Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Health Care Providers

June 17, 2021

From:
Dr. Piotr Oglaza
Medical Officer of Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

In this Issue:

  1. Accelerated Second COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in Response to Delta Variant
  2. COVID-19 Vaccine Resources for Health Care Providers
  3. COVID-19 Science and Advisory Table Update
  4. Professional Development Opportunity: COVID-19 Vaccine Education Series for Health Care Providers

COVID-19 Vaccine News & Updates

Accelerated Second COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in Response to Delta Variant

On Monday June 14, 2021, a memo to health care providers from Dr. David Williams and Dr. Homer Tien was released about the administration of accelerated second doses of COVID-19 vaccine, in response to the Delta variant virus risk. The memo advises of two important updates effective June 14, 2021:

  1. The province has accelerated eligibility to book second doses for individuals living in areas with an increased prevalence of the Delta variant virus and who received their first dose up to and including May 9th, 2021. Areas of increased prevalence include the following public health units: Halton, Peel, Porcupine, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph and York.
  2. The province updated the second dose interval for individuals who have already received their first dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to a minimum interval of 8 weeks. Those who received a first dose of AstraZeneca have the option to receive a second dose of either AstraZeneca or an mRNA vaccine.

The province also announced that an increased supply in Moderna mRNA vaccine is expected to arrive shortly, which will aid in the acceleration of second COVID-19 vaccine doses. The Moderna vaccine vials from US are reportedly filled with more product so 14-15 doses per vial is expected. The Ministry of Health logs these vials at 14 doses per vial so our local dose allocations are taking this into account. It is expected that vaccine administrators may be consistently able to draw 14-15 doses. In addition, Moderna vaccine vials are viable for 24 hours post puncture and residual vaccine can be combined from up to 3 vials to create a complete dose.

The following documents have been updated to reflect changes to second dose intervals as addressed in the memo:

Information about vaccine effectiveness in Ontario can be found on Public Health Ontario’s website.

COVID-19 Vaccine Resources for Health Care Providers

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has released a primer for health care providers on addressing vaccine hesitancy in the context of COVID-19. PHAC has also developed a resource about what happens after being vaccinated against COVID-19 that can be provided to patients.

In addition, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, recently announced the launch of the Ask the Experts advertising campaign. This campaign features short videos by trusted experts answering some of the most common questions people have about the COVID-19 vaccines. These videos will encourage vaccine uptake by providing people across Canada with credible COVID-19 vaccine information, so they can make informed choices.

COVID-19 Science and Advisory Table Update

According to an update provided by Ontario’s COVID-19 Science and Advisory Table on June 10, 2021, the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is approximately 50% more transmissible than the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7). Due to the increased transmissibility, the province expects that the Delta variant will likely be the dominant form of the COVID-19 virus over the summer.

As the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is more than two times more effective against the Delta variant, continued vaccine administration (especially in high-risk communities) and strong testing and case and contact tracing are critical to controlling the spread of this variant.

Professional Development Opportunity

COVID-19 Vaccine Education Series for Health Care Providers

The University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine and Ontario College of Family Physicians have launched COVID-19 vaccine learning modules and an educational online self-learning series.

“The modules are interactive and include references, practical resources and reflective questions to help consolidate learning. They also include short videos from the COVID-19 Community of Practice for Family Physicians.” (University of Toronto, 2021)

For more information including learning objectives, presenter bios, and how to register: please visit https://www.dfcm.utoronto.ca/covid19-vaccination-modules

HPEPH is offering services by appointment only. We remain dedicated to protecting our community by providing local HCPs and community members with new information as it becomes available. Current information on COVID-19 specifically for health care providers can be found at hpePublicHealth.ca, Ontario Ministry of Health and at publichealthontario.ca.

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