Toronto Board of Health asking for $5.1 million to fight upcoming … – CityNews Toronto

Torontos Board of Health is asking the province for an additional $5.1 million to add to their budget in order to prepare for the fall and winter virus season as COVID-19, RSV and flu cases are already popping up.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said the extra annual funding would be used for Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) hubs that help prevent and mitigate the impacts of outbreaks, particularly in long-term care and retirement homes, shelters and group homes.

[The hubs] are absolutely crucial to the response particularly within congregate settings congregate living settings like long-term care homes, where people live together and where you have people who are at higher risk and how those hubs work, said Dr. de Villa.

She said they are expecting the extraordinary COVID-19 funding provided by the province for the last few years to wrap up despite the city still facing challenges.

This is the kind of thing that we anticipate is going to be needed on an ongoing basis. We certainly have seen the value. What were seeking is funding to ensure that that value is still in place and that we protect health as best as possible, Torontos top doctor said.

I hope the province recognizes the importance of this and puts their money where their mouth is and provides the $5.1 million that were asking for, added city councillor and member of the Board of Health Chris Moise.

The Ministry of Health tells CityNews since 2020, the government has invested over $100 million in IPAC hubs and has increased funding to public health units by 16 per cent.

The government has also provided a one per cent increase in base funding per year for Torontos Public Health Unit beginning in 2024.

Vaccines are currently available for the RSV virus for those 60 years of age or older. The flu vaccine is being administered to high-risk individuals and will soon become available to the general public.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech has been approved by Health Canada and is expected to be released across pharmacies on Oct. 30.

Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch said its always hard to predetermine what flu season will be like in Canada.

The key with the flu is we always say its predictably unpredictable.I think the truth is that yes,were going to have one.Yes, vaccines are going to roll out soon.Its not quite clear how severe its going tobe, butwe know what we can do to protect ourselvesagainst this threat thats going to be coming, he said.

Dr. Bogoch said to expect cases to start to trickle up this week, but vaccines are essential.

Its hard to know what level of protection the influenza vaccine is going to provideagainst getting the infection.But we know from decades of experience thatinfluenza can impact every single age and cohort, the youngest and the oldest are moresignificantly impacted, but the flu can reallypack a punch, he said.

The flu shot, while notperfect, still provides decent protectionagainst infection. [It offers] decent protection against moremanifestations of the virus, including hospitalization and death.Its really important for people to get the flushot.

He adds strong community outreach and access to these vaccines is key.

People have to know whats going on,its massive.You can have all the vaccines in the world.But if people dont know theyre around or have difficulty accessing them,were obviously going to get low uptake.

We know that lowering these barriersto vaccination and improving the vaccine ratedoes tremendous good, he added.

As for masking without mandates, its up to the individual person to make that decision for themselves.

Theyre not perfect,but they certainly can help reduce ones riskof getting infected if theyre in an indoor setting where we know the vast majority ofthese respiratory viruses are transmitted.

If you want to reduce your risk of infection,you can put on a mask.Its really as simple as that, said Bogoch.

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Toronto Board of Health asking for $5.1 million to fight upcoming ... - CityNews Toronto