When kids return to school next month, the health unit is hoping all eligible students will be vaccinated, and all students will be packing a mask.
On Monday, the ministry of education announced it is working with public health units and publicly funded school boards to plan and host vaccination clinics in or near schools to continue to fight COVID-19.
During Tuesday’s media briefing, Dr. Charles Gardner said the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is currently making plans for those clinics alongside Simcoe County school boards, noting that clinics will not be held at every school.
“We are working with our local school boards in order to be able to provide that in a range of schools during the first two weeks of the school year,” said Gardner. “Vaccinations will be available to staff, students and families.”
“The exact details, locations and dates will be determined and communicated,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, the chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore announced students born in 2009 who are turning 12 in 2021 will now be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine as of Aug. 18.
In Simcoe-Muskoka, there are about 38,985 youth aged 12 to 17 that are eligible for the vaccine.
As of Aug. 18, 27,914 youth have received a first dose (or 71.6 per cent of the eligible population), and 21,541 have received a second dose (55.3 per cent).
Children born later than 2009 are still not eligible for a vaccine in Canada.
When asked whether students aged 12 to 17 require parental or legal guardian consent to get a vaccine, Gardner said it has been a long-standing practice of public health in keeping with legislation that people who receive immunizations need to be mentally competent in order to give their consent.
“It has to be informed consent. They have to be able to understand what it is they’re considering receiving,” said Gardner. “Age is not actually a requirement. It’s the ability to understand. We require everybody, including children, to meet that criterion.”
“We encourage parents to discuss this with their children and be aware of the importance of immunization, and we encourage children to talk with their parents about it. The decision rests with children who are deemed to be competent enough to make their decision,” he said.
Also during Tuesday’s briefing, Dr. Gardner addressed the efficacy of masking in schools. According to the provincial guidelines for September’s return to school, masks should be required for students in Grades 1 to 12.
“A number of health units have recommended to their school boards that mask use be required for junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten. I have made that recommendation as well,” said Gardner, adding that the recommendation is based on the delta variant being a much more transmissible strain of COVID-19.
“The potential for some serious infection in children is higher than the previous variants,” he said.
Referencing a recent study on the topic completed by Public Health Ontario, Gardner said mask mandates in schools have been associated with lower incidences of COVID-19.
“The findings from this and a variety of studies are that the use of masks by children in indoor environments, particularly in school and day-care environments, can reduce transmission of COVID-19 in half or less,” said Gardner.
Many of the studies examining COVID-19 incidence in schools had layered infection prevention and control measures in place, so it was challenging to measure the independent impact of mask wearing. The study noted that adherence to mask policies was typically high in children (53 to 97 per cent) and uptake increased with age.
The study found, however, that wearing masks for outdoor sporting events is unlikely to be beneficial. There were variable findings with respect to negative health impacts in children who wore masks, therefore the study recommended further research to assess potential negative impacts of mask wearing in children.
As of this week, Simcoe Muskoka school boards have not yet released their full back-to-school plans.
The Simcoe County District School Board is expected to announce their plans on Aug. 26, according to board officials.
The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board has said they will release plans before the end of August.
