Additional waves of the COVID-19 virus should be expected for the next six-to-eight months, the province’s top doctor told reporters this week.
Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said that residents in the province should expected several “waves that we’ll have to tolerate,” with the intent of getting the province to such a point where the population is vaccinated enough that the virus can’t spread easily. “(That will) allow us to start to pull away some of the public health measures,” said Moore, who noted that such a scenario would only occur when a 90 per cent vaccination rate is achieved.
The comments were made as the province outlined a “last mile strategy” on Tuesday, noting that it would focus on community based clinics and easy-access settings for residents to get vaccinated — though the strategy does not mention a vaccine passport program,. At present, approximately 82 per cent of residents in the province over the age of 12 has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 75 per cent of the province has received both doses.
The province also announced plans last week to mandate vaccination policies for healthcare and school settings, whether through the vaccine itself or regular testing for the virus. “While we can certainly take pride in our immunization achievements, there is still work to be done to ensure everyone is protected,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones in a statement Tuesday.
“That’s why we are shifting focus in this last mile, from mass vaccination clinics to community-based settings using strategies such as mobile clinics and GO-VAXX buses to reach Ontarians who have yet to receive a first or second dose of a vaccine.
