4th doses of COVID-19 vaccines coming to Ontarians 60+ as hospitalizations surpass 1,000 mark

Ontarians aged 60 or over will soon be able to get a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as hospitalizations on Tuesday climbed past the 1,000 mark for the first time since February.

The province logged 1,091 COVID-19 hospitalizations today, an increase of about 38 per cent from the week before.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said Tuesday Ontarians aged 60 or older will soon be able to receive a fourth dose of vaccine.

"Our medical advisers have recommended ... that we go to 60 to provide an added level of protection to the residents of Ontario," Elliott told reporters at Queen's Park.

The province's plan to open fourth-dose access to people aged 60 and older follows new advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

On Tuesday, the committee said provinces and territories should start preparing plans to roll out fourth shots in the coming weeks, prioritizing those 80 and older and residents in long-term care.

Fourth doses in Ontario are already available to long-term care and retirement home residents, as well as those who are immunocompromised.

Elliott said more details on the province's plan to expand eligibility for fourth doses will be shared Wednesday.

Plan to expand antiviral drug distribution

Elliott said the province is also looking to add distribution points for an antiviral COVID-19 drug.

Immunocompromised adults and older COVID-19 patients who are unvaccinated are eligible to receive Paxlovid, but concerns have been raised about difficulty accessing the drug.

Elliott said Paxlovid was initially distributed through 26 sites and the province intends to distribute it from more locations now that supply has increased.

Pharmacies may be involved in the rollout of the drug at some point, along with other potential sites, Elliott said.

Hospitalizations on the rise

The province's plan comes as COVID-19 hospitalizations have been rising in Ontario, with hospitalizations up from 857 on Monday and 790 at this time last week.

Elliott says the rise in cases is no surprise and the province can manage it.

"It's not unanticipated that this would happen. This is something that when you're opening up the province to the degree that we have, and with the transmissibility of this virus, that we expected to see the numbers increase," Elliott said.

"We have the measures that we need to deal with this," Elliott said, pointing to the addition of 3,100 new hospital beds, the province's highly vaccinated population and access to antiviral drugs that she said would help the province fight off the latest wave of cases.

Experts have questioned whether or not the province has capacity to staff those beds, however.

Ontario ended mask mandates in most public spaces two weeks ago, with the exception of public transit and health-care settings such as hospitals and long-term care homes.

NDP, Liberals calling for updates from top doctor

Meanwhile, the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, has not held a news conference in nearly four weeks since his last weekly pandemic briefing on March 9. 

When asked about Moore not doing any interviews, Elliott said "if Dr. Moore feels it's necessary at some point in the future to provide regular interviews or to discuss questions, he will."

Elliott said last week that Moore is "doing his job" assessing COVID-19 indicators and that "it's good news" that he isn't holding regular updates because "we're now at a stage where the peak of the pandemic has passed us."

Liberal house leader John Fraser said Tuesday "it's wrong" that Moore is not communicating with the public, adding that he should hold a briefing this week. 

Sara Singh, NDP deputy leader, also called on Moore to address Ontarians given the rise in cases, saying "we need leadership."

9 more deaths reported

Of Tuesday's hospitalizations, 173 of patients are in intensive care. That number is up by five, from 168 reported the previous day and 165 reported a week earlier.

According to the Ministry of Health, 46 per cent of people hospitalized were admitted specifically for treatment of symptoms brought on by the virus, while the rest were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive. Meanwhile, 67 per cent of people in ICU were admitted because of COVID-19, while the rest were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive for the virus.

The province reported another 1,991 COVID-19 cases through limited PCR testing Tuesday, with 14,474 tests completed the day before.

Eighteen per cent of COVID-19 tests conducted in the last day came back positive, down slightly from Monday's positivity rate of 19 per cent.

Dr. Peter Jüni, who heads the province's COVID-19 science table, said last week he estimates the real number of daily cases provincewide to be around 30,000 to 35,000, based on wastewater surveillance data.

Nine more deaths were reported by the Ministry of Health, with the total death toll in the province sitting at 12,479.

Here are some other key pandemic indicators and figures from the Ministry of Health's daily provincial update:

Active cases: 25,019.

Patients in ICU requiring a ventilator to breathe: 96.

Long-term care homes in outbreak: 69.

Vaccinations: 6,195 vaccine doses were administered on Monday in Ontario with a total of 32,103,995 given out to date. Ninety per cent of Ontarians aged five or older have received at least one dose, while just over 86.5 per cent have gotten two doses.