Vaccinated students in Simcoe Muskoka will have 'terrific advantage' over unvaccinated students
With September fast approaching, Simcoe Muskoka's health officials urge parents to have their children 12 and older vaccinated as Ontario's top doctor warns unvaccinated students could face a separate set of isolation rules.
Simcoe Muskoka's medical officer of health (MOH) said children ages 12 to 17 are "trailing behind" in immunizations, partly because they were the last group made eligible for the vaccine.
Students have six weeks before the start of the school year to get their shots.
Currently, 38 per cent of students are fully immunized in Simcoe Muskoka.
"We want to do all that we can to have them ready for school," the region's top doctor said. "We need to get immunization up as high as we can."
For children under the age of 12 who aren't eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine, Gardner said the province would take measures with a tiered approach to students in school. "We need to ensure that the school environment is as safe as we can make it."
Meanwhile, Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's MOH, said if a COVID-19 outbreak were to happen in the school environment, unvaccinated students and staff would have to immediately isolate for at least 10 days and require two negative COVID-19 tests seven days apart before returning to in-person learning.
While students with two doses of a vaccine would have minimal interruption to their school year.
"Terrific advantage of being two-dose immunized by being able to stay in school and attend sports and participate fully in all of the social activities of the school setting," Moore said during his weekly COVID-19 update.
Simcoe Muskoka's health unit is preparing to close its mass immunization clinics by late August. Gardner pointed to walk-in clinics for earlier appointments.
With files from CTV News Toronto
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.