Health Unit supports back-to-school, re-opening

An increase in the number of people who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines and a steady reduction in cases has helped Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit feel more prepared for a re-opening of the economy and a return to school.
“We continue to move in the right direction,” said medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner.
So far, 59 per cent of adults in the region have received a first dose of vaccine and with youth 12-17 recently given the go-ahead for the Pfizer vaccine, that percentage is on the rise.
As of Wednesday more than 2,000 of those youth had received their first jab, with an additional 9,000 having booked an appointment. Gardner said, as per provincial direction, there is now a push to prioritize those youth and their adult family members who have not been vaccinated.
He encourages youth to be educated about the vaccines and be involved in the decision making process in order to be able to give informed consent.
“I would certainly encourage all people who are eligible to book and receive immunization,” said Gardner. “We’ve got excellent uptake. This certainly bodes well for us, if it continues, to achieve herd immunity… to avoid a fourth wave.”
For these reasons, Gardner said he supports a return to in-person learning for the limited amount of time remaining in the school year, saying that transmission was never very high within schools and that the benefits outweigh the risks.
“We feel ready and we feel it’s important that children need to return to school,” he said.
For those who received AstraZeneca as their first dose, there will be an opportunity to get a second dose, tapping into existing provincial supplies. Gardner said other options for second doses may be forthcoming.