It will take Hamilton 3 years to catch up on services neglected during COVID-19: city

Immunization checks for school kids. Programs for new moms. Dental assessments for low-income residents.

These are some of the services that have fallen behind because public health has been handling the COVID-19 pandemic, says Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton's medical officer of health. And they're part of the reason she's satisfied with the province is lifting some of its COVID-19 restrictions.

Richardson said the Omicron variant is, so far, less deadly than previous variants of the disease. Hospitalizations are also trending downward, she told Hamilton's board of health Monday.

Combine that with the mental health impacts of the pandemic measures, she said, and that tells her it's time to lift some restrictions.

"We do need to move forward and figure out how we're living with this virus," she said.

"We cannot continue to live in fear, but make practical decisions moving forward."

This year — 2022 — is the year we "transition to an endemic state," she said. And it will also be the start of trying to catch up with some of the services that have been paused during the pandemic because staff efforts were diverted to COVID-19.

Richardson's comments came on the day that Premier Doug Ford announced Ontario was lifting many restrictions, including capacity limits in settings such as restaurants, bars, cinemas and gyms. As well, the province's proof-of-vaccination system will no longer be mandatory as of March 1.

Ford said the announcement was separate from protests in areas such as Ottawa, Windsor and Fort Erie, and happening not because of them, but "in spite of them."

Dr. Mustafa Hirji, the acting medical officer of health in Niagara Region, said he's disappointed the reopening plan doesn't leave more time to properly assess the impact of loosening restrictions. 

But Richardson sounded more positive Monday, saying the city has a lot of work to do to recover. 

The "significant backlog" caused by the pandemic, there will be "a significant and measurable effect on the health of our population for years to come," Richardson said. In 2020 and 2021, she said, 75 per cent of public health resources were diverted to COVID-19 response.

"Everything from child health and school programming to chronic diseases, infectious diseases, even our health protection programs, immunization programs, all of those were reduced or put entirely on hold for up to two years," she said. 

Examples of deficits of care, she said, include: