Should vaccines be mandatory for LTC staff?
Ontario announced yesterday that it will be mandating for homes to have an immunization policy in place, and track and report its implementation. Kelly talks to Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
Read More2nd vaccine doses speed up in fight against B.1.617 variant
With just a fraction of Canadians fully vaccinated, and re-opening plans playing out in several provinces, doctors say don't let your guard down. "We want to make sure we aren't putting ourselves in a situation where we all crowd onto a beach and we're all standing shoulder to shoulder with each other. That's actually how these things start to spread" says Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
Read MoreCBC News - Warmer weather and outdoor gatherings
Doctors say being outside is much safer than being indoors, but it's not at zero risk. "Especially when we have the Delta variant now, which is extremely transmissible, and more deadly. And we have the vast majority of Canadians who haven't received a second dose which is what you need to really protect yourself against that variant. We are not out of the woods yet" says Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing.
Read MoreNew national standard for LTC will improve the safety and quality of care
Dr. Samir Sinha is NIA's Director of Health Policy Research and the Director of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network (UHN) Hospitals. He’s the expert lead of Ontario’s Seniors Strategy. In this column, Dr. Sinha reflects on developing new national LTC standards for Canada in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and how RPNs can be pivotal to the process.
Read MoreOntario eases restrictions on long-term care residents
Long-term care residents will finally be able to spend quality time outside the facility. The province has relaxed restrictions and starting next Wednesday, long-term care residents who've been fully vaccinated will be able to leave their facilities for day and overnight trips.
Dr. Nathan Stall, NIA Associate Fellow and Geriatrician says this is another step towards normalcy.
Today’s coronavirus news: Experts urge Ontario to speed up second doses for essential workers in hot spots; 10K Tokyo Olympics volunteers drop out; Ontario could reopen early
Dr. Nathan Stall, NIA Associate Fellow says, with Ontario getting increasing supplies of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the required interval between shots for the oldest residents — most at risk of serious illness or death — should be reduced to get them protected quicker.
Read MoreCorbella: Improving the quality of life of our seniors in care is at the centre of new strategy
By: Licia Corbella
Dr. Samir Sinha — NIA Director of Health Policy Research and the Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System — says whenever he has a chance to speak to policy makers, he reminds them that helping the elderly live longer in their homes by providing home care is the only time government can give people what they want and spend less money.
Sinha says home care is the least costly form of continuing care out there. Sinha says that at any given time, about 15 per cent of hospitalized Canadians are elderly people designated as “alternate level of care” or patients who should be in a nursing home or in their own home with more supports.
More older Canadians hope to age at home post-COVID: Here’s how to do it successfully
That desire is echoed in research conducted in July 2020 by the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto’s Ryerson University. COVID has further reinforced the conviction of many Canadians to stay in their homes rather than moving into a nursing home or long-term care facility. Sixty per cent of study participants said the pandemic had changed their opinion on whether they’d arrange for themselves or an older loved one to live in a nursing or retirement home. Meanwhile, 91 per cent of respondents said they aimed “to live safely and independently in their own home as long as possible.”
Read MoreToronto Star - Staff at Ontario long-term-care homes will need to get the COVID vaccine, or get educated about it, barring a medical exemption
By: May Warren
“This is kind of the step before actually mandating vaccination” said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research. As well, homes will now be asking staff for their personal medical information on whether they got the COVID vaccine.
“It might actually create more resistance in some people as opposed to figuring out what is the barrier,” he said, adding it’s also important to make it more convenient for staff to get vaccines and “easy for them to do the right thing.”
Are we reopening too fast or too slow?
Many Canadians over 70 have not yet received their second COVID-19 vaccine dose. That's raised questions about potential risks to our elders as provinces begin to open up. Dr. Samir Sinha is the Director of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai and UHN, and NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
"Before we reopen up too quickly, we need to make sure as many of these vulnerable people across Canada get their second doses, and if they haven't had their first dose we need to get those in too" says Dr. Sinha.
CTV News - Doctor fears 'vaccine Hunger Games 2.0' for Ontario seniors looking to book second dose
By: Joshua Freeman
“So they (the province) has neither reserved doses for these older adults for second shots, nor have they guaranteed them bookings,” says Dr. Nathan Stall, NIA Associate Fellow. “So this is going to create, I fear, the sort of vaccine ‘Hunger Games’ 2.0 for these older adults, where they're now being asked to go back onto the multiple booking systems through multiple sites.”
He said rather than put the onus on seniors to re-book their appointments, the province should have proactively reached out to seniors to offer them earlier appointments.
CBC Radio Ontario Morning with Julianne Hazlewood - Upgrading long-term care facilities and staffing
Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research and Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto offers his perspective on how successful the provincial government has been in its commitment to upgrade facilities and staffing at our long term care facilities.
"It's not having enough beds, it's when you don't have enough people actually there to provide the right amount of care. That's when things really suffer for these residents" says Dr. Sinha.
How soon are second doses coming for Canadians, and who will get them first?
By: Patricia Treble
Seniors who are 70 and older should be next in line for second doses, says Dr. Nathan Stall, NIA Associate Fellow, geriatrician at Sinai Health in Toronto, and co-author of an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail on May 26: “Older adults, after all, have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Despite accounting for just 12 per cent of the Canadian population, people over 70 have suffered more than 85 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in the country. One dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine does provide substantial protection against symptomatic infection, even among older adults."
Read MoreGlobal News Radio 640 Toronto - Promises of air conditioning for long-term care not kept
It's been a year since Premier Doug Ford promised to mandate air conditioning in long-term care homes. The lack of government action doesn't come as a surprise to Dr. Samir Sinha, Chair of the National Long-term Care Standards Committee and NIA Director of Health Policy Research. "I think again it's another example of promises being made but promises not necessarily being kept, and hoping that nobodies really going to notice" says Dr. Sinha.
Read MoreThe Globe and Mail - Opinion: Older Canadians should be getting their second vaccine doses, right now
By: Nathan Stall - NIA Associate Fellow with Allison McGeer and Irfan Dhalla
With most adults partially vaccinated, our strategy must change, by circling back to older Canadians who have been waiting weeks or even months for their second doses, and rapidly immunizing them fully, even if first doses haven’t yet made their way into the arms of all Canadian adults and adolescents.
Read MoreCTV News - Calls for second dose appointments grow louder
"Certainly with increasing vaccine supply, or even appointments now readily going unfilled in some jurisdictions, I think there's no time like the present to start allowing those second doses to be given to older adults" says Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
Read MoreToronto Star - Seniors over 80 have lower vaccination rates in Toronto and Peel than other age groups. How groups are working to change that
By: Maria Sarrouh and Olivia Bowden
Hot-spot neighbourhoods in Ontario are seeing lower COVID-19 vaccination rates for seniors over 80 than neighbourhoods with lower incidence of the virus — indicating the most at-risk populations are still being missed for the vaccine.
“A lot of people like to think it’s just vaccine hesitancy, but it’s really not, to any significant degree,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research. “The data really is speaking to the fact there’s a vaccine gap that’s not really fueled by hesitancy.”
National Post - TELUS Health first in Canada to provide residents with innovative LivingWell Companion personal emergency response services on Apple Watch
“Tools or devices that help older Canadians improve their activity levels, and monitor and address personal health and safety issues can be incredibly important in supporting healthy aging,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health and the University Health Network, Toronto.
“What’s significant about this solution is that its design and capabilities contribute to older Canadians maintaining both their independence and dignity, and it also offers caregivers and loved ones peace of mind.”
CBC News - Here's what's opening in Ontario this weekend as restrictions ease
Some families were frustrated that the announcement came so late given the high rates of vaccinations in long-term care. As of Friday, about 96 per cent of long-term care residents in Ontario have been fully immunized with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a release from the province. Nearly 59 per cent of Ontarians 16 and older have also had at least one dose.
People also expressed dismay at the abrupt reopening, saying not all homes could organize outdoor visits for the long weekend. Dr. Nathan Stall, NIA Associate Fellow and geriatrician in Toronto, said it may take some time for homes to implement these visits due to the possibility of low staff or resources given the 24-hour notice.
CBC News - New long-term care standards will fall flat without money or enforcement, experts warn
By: Karina Roman
"We're pushing to basically say with everything that we've learned so far, with everything we're learning about the state of long-term care in Canada, how do we actually make these new standards pandemic-proof?" said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research and Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health and the University Health Network in Toronto.
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