Item - 2022.HL36.1

That:

1. The Board of Health express its full support to the Medical Officer of Health to implement additional measures to address the harm of COVID-19, as needed.

2. The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health, in partnership with Ontario Health and the City's community and health sector partners, to accelerate the integration of the delivery of on-site COVID-19 vaccination, testing, treatment, and health and social services.

3. The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to continue using the VaxTO program for the COVID-19 3rd- and 4th-dose campaign, and to scale up live calling in support of vaccine booster dose uptake.

4. The Board of Health request the Province of Ontario to re-enable local Medical Officers of Health to issue letters of instruction as part of the local toolkit to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and help keep people safe.

5. The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to implement a public health promotion campaign to inform the public of COVID-19 risks and provide guidance for risk mitigation.  

That the Board of Health adopt the following recommendations contained in the presentation by the Medical Officer of Health:

1. The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health and the Province of Ontario to provide additional focused guidance to help the public discern how best to employ layers of protection against COVID-19 and to provide support to those at greatest risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, including priority access to testing, personal protective equipment, and other resources to support safer public interactions.

2. The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to explore innovative and accessible ways to use data to communicate with the public to enable informed decisions about how best to mitigate the risk of COVID-19.

3. The Board of Health request that the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health work with Toronto Public Health, primary care, pharmacies, other health care practitioners, and any other relevant stakeholders, to facilitate access to and increase appropriate uptake of COVID-19 treatments, incorporating core elements such as:

a. an information campaign to raise awareness among health care providers and the public of the availability of this effective treatment;

b. resources to support health care providers and the public to use available COVID-19 treatments; and

c. a strategy to leverage existing community vaccine distribution infrastructure to ensure effective, equitable access to COVID-19 treatment. 

4. The Board of Health request the Province of Ontario to work with relevant stakeholders and communities to expand the collection of sociodemographic data in the health system (which may include, for example, optimizing the linkage of existing Census data with health data) to ensure that resources are deployed to the populations with the greatest need and to ensure equitable and culturally-safe access to health and social services.

5. The Board of Health forward the Medical Officer of Health’s recommendation concerning the collection of sociodemographic data to all boards of health in Ontario and the Association of Local Public Health Agencies.

That the Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to provide public reporting on, and consider for potential inclusion in dashboard changes, the following:

a. COVID-19 related hospitalizations among school-aged children and youth;

b. transmission of COVID-19 in schools; and

c. health workforce absentee data.