Ontario extends booster deadline for long-term care staff until March 14
Ontario long-term care workers will have extra time to get third COVID-19 vaccine doses as the Omicron variant drives up outbreaks and limits access to vaccine clinics.
Staff in the sector had initially been given until Friday to get booster shots in order to stay on the job. But the date has now been pushed back to March 14, a spokeswoman for the long-term care minister said Thursday.
"In response to the pressures Omicron has put on long-term care homes -- such as vaccine appointments being delayed due to infection and clinics cancelled due to outbreaks -- Ontario is extending the deadline for eligible long-term care staff and caregivers to get their third doses," Vanessa De Matteis wrote in an email.
"This will help ensure staff are able to get their third doses while preserving staffing levels and maintaining the care levels that residents deserve."
De Matteis said 77 per cent of long-term care staff who are eligible to get third doses had received them as of Sunday.
Fifty-six per cent of the province's long-term care homes were experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks as of Thursday.
Resident cases -- 2,661 active as of Thursday -- were close to the numbers seen in early 2020 when outbreaks and infections ravaged the province's long-term care homes, prompting the province to request military assistance.
Virus-related deaths dropped significantly in the homes since vaccinations became available early last year, but those numbers have also been rising in recent days and weeks. The province reported 26 long-term care resident deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday and 37 the day before.
Reported COVID-19 cases among long-term care workers have been higher this month than at any other point in the pandemic.
The province has started administering fourth vaccine doses to long-term care residents and mandated boosters for workers, citing the heightened risk to vulnerable residents in the homes. It has also introduced restrictions on visitors and other activities in a bid to control spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Unions and industry groups had expressed the likely need for an extension to the booster mandate, which they said would come at a time when homes were already struggling with Omicron-driven staff shortages.
Before extending the booster deadline, the province had said homes could request seven-day extensions for individual workers on a case-by-case basis, with no limit on the number of extensions for each person.
Union leaders expressed doubt on Thursday that the case-by-case approach would work effectively without worsening the current staffing situation.
They also said the government should make vaccines more accessible because many workers are too busy to get to appointments outside their scheduled shifts.
"These are people who are already exhausted after two years of working these schedules," said Michael Hurley with the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
"(The government) also needs to take steps to bring the vaccine to the workers if we want to lift those numbers up."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.