As York Region returns "closer to normal" following the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health unit is shifting its focus to other vaccines, particularly those that were put on hold during the COVID vaccination campaign, according to medical officer of health Dr. Barry Pakes.
“Over the last three years, health care, public health and our lives have been immeasurably disrupted,” Pakes said in an online update. “These actions saved lives — tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of lives across Canada — but one of the consequences of these measures was they moved our focus away from other preventive health actions and made us vulnerable to other illnesses. One of the very important impacts of the pandemic was the disruption of our usual vaccination efforts.
“As you will know, there have been measles cases now detected in Ontario and many cases globally. Measles is a very, very infectious virus that can kill and disable children, and it is very vaccine preventable. It was eliminated from Canada only 25 years ago and we can’t allow it to return. The last thing we need now are more outbreaks and illnesses, so what we each need to do now is ensure everyone is protected through our regular vaccine schedule.”
While COVID-19 continues to have an impact on acute care, and our physical and mental health, "things are much closer to normal than they have ever been," Pakes added, with numbers declining in hospitalizations, outbreaks and wastewater tracking.
“It’s hard to believe but we are approaching the three-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the COVID-19 global pandemic on March 11, 2020. Fortunately and finally, it does seem that we are turning a corner,” said Pakes.
However, he encouraged continued precautions and bivalent booster shots to supporting the continuing trend.
“What do we still need to do? People are still dying of COVID-19 unnecessarily and we still need to protect the most vulnerable among us from illness, as we would with any other infection. It is still important to take appropriate precautions like staying home when symptomatic, wearing a mask around vulnerable individuals and crowded spaces, and washing your hands frequently. This will minimize the risk of COVID-19 in the most vulnerable and help keep us in a good place COVID-19 wise and relating to other infections.”
In the meantime, York Region has halted its regular updates on COVID-19 to the media and on social media, and will focus on managing and reporting COVID-19 data and information in alignment with other reportable infectious diseases.
Since its launch in March 2020, York Region's COVID-19 online public dashboard has tracked statistics such as the number of cases and type of exposure in each of its nine municipalities, as well as vaccinations, outbreaks, hospitalizations, and deaths.
With the rapid transmission of the Omicron virus and provincial changes in testing eligibility and case management, however, the reported numbers were no longer an accurate reflection of the status of the virus and its transmission.
The public can continue to access the York Region dashboard here, where weekly updates will be posted Tuesdays at 4 p.m.
