Infectious disease experts at Ontario’s leading pediatric centers are urging caregivers to vaccinate their young children against COVID-19 And influenza Amid rising hospital admissions.
A joint statement from experts at four pediatric hospitals said vaccination is an important tool to help mitigate the effects of a viral season that could prove to be longer and more severe than in years past.
Only seven per cent say in the statement Ontario Children aged six months to five years have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and at least two per cent have been fully vaccinated.
Doctors say this is of particular concern because 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 cut surgeries and deploy staff to help backstop overburdened intensive care units and emergency rooms.
Hospital admissions are rising under the triple threat of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and COVID-19, at a time when the health care system is already grappling with a record number of job vacancies.