Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Health Care Providers

November 5, 2021

From:
Dr. Ethan Toumishey
Acting Medical Officer of Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

In this Issue:

1. Updated guidance document: COVID-19 Vaccine Administration
2. Updated guidance for routine immunization services during COVID-19
3. Expanded eligibility for booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine
4. Plan to safely reopen Ontario and manage COVID-19 for the long-term
5. COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy
6. Updated NACI recommendations on the use of COVID-19 vaccines
7. HPEPH offering limited flu vaccination appointments for children under five without health care provider
8. Limited supply of Fluad and Fluzone high dose influenza vaccine available for seniors
9. New and updated COVID-19 resources

COVID-19 Vaccine News & Updates

Updated guidance document: COVID-19 Vaccine Administration

The COVID-19 Vaccine Administration guidance document is available on the Ministry website. This is a new guidance document which combines the former ‘Administration of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine’, ‘Administration of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine’, and ‘Administration of AstraZeneca and COVISHIELD COVID-19 Vaccine’ guidance documents.

Updated guidance for routine immunization services during COVID-19

The Immunization Guidance document has been updated. This guidance replaces the Guidance for Immunization Services During COVID-19 that was originally posted in August 2020.This guidance has been updated to include information on extended vaccine eligibility for some publicly funded vaccines and well as guidance on the co-administration of COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines.

Expanded eligibility for booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine

The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is expanding eligibility for booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to additional groups of high-risk individuals starting November 6, 2021, to provide them with an extra layer of protection against the Delta variant.
The guidance document on recommendations for third doses of COVID-19 vaccine has been posted to the Ministry’s website.

Eligible groups now include:

• Residents of Long-Term Care Homes (LTCH), Retirement Homes (RH), Elder Care Lodges, and individuals 65 years of age and over living in other congregate settings (e.g. assisted-living facilities, chronic care hospitals, naturally occurring congregate retirement settings/congregate senior’s apartment buildings, older adults living in congregate settings for people with developmental disabilities, mental health and addictions issues, etc.)
• All Ontarians aged 70 and older
• Health care workers and designated essential caregivers in congregate settings (including long-term care home and retirement home staff and designated caregivers);
• First Nations, Inuit and Métis adults, including non-Indigenous household members
• Individuals who received two doses of AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine
• Individuals who received one dose of Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

The recommended interval for a booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is ≥6 months (168 days) after the completion of the vaccine primary series.

HPEPH clinic appointments will be available on the provincial booking system beginning November 6 for clinic dates on or after November 11th for all eligible individuals.

Plan to safely reopen Ontario and manage COVID-19 for the long-term

The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, has released A Plan to Safely Reopen Ontario and Manage COVID-19 for the Long-Term, which outlines the province’s gradual approach to lifting remaining public health and workplace safety measures by March 2022.

COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy

Ontario is promoting the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant and breastfeeding individuals and raising awareness of the heightened risks for those who are unvaccinated. The Ministry of Health has a webpage where individuals can learn about COVID-19 vaccines for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy.

Updated NACI recommendations on the use of COVID-19 vaccines

On October 22, 2021, NACI updated their Recommendations on the use of COVID-19 vaccines and released a Summary of the updated vaccine statement. The updated guidance includes severe immediate allergic reactions after vaccination with COVID-19 vaccines, as well as updated information on the optimal interval between the first and second doses of a two-dose COVID-19 primary vaccine series. These recommendations are based on current scientific evidence and NACI's expert opinion.

NACI recommends that:

• People who experienced a severe immediate allergic reaction after a first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine can safely receive future doses of the same or another mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after consulting with an allergist or another appropriate physician. This group should also be observed for 30 minutes, instead of 15 minutes, after getting the vaccine.

NACI has updated information on vaccine schedules:

The interval between the first and second doses of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series that appears to be optimal are:

• 8 weeks for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines; and
• At least 8 weeks for the AstraZeneca Vaxzevria COVID-19 vaccine.

Other News & Updates

HPEPH offering limited flu vaccination appointments for children under five without health care provider

Due to resource limitations resulting from ongoing pandemic response, HPEPH is only offering flu vaccination clinics this year to children six months of age to five years who do not currently have a health care provider.

These HPEPH clinics will take place:

November 8 & 9, 2021
179 North Park Street, Belleville
9:30-11:45am and 1:15-3:30pm
Appointments are required.

Appointments can be booked as soon as possible at canadaEHS.com/hpePublicHealth/flu

Individuals with children between two and five years of age are encouraged to seek vaccination at a local pharmacy if possible, to ensure spaces remain available for children who are not eligible at local pharmacies.

Limited supply of Fluad and Fluzone high dose influenza vaccine available for seniors

To protect our vulnerable population of approximately 40,000 residents in Hastings and Prince Edward County who are 65 years of age or older, the Ministry has supplied HPEPH with 6,620 doses of Fluad flu vaccine and 10,690 doses of Fluzone High Dose (HD). This is the total amount allocated for health care providers’ offices in our area for this influenza season.

Both products, Fluad and Fluzone HD, are the preferred products for clients 65 years of age and older.

Fluad® is an adjuvanted inactivated influenza vaccine that is targeted to persons 65 years of age and over. The adjuvant is designed to improve the immune response to the vaccine which is important since older individuals may not respond as well as younger individuals to the influenza vaccine. Since the number of doses per office is limited, you may wish to reserve these vaccines for seniors who have respiratory issues.

We are fortunate to have both vaccines available to protect our vulnerable seniors. Additional information on these flu vaccine is available here.

COVID-19 Resources & Guidance Document Updates

New and updated COVID-19 resources

• Maternal-Neonatal COVID-19 General Guideline
• Maternal-Neonatal COVID-19 Pregnancy Care Guideline.
• COVID-19 Signage Questions for Businesses and Organizations
• COVID-19 Screening Tool for Businesses and Organizations: Tool for Screening Workers & Tool for Screening Patrons

Back to Summary

Contact Information: 

To give us your comments: hart.sara@hpeph.ca

To report communicable diseases:613-966-5500 x349

To report AEFI or DOPHS: Online / Fax: 613-966-1813 or CDCFAX1@hpeph.ca

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