Nearly 100 more school-related cases of COVID-19 reported as new poll raises questions about potential vaccine rollout among younger kids

TORONTO -

Ontario’s publicly funded schools are reporting nearly 100 cases of COVID-19 today as a new poll raises questions about the potential vaccine rollout among younger school-aged children.

The Ministry of Education says that there were 88 school-related cases confirmed over a 24-hour period ending on Friday afternoon, down from 117 cases during the same time-period last week.

The number of active cases associated with the public school system now stands at 1,255, accounting for roughly one-third of Ontario’s overall caseload. That number had previously peaked at 1,637 two weeks ago but has been declining gradually since then.

It should be noted that the total number of cases associated with schools is still well ahead of where it was at this point last year – 3,692 versus 1,569. However, the trend line now appears to be pointing in the right direction, unlike last fall when there was a sustained acceleration in cases among students and school staff that eventually led to the closure of all schools following the December holiday break.

Currently there are only two schools closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks – Etobicoke’s Silverthorn Collegiate Institute and Greenholme Junior Middle School.

But a count by CP24 reveals that there are at least 177 additional classroom cohorts self isolating in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area due to positive cases.

In total, there are 638 individual schools with at least one positive case, accounting for about 13 per cent of all schools.

The latest cases confirmed on Monday come as Angus Reid publishes a new poll suggesting that only 51 per cent of the parents of children ages five through 11 plan to get them vaccinated as soon as Health Canada approves a shot for the age group. Another 18 per cent of respondents said that they would get their children vaccinated “eventually” while nearly a quarter – 23 per cent – said that they would not get their children vaccinated. The remaining nine per cent of respondents said that they were unsure.

In Ontario the percentage of parents who said they would get their children vaccinated immediately was higher - 54 per cent - but a higher proportion of respondents also said that they would not get their children vaccinated at all – about 26 per cent.

The education level of respondents also seemed to play a role in their intentions.

Approximately 63 per cent of those with a university degree said that they would get their child immunized as soon as a vaccine was approved and only 15 per cent said they would not get their child vaccinated. Meanwhile, less than half of those with a high school diploma or less – 46 per cent – said that they would get their child vaccinated as soon as possible and 26 per cent said they would not get their child vaccinated.

The survey would seem to suggest there could be some challenges ahead as Health Canada mulls over data recently submitted by Pfizer regarding the use of its COVID-19 vaccine among children ages five through 11.

In Ontario more than 83 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated but the uptake has been slower among children ages 12-17. Only 76.1 per cent of that group is fully vaccinated, making them the cohort with the second lowest rate of vaccination next to those 18-29.

Toronto Public Health has previously said that it is already formed a working group to prepare for vaccines being approved for children ages five through 11. In Toronto about 200,000 children are in that age group.

The Angus Reid survey is based on the responses of 5,011 Canadians and is considered accurate to within two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.