines to stop the spread and keep people protected, Dr. Moore says that may well be the new norm. “Right now, the virus is clearly not becoming seasonal. We’re getting a summer surge,” Dr. Moore explained. “Once it turns into a more seasonal virus — which happened with the previous coronavirus that affected humans — then a seasonal coronavirus vaccine might be appropriate at that time once a year.” Moore acknowledges that it may be several years “before we get into that cycle of an annual increase in coronavirus activity.” Ontario is now at least three weeks into a seventh wave of COVID-19, says Dr. Moore, marking a significant difference from previous waves in the winter when Omicron spread at a dangerous and rapid rate. Dr. Moore says the province can handle this smaller surge, noting that Ontario has another week to see the maximum effect. “This wave seems to be less aggressive, less impact on the health system. We monitor all these metrics very, very closely,” says the top doctor. “The good news is that the word wave is scary, but its impact on the health care system will be measured. This is due to all Ontarians staying up-to-date on vaccinations.” Dr. Moore cited Paxlovid as a vital tool in keeping Ontarians safe and protected. He says more than 22,000 Ontarians have been prescribed the treatment to date. “If you are vulnerable right now, we encourage you to wear a mask in various indoor public settings where we know this virus will want to spread.” On Wednesday, the Ontario COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Panel said the province was in a seventh wave, adding that sewage test results showed rising concentrations of COVID-19 and that the province’s test positivity and hospitalization rates were also increasing. The scientific panel said that the BA.5 variant appears to be more immune-evasive, meaning that people who have recently been infected can get the virus again soon after. Its contagiousness could also mean that many people – including those who are particularly vulnerable to the virus – could become infected and experience serious effects, including death. With files from Allison Jones of The Canadian Press.
