Ontario's long-term care sector wasn't ready or equipped for COVID-19: report
Another report slams Ontario's response to COVID-19 in its long-term care homes. What needs to be done to change the system? Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, weighs in.
Ontario details plan for 3 paid sick days after a year of mounting pressure
Following the announcement, Ontario's Science Advisory Table responded with a brief that outlined the benefits of an effective sick pay program.
"Ontario workers need 10 days of adequate #PaidSickLeave that is easily accessible, immediately paid and supports them in following all public health measures," Dr. Nathan Stall, a member of the table, tweeted on Wednesday.
Read More"There needs to be a real systemic response"
Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA and Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA, joined CTV News to discuss the Ontario Auditor General's report on the COVID-19 response in long term care homes.
Ontario largely ignored long-term care as COVID-19 crisis began, internal documents reveal
Long-term care homes "were left totally unprotected," said Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA. "They were last in line to get personal protective equipment, they had insufficient infection prevention and control procedures, and they were largely excluded from provincial planning," he said in an interview Tuesday. "Everything was focused on acute care and critical care, often to the exclusion of long-term care."
Ottawa-designed vaccine system praised in Nova Scotia, envied in 'chaotic' Ontario
That is not the case in Nova Scotia. The system co-designed by CANImmunize and the government has just one site, whether vaccines are given at pharmacies, clinics or elsewhere.
The system has drawn attention from Ontario and elsewhere. “For people in Ontario who might be interested, CANImmunize built the Nova Scotia vaccination system that is working flawlessly,” tweeted Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA and member of the province’s science advisory table.
Military to send medics to help Ontario hospitals with third wave of COVID-19
Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA and assistant scientific director of the science table’s secretariat, said Peel Region has the highest weekly cases per capita, and is in the bottom third of public-health units in terms of doses given per 100 people. “You don’t need to be a scientist to tell you that something is deeply wrong with the distribution of vaccines in our province,” he said.
Care home checkup: 14 of 15 surveyed by CBC have cut visiting hours due to pandemic
Visits from loved ones are a critical component to the wellbeing of personal care home residents, according to Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing.
"That real limiting of family access has really created a heightened level of social isolation. It's increased issues such as depression, worsening dementia. And we've actually seen as a result an increase in the amount of anti-psychotic and antidepressant prescribing in these environments," Dr. Sinha said.
Emily Victoria Viegas’s death puts spotlight on increasing spread of COVID-19 in younger people in third wave
Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, said while the death of any young person from COVID-19 is tragic, he notes that there are many more deaths of older Ontarians that don’t get the same attention.
“We tend to look at older people who are dying in this pandemic, including people who are in their 60s, as rather disposable or more easily expendable,” he said. “I think it really reflects that there’s just systemic ageism in our society.”
‘This was preventable’: As Toronto hits 3,000 COVID-19 deaths, some wonder how many more are still to come
“The first wave was, as a Geriatrician, extraordinarily traumatic, watching people you care for being neglected and having this horrific tragedy in long-term-care homes,” said Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA and a member of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.
“The second wave was unforgivable, what we did to long-term-care residents, because we knew better.
“This third wave is just so shameful — blowing through every single stop sign and warning sign that were erected by scientists, physicians, citizens, advocacy groups.”
High-profile Manitobans, current and former, urge Pallister to impose more extreme measures in face of third wave
A group of well-known and highly-regarded Manitobans, both current and former, including Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA, are urging Premier Brian Pallister to act hastily to prevent the third wave of COVID-19 from running rampant in the province.
Ontario hospitals transfer patients to long-term care to free up beds for COVID patients
Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA, criticized Premier Doug Ford’s government for asking nursing homes to help hospitals on short notice.
“They are not going to be able to hire staff in two weeks to take on extra residents,” he said. “Doug Ford’s lack of planning should not be the long-term care sector’s emergency.”
Health experts call on Ontario to open pre-registration for COVID-19 vaccines to all residents
Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, joined Ottawa Morning to explain why he thinks opening up pre-registration to all Ontario residents will remove some of the confusion around the province’s vaccine booking system.
Doug Ford apologizes for some missteps, pledges paid sick leave for Ontario workers affected by COVID-19
Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA, geriatrician and assistant scientific director of the science table’s secretariat, said Mr. Ford’s apology appeared sincere but it was “bizarre” that it seemed to focus on acting too quickly on policing measures.
“It seemed to be more an apology again for the poor communication and decision-making that happened last Friday, as opposed to real accountability for the situation that still is out of hand and will only get worse during the third wave,” Dr. Stall said. “We’re almost a week later, and nothing more has been implemented.”
Ontario lowers age for AstraZeneca, revises some COVID-19 lockdown measures amid public outrage
Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA, a physician and the Assistant Scientific Director of the table’s secretariat, said he was dumbfounded by the government’s rejection of science and common sense.
Dr. Stall said paid sick leave, which has been a top recommendation for months, seems to have become a political hot-button, but it need not be. “This is not about politics anymore,” Dr. Stall said. “If you walk inside a hospital or an intensive-care unit, or you’re a patient or a front-line worker, you know things are definitely not normal right now. It’s not just the number of sick and dying patients in our hospitals, it’s all the collateral damage going on within our health care system.”
Ontario’s paid sick-day program should last beyond COVID-19 pandemic, say health experts
Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA, and member of Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table, says “whatever paid sick leave is implemented now is not going to break the chains of transmission that have already occurred and are occurring right now.
“This is something that was needed months ago, but it will absolutely help break the subsequent chains of transmission by allowing workers to stay home when sick.”
Stall said to work, the program must not just pay people without company-provided sick days when they have COVID-19, but also for any time spent getting tested or vaccinated and any resulting impacts.
Trying to book a COVID-19 vaccine in a hot spot? It helps if you’re a robot
Pre-registration is an idea that was supported last week in a letter from Coun. Josh Matlow, Dr. David Fisman, Dr. Samir K. Sinha, Dr. Nathan Stall and Tai Huynh with the University Health Network. Pre-registration, they wrote, “will not only provide the province with helpful data on how many Ontarians are interested in receiving the vaccine, and assist with management of vaccine supply, but also provide an overview of which postal codes are vaccine hesitant. Moreover, and importantly, this will help many Ontarians feel one step closer to overcoming the pandemic.”
Ford government extends maximum funding for long-term care homes — ensuring they won’t take a financial hit, despite deaths
“Long-term care is one of those rare kinds of industries where I always say that losses are socialized and profits are privatized,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA. “The notion of for-profits sharing a level of risk, it doesn’t really exist” in the industry.
Read MoreOntario’s seniors were ravaged by COVID-19. A year later, many families say their sacrifice was all in vain
“We had enough incomprehensible tragedy that we should have learned our lesson not only once but twice and to allow the third wave to get so out of control is shameful and unforgivable,” said Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA.
“How could we allow all these people to die and how could Ontarians be asked to make all these extraordinary sacrifices, including weeks of school and business closures, and 14 months later, we’re facing a health care system that’s in the worst shape that it’s ever been?”
Confusion is turning to anger over Ontario’s vaccine rollout. Doctors say it’s time for transparency on supply
Confusion around Ontario’s available vaccine supply is leading to a lack of public trust in the process and fuelling anger toward it, two Toronto-based physicians say.
There is no publicly available or transparent data which shows what exists in the province’s supply, said Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA. “You can look at the number of doses, but we have no idea how many of them are AstraZeneca reserves, how many of them are Pfizer or Moderna,” Dr. Stall said, adding there is lack of transparency over how many doses are allocated to COVID-19 hot spots and which might be designated for per-capita distribution across the province.
Older Canadians still face barriers to getting vaccinated against COVID-19
“Eliminating the barriers older Canadians face in accessing COVID-19 vaccines is critical,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA and lead author of the newly released report, If Older Canadians Want a COVID-19 Vaccine, Why Is Canada Struggling to Get Them Vaccinated?, in a statement Thursday.
“Providing older adults with vaccination is a highly efficient and effective strategy for protecting Canada’s most vulnerable population while also slowing the virus’ spread.”
