In a joint statement earlier this week, experts from four of the province’s pediatric hospitals said vaccines are a critical tool to help mitigate the effects of a viral season that could prove longer and more severe than years past
Ontario children five and under should get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu before the holiday season amid rising hospital admissions, infectious disease experts warn.
In a joint statement earlier this week, experts from four of the province’s pediatric hospitals said vaccines are a critical tool to help mitigate the effects of a viral season that could prove longer and more severe than years past
“In the current context of increased circulation of respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), optimizing the uptake of vaccines against influenza and COVID- 19 in children is critically important, especially before the winter and holiday season,” said the statement from the Hospital for Sick Children, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) , London Health Sciences Center Children’s Hospital and McMaster Children’s Hospital.
Data released by Public Health Ontario shows that as of Nov. 6, only seven per cent of Ontario children aged six months to five years had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and only two percent were fully vaccinated.
Experts said this is of particular concern because children aged four and under are at higher risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 than any other group of children and adolescents.
The province has not yet released data on flu vaccine uptake this season.
Several pediatric hospitals in Ontario recently announced they would scale back surgeries and deploy staff to help protect overburdened intensive care units and emergency rooms.
Hospital receipts are rising under a triple threat of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and COVID-19, at a time when the health care system was already struggling with a record number of job vacancies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 30, 2022.