As kids head back to school, only 10 per cent of those eligible in Hamilton are fully vaccinated: city

As many Hamilton students return to in-person learning Wednesday, the city's public health department is reporting that only 10 per cent of children between the ages of five and 11 have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Just over 46 per cent of kids in that age range have received one dose, Hamilton's medical officer of health told reporters at the city's COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday. 

Despite the apparently low numbers with children – the adult population is more than 80 per cent vaccinated – Dr. Richardson said there are improvements. She noted the seven-day average of first doses among kids has increased to 300, up from 212 a week before. The increase may be fuelled by nervous parents staring down the Omicron wave amid back-to-school plans.

"In terms of learning to live with COVID-19, we do need to start thinking of this virus in terms of how we manage it," she said. "When we look at school, it really is an essential service – it's essential for the well-being of the children."

Dr. Richardson said school-based vaccine clinics could be on the horizon, noting Hamilton Public Health has had some conversations with local school boards on the issue. 

When asked if the local boards should go above and beyond provincial guidance, and continue reporting known COVID-19 cases – something many parents have been calling for, and the French-language Viamonde school board has committed to – she said it's up to the boards to decide, since testing isn't available for most families. 

"It's very difficult for people to know… if someone is off ill due to COVID-19 or for other reasons," she said, noting many of those results will likely come from rapid tests expected to be issued to students upon their return. "We don't all have tests in front of us."

Newly updated province guidance says parents will no longer be notified if someone tests positive in their child's class, only when there is a 30 per cent absence rate at the school. Some Ontario school boards, such as the Toronto District School Board, say they will continue to alert parents of a positive case in a classroom. 

Officials at Tuesday's briefing also underscored the crunch local hospitals continue to face, with St. Joseph's Healthcare president Melissa Farrell noting the organization has reduced the hours at its urgent care facility on King Street East. It's current open hours are 4 to 10 p.m. daily. Its previous hours, according to an archived version of its website, were 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"We have had to take many measures to ensure we have enough staff to keep [services going]," she said, citing redeployments, both voluntary and mandatory; discharging all patients who can safely recover at home; and pausing vacation requests. "All of this puts pressure on our health care workers who are very tired… We know we aren't operating in normal circumstances or in a sustainable way."

She said 169 staff and physicians are currently isolating at home with COVID-19, and nearly 700 staff have tested positive since the beginning of this wave.

The move comes after Hamilton Health Sciences temporarily shuttered its urgent care facility in Westdale on Monday evening, for similar reasons. Officials are encouraging anyone who does not have urgent symptoms – such as shortness of breath, or a potential heart attack or stroke – to avoid coming to hospitals' emergency rooms.

Rob MacIsaac, president of Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), said Tuesday that the HHS system continues to be very strained. He said the organization's intensive care unit is completely full and the hospital overall is at 112 per cent capacity of its funded beds. 

"The state of hospital care… remains precarious," he said. "We are doing what we can to maintain our most critical services."