Canada’s COVID-19 death toll could be thousands higher than official count: report

By: Leslie Young

In a new report published Tuesday by the Royal Society of Canada, researchers estimate that between Feb. 1 and Nov. 28, 2020, around 6,000 deaths of people aged 45 and older caused directly by COVID-19 have gone uncounted in the official statistics. In total, around two-thirds of COVID-19’s real death toll may have been missed, the report suggests.

Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research says “We’re talking about thousands and thousands of Canadians who silently died,” he said. “And their loved ones probably think they died because they might have had a heart attack or they might have had a stroke or they might have had a fall, for example. But unbeknown to them is, their loved one did die of COVID-19.”

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Canada's real death toll from COVID-19 may far exceed official tally: report

By: Avis Favaro, Elizabeth St. Philip and Alexandra Mae Jones

Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, published a case report early on in the pandemic detailing a woman who presented atypically, and then was diagnosed with COVID-19 two days later.

“We probably lost a lot of deaths being reported from COVID-19 because there just wasn't any thought to actually investigate those deaths, even in a post-mortem way, just to actually do a test and say, ‘Was COVID a factor?’” he told CTV News.

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Planning a get-together? This online tool estimates your COVID-19 risk

By: Avis Favaro and Elizabeth St. Philip

“Within the first 72 hours we had over 32,000 users from across the country,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, a geriatric specialist at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto and a member of the National Institute on Ageing.

“I think with vaccination, we now have newfound freedoms ahead of us, but I think people are really nervous about how to actually negotiate that,” said Sinha.

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A tool to calculate the COVID risk of your activities

The National Institute on Ageing at Ryerson University has created a web platform that allows you to check if your plans are safe.

The short questionnaire, which takes about three minutes to complete, also allows you to establish your compliance with health measures, such as wearing a mask or distancing.

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How COVID-safe are your plans? Officials say new tool can help you find out

By: Rachel Gilmore

The online tool, crafted by Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing, is an individual risk assessment portal that allows Canadians to plug in details about their plans. The tool then tells you how COVID-19-safe your plans are, using “the best available scientific evidence and the input of leading experts in infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology.”

“This user-friendly online tool provides reliable, science-based information to help you reduce your individual risk when visiting and gathering with others,” wrote Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam in a statement issued Saturday.

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Canada needs new rules now for fully vaccinated people

By: Nathan Stall, NIA Associate Fellow; Fahad Razak and Andrew Morris

Now more than 15 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and with widespread access to incredibly effective vaccines, Canada should be less blunt and population-based in its application of public health restrictions. This should start with individual guidance for the fully vaccinated.

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Rapid tests would help in the fight against COVID

The National Institute on Ageing (Ryerson University) is Canada’s only think tank dedicated to policy solutions for the aging population. If one searches online for the “NIA Long Term Care COVID-19 Tracker” (ltc-covid19-tracker.ca) and clicks “Canadian Summary,” a pop-up chart will display information including the total number of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care homes.

To date, across Canada there has been a shocking 15,233 resident deaths and 30 staff deaths. Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing, said: “We spend 30% less on the provision of long-term care in Canada versus what other industrialized nations spend."

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Sask. Seniors, families hoping for brighter future with COVID-19 restrictions easing

NIA's Director of Health Policy Research, Dr. Samir Sinha, says these reopening measures are long overdue.

“Prior to this measure, Saskatchewan had some of the most restrictive measures in the country, where they were only allowing visits to occur, for example, if only 90 per cent of the residents had been vaccinated,” Sinha stated.

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Expanding workplace pensions should be a post-COVID priority

By: Stephen McCormick and Alex Mazer

We know that collective retirement savings plans are the most efficient way to save. Research conducted in 2018, by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), Common Wealth and the National Institute on Ageing, identified five “value drivers” of good retirement plans. With attributes like automatic enrolment, risk pooling and low fees, the best retirement savings plans can reduce the cost of retirement — the savings required to maintain one’s living standard postretirement — by close to $900,000 for a typical Canadian.

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AgeTech solutions: New technologies will make a difference in long-term care

By: Alex Mihailidis, Scientific Director and CEO of AGE-WELL

There is an important and essential national conversation underway about how to do better for residents of long-term care and to give more support for dedicated staff who have endured extraordinary stresses.

"I am pleased to be working closely with Dr. Samir Sinha, who is leading the development for Health Standards Organization (HSO) of a national standard for long-term care services to ensure that long-term care residents receive the quality of care they deserve" says Dr. Alex Mihailidis, Chair of the CSA Group Technical Subcommittee on Long-Term Care Homes.

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Pattie Lovett-Reid: Here's a tip to stave off retirement-savings crisis

It is important to remember that government programs were put into place to supplement your retirement, not fund it.

But there is one way you could create your own pension using the government plans. According to Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, the Director of Financial Security Research at the National Institute on Ageing, delaying your CPP/QPP benefits for as long as possible is essentially purchasing an inexpensive, inflation-indexed and very secure pension plan. In other words securing income for life.

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Lack of guidance for fully vaccinated Canadians

Fully vaccinated seniors in Ontario nursing homes can hug and kiss, but the Public Health Agency of Canada has not released guidance for fully vaccinated people. Geriatrician and NIA Associate Fellow Dr. Nathan Stall says while it may sound unfair to release guidelines that only vaccinated people can follow, it's also unfair to hold back protected people, especially seniors.

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