Ontario issues 'call to arms' for volunteers to help boost vaccination effort
The Ontario government is calling on firefighters, dentists, retired doctors and nurses and anyone else who can to help accelerate the third-dose vaccine campaign as COVID-19 infections climb higher.
A “call to arms” issued by Premier Doug Ford’s office Wednesday says that the government is calling on “businesses, volunteers and retired health professionals to help further boost capacity and get more boosters into arms sooner.”
Ontario health officials have said that they would like to hit 300,000 doses per day as the province tries to distribute as many booster shots as possible to help curb the spread of the more contagious Omicron variant.
The most contagious iteration of the COVID-19 virus so far, Omicron has been driving up case counts in Ontario and in other jurisdictions around the world. The province reported nearly 4,400 cases Wednesday and some infectious disease experts have predicted that we could soon see 10,000 daily cases.
Ontario has scrambled to once again scale up its vaccine distribution capacity and has had some success. The province has given out an average of 164,000 doses per day over the past seven days. That's up significantly from the previous seven days, when an average of just around 80,000 doses were given out each day.
While daily doses have climbed above 200,000 for the past two days, it is unclear how soon the province will be able to meet its goal.
While the province has all the vaccine supply it needs, many vaccination sites are limited by staffing hours. Some are also planning to close or to run at reduced hours over the holidays.
“Our best defence against the highly transmissible Omicron variant is a lightning-fast offence,” Premier Doug Ford said in the statement from his office Wednesday. “In a few short weeks, Ontario has scaled up its vaccine rollout at incredible speed, but we aren’t stopping there. Everyone has a role to play. It’s all hands on deck as we boost up Ontario.”
Regulatory amendments will allow retired nurses and physicians, dentists, and firefighters to give shots at vaccination sites, so long as they are supervised by a physician, registered nurse or nurse practitioner, or a pharmacist who is present at the premises where the vaccine is administered.
Volunteers from those groups are being encouraged to register through the Health Workforce Matching Portal and those who have previously registered are being asked to log in and update their availability.
Ford’s office said appropriate education and training courses will be available to volunteers.
Some 2.3 million Ontarians have received booster shots so far, but many others have found it challenging to book an appointment.
The provincial booking system opened to all those 18 and older on Monday, but all the appointments were snatched up within hours in many jurisdictions. Long lineups have been reported a pop-up clinics and many people have said they've also had difficulty booking an appointment at pharmacies.
On Wednesday Ford also called on businesses to set up employer-led vaccination clinics by calling the Ontario Together Contact Centre at 1-888-777-0554.
The province is also recruiting volunteers age 16 and up through a dedicated volunteer portal to fullfill a variety of roles based on their knowledge and abilities.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.