While our efforts to protect the people we support have been successful, the number of cases in the community is growing rapidly and this goal will become even more challenging. We are asking for your help and your voice to help us ensure this population is prioritized to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Phase I of the distribution rollout. Below is the Op-Ed piece that was sent to the media.
Any questions can be sent to Brian Dunne at briand@phsscommunity.com
Media Coverage:
- January 20 – RogersTV Interview with Brian Dunne: https://www.rogerstv.com/show?lid=12&rid=9&sid=8252&gid=595920
- January 22 – CBC New London Morning Interview with Jin Cha and Brian Dunne – Listen here: Who deserves to be in the first vaccination cohort?
- January 22 – CBC News Article: Give medically fragile adults the COVID-19 vaccine now, advocates urge
COVID Vaccine Roll Out Should be Based on Needs vs Location
By Brian Dunne, Executive Director PHSS
The COVID-19 vaccine is a key tool in our fight to contain this global pandemic. With numbers continuing to rise in communities across Ontario, it’s critical that all of our most vulnerable residents, and the people who support them, are vaccinated in Phase I of the vaccine rollout.
Sadly, this is not happening.
Despite the risk COVID-19 poses to adults with multiple chronic complex medical disabilities, neither these individuals, nor the people who provide care to them, have been identified to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in this first Phase.
Why? Because the Ontario government is currently allocating vaccines based on institutional categories. This approach doesn’t take into account the medical conditions and risk factors of medically fragile individuals living with families or in community settings – such as PHSS or Community Living residential homes.
For example: Individuals with Down Syndrome are at a greater risk of becoming severely ill if they contract COVID-19. They are 5 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 10 times more likely to die, despite being 10 years younger than the average hospitalized COVID-19 patient.
Yet, despite the known risks for individuals with medical and complex needs as well as those with developmental disabilities, unless they live in a long-term care home or hospital setting, they have not been prioritized to receive the vaccine.
The potential consequence of overlooking medically fragile adults and the families and front- line staff who support them in the first Phase is very costly in terms of unnecessary hospitalizations and deaths for hundreds of Ontarians.
In community care
Many adults with severe developmental disabilities live with and are cared for by family members.
PHSS provides medical and complex care to about 300 individuals with complex medical needs in 60 small-scale residential homes we operate across Southern Ontario and Ottawa. Through the care provided, severely frail individuals and individuals with developmental disabilities are able to live in community – which helps keep them safe, reduces healthcare costs and adds to their quality of life.
Without the 24/7 intensive support PHSS provides, many of these individuals would live in the ICU or another acute hospital setting, due to the complexity of their medical needs, such as their ongoing dependence on ventilators, other clinical devices and treatments. Others would live in long-term care homes.
Priority population
Despite the fact that the Ontario Government has included “adult chronic home care recipients’ in Phase 1 of its distribution protocol, the people with acute medical needs living in community have been overlooked. This cannot be allowed to continue. The population must be included as being a priority population to be vaccinated in Phase 1.
We are asking the Ontario government to do the right thing – include severely frail residents and individuals with severe developmental disabilities, as well as the families and front-line health care workers who support them, in the first phase of vaccinations, regardless of the setting in which these individuals reside.
Click here for the PDF format: Vaccine rollout should be based on needs vs location
