Advice from MSAA and Chief Medical Officer of Health to Retirement Homes on Vaccination and Respiratory Illness Safety
On November 28, 2022, the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility (MSAA) and the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) released this memo (French is available here) to provide an update on the status of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses in the retirement home sector and to reinforce the importance of vaccines. Ontario is seeing concerning trends with COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses, such as Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), creating further complexities for the upcoming months.
The memo includes information on:
- COVID-19 Bivalent Booster and Influenza Vaccine
- Actions Operators Can Take to Protect Retirement Home Residents and Staff, including hand hygiene, masking, access to antiviral treatments, staying home if feeling sick, ventilation and air filtration, and vaccine supports.
Retirement homes are required to implement the recommendations to retirement homes in the Ministry of Health COVID-19 Guidance: Long-Term Care Homes, Retirement Homes, and Other Congregate Living Settings for Public Health Units and requirements in the MSAA COVID-19 Guidance for Retirement Homes in Ontario.
For information or support, retirement homes can contact MSAA at RHInquiries@ontario.ca or RHRA at info@rhra.ca.