Next week, we are kicking off the 2021 edition of our Facebook Live series. Join us on Tuesday January 26th at 8PM for a Q&A session with our CEO Dianne Martin. This is your chance to get key information about recent government announcements and ask questions about the issues that impact your practice. We hope to "see" you there.
Key Provincial Updates and Resources for Health Professionals
Today, the Province announced that Ontario reached a key milestone in the fight against COVID-19, completing the first round of vaccinations ahead of schedule in all long-term care homes in Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex.
In response to news of a delay in shipments of the Pfeizer vaccine, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health has provided updated direction on the administration of second doses:
Long-term care and high-risk retirement home residents and their essential caregivers, who have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech
vaccine, will receive their second dose in 21 to 27 days.
Staff who were vaccinated within the homes at the same time as the residents will also follow the same schedule.
All other recipients of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine must receive their second dose after 21 days and before 42 days.
For individuals who received the Moderna vaccine, the dose schedule of 28 days will remain.
Yesterday, Premier Doug Ford and Deputy
Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, were in Vaughan to announce the imminent opening of Mackenzie Health’s new Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital. The new hospital, which is scheduled to open on February 7, will temporarily operate as a systemwide resource to support the province’s COVID-19 response.
The government also announced an investment of up to $125 million to immediately add over 500 critical care and high intensity medicine beds to hospitals in areas with high rates of COVID-19.
The province has also also announced today that the province has amended O. Reg 74/20 (Work Redeployment for Certain Health Services Providers) in order to allow hospitals to temporarily redeploy health care workers to other hospitals or retirement homes in urgent need of additional support. The province previously amended this order to enable hospital staff to temporarily be redeployed to long-term care homes.
Last week, the government outlined ongoing efforts to expand Ontario’s capacity for case and contact management, growing the provincial workforce to 1,600 employees by February 15.
Last week, Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand announced that Pfizer will be temporarily reducing shipments of its vaccine to Canada because it is pausing some production lines at its
facility in Puurs, Belgium, in order to expand long-term manufacturing capacity.
The Chief Public Health Officer's statement for January 20th is available here
For more information, we encourage you to
visit the Government of Canada website.
Daily
Reports
As of 10:30AM today, Ontario reported 247,564 confirmed cases (increase of 2632), 215,887 resolved cases, 5,614 deaths.
The Ministry is also reporting that 1,533 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, 388 are in ICU and 293 are vented. To view these additional details:click here
Click Hereto read the latest Ministry of Health Daily Report
World Health Organization Situation Reports are also available here
In the News For an interactive map tracking all cases across Canada and internationally, click here
Below are some key stories from today that may be of interest to
our members
Update: Ontario is expanding the list of health care providers who are permitted to administer COVID-19 vaccines to support a quick rollout. Eligible health care professionals include nurse practitioners, registered nurses and registered practical nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy students, interns, and pharmacy technicians. Health care
professionals can register to administer the vaccine through Ontario’s health matching portal.
We will continue to monitor this situation and keep you updated as more information becomes available. Thank you for the important work that you're doing and the sacrifices you're making to keep Ontarians safe. We appreciate everything that you're doing each and every day.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tiff Blair at tblair@werpn.com
Sincerely,
WeRPN Team
WeRPN 5025 Orbitor Drive Building 5, Suite 200 Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4Y5
