TORONTO – Infectious disease experts at Ontario’s top pediatric centers are urging caregivers to vaccinate their young children against COVID-19 and the flu amid rising hospital admissions.
A joint statement from experts at four pediatric hospitals says vaccinations are a critical tool to help mitigate the impacts of a viral season that could prove longer and more severe than in years past.
The statement says only seven per cent of Ontario children aged six months to five years have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and only two per cent are fully vaccinated.
Doctors say this is of particular concern, as children aged four and under are at higher risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 than any other group of children and adolescents.
Several pediatric hospitals in Ontario recently announced they would scale back surgeries and deploy staff to help protect overburdened intensive care units and emergency rooms.
Hospital receipts are rising under a triple threat of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and COVID-19, at a time when the health care system was already struggling with a record number of job vacancies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 30, 2022.