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Ontario medical authority urges vaccination ahead of alarming flu season

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An organization representing the province’s physicians is calling for all Ontario residents to get vaccinated this fall.

The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) is warning we could see a record-breaking flu season, partly due to rising numbers of people avoiding immunization.

OMA president Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman says the reasoning behind the prediction is the number of infections seen in Australia earlier this year.

“We always look to Australia and surrounding areas because they experience the season ahead of us,” she says. “Those similar trends are often predictive of what we’ll be seeing here and they had another record-breaking season from influenza infections and seeing the complications of that.”

In a release, OMA noted that Australia recorded more than 410,000 lab-confirmed flu cases this year — surpassing the previous high of 365,000 in 2024.

“That is why we are really pressing hard in terms of pushing for everyone to be vaccinated and be prepared for this winter,” adds Dr. Abdurrahman.

She says OMA calls on all Ontarians to take advantage of the free flu and COVID vaccinations made available to all residents as of this past Monday.

While vaccines are available to all members of the public through pharmacies, family doctors, and public health units, Dr. Abdurrahman encourages residents to talk to their doctor if they have any concerns.

“Unfortunately, we know that there is a lot of misinformation that is online,” says Dr. Abdurrahman. “So we really want to ensure that people can have these conversations with someone that they trust.”

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Doctors Decry Bullying Of Healthcare Workers

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Medical professionals are denouncing what they call anti-vaccine bullying and attacks on healthcare workers.

The Ontario Medical Association and Canadian Medical Association say they’ve been seeing more anti-vaccine messaging and protests in recent weeks.

The groups say protests in some cities are making it difficult to access healthcare settings and “demoralizing” workers.

The statement from OMA President Dr. Adam Kassam and CMA President Dr. Katharine Smart says workers are being “harassed for doing their jobs,” which they call “wrong and unacceptable.”

They say the stakes could not be higher as we face a Delta-driven fourth wave.

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OMA Tries To Dispel Vaccine Fallicies

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The Ontario Medical Association does not like the false information being spread on the Internet about the COVID vaccine.

Some of the misinformation the OMA is concerned over are conspiracy theories and distrust of government.

They say younger people tend to have strong doubts about the vaccine on social media, emphasizing they believe it is dangerous, “untested” and “largely experimental,” while those in the 45-65 age group want more information from the government about the vaccine rollout.

Dr. Satira Verma of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine believes misinformation needs to end or else it will only help to prolong the pandemic.

She also notes the hesitancy takes on a different tone when it comes to Indigenous peoples.

“It’s related the legacy of the history of being experimented upon…that actually created distrust and are still in living memory,” explains Dr. Verma.

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OMA Worried By Anti-Mask Rallies

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Doctors are criticizing recent anti-mask rallies in southern Ontario.

The Ontario Medical Association says demonstrators are spreading misinformation by claiming that lockdowns and other measures cause more harm than good.

The group says they’re also concerned that the protests broke the province’s rules for outdoor gatherings and that few of the participants were wearing masks.

President Dr. Samantha Hill says “the scientific evidence is clear” to support wearing a mask.

Rallies have taken place over the past few weeks in cities like London, Aylmer and St. Thomas. Police in all three communities have charged participants or organizers of the rallies with offenses like failing to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act.

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Stay Home To Stop Virus Spread: Province’s Doctors

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Stern warnings from Ontario’s doctors, after Friday’s record daily high in COVID-19 cases.

The Ontario Medical Association is urging you to stay home as much as possible and follow public health guidelines.

President Dr. Samantha Hill says the numbers will continue to climb as the holidays approach unless everyone does their part.

She adds that while it’s good that the province performed a record number of tests, testing alone won’t prevent further spread.

“It’s still not enough,” Dr. Hill says. “We have the opportunity to learn from the horrific experiences of others. We have a responsibility to behave in a way that minimizes our individual exposures to the virus in the first place.”

 

OMA Identifies Gender Pay Gap

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Women doctors are paid less for the same work as men, and the Ontario Medical Association wants that to change.

The group says they looked at OHIP billings from 2017 to 2018 and found that, all else being equal, women were paid an average of 15% less.

The unexplained pay gap was the highest for general and family doctors, and the lowest among surgeons.

The association says it’s possibly because of gender-based expectations and discrimination, but needs to be studied more to find out the definitive cause and potential solutions.

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OMA Warning Of Dangers Of Quick Reopening

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Ontario is not ready to open up our economy yet if we can’t protect our most vulnerable.

That message from the head of the Ontario Medical Association.

Dr. Samantha Hill says COVID-19 can hit anyone, at any age, including children.

“Children who are now getting this new vasculitis that can be life threatening. If we can’t protect them than we have to really think about whether or not we are ready to reopen.”

Hill adds the situation in long term care homes is heart-breaking and says we have to do a better job of protecting our seniors.

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Medical Association Urges Caution

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As the province re-opens more businesses, a group representing doctors says we can’t afford to relax COVID-19 precautions.

The Ontario Medical Association says the province needs to take steps to avoid a second surge of new cases.

Those include investments in fast and accessible testing for COVID-19. The group representing doctors in the province wants the Ford government to make sure it has the capacity to test and trace all COVID-19 cases while still maintaining your privacy.

In a new report, it urges the province to look out for vulnerable groups like children, seniors, and people with existing medical conditions.

Additionally, it says you should still keep your distance from other people, wash your hands, and get your flu shot.

OMA President Dr. Samantha Hill says they also want you to wear a mask in public.

“We have pivoted a little bit to suggest everyone should be wearing masks, and it’s important to realize that we’re not talking about the same masks that people wear in the hospital. What we need, the general public needs, is a barrier. Any cloth mask will do,” Dr. Hill explains.

The group says if you are working from home, employers should allow you to continue doing so.

“What we have learnt, from the experiences of other countries, and historically from other viruses and pandemics is that we should not rush,” Dr. Hill notes.

“Reopening the province needs to occur in a phased and gradual manner to safely balance the need to restart the economy and ramp up deferred services, while continuing to protect everyone from the risk of exposure and preserving system capacity to respond to another outbreak or surge in cases.”