Ford Government Pressed for Earlier Vaccinations and Boosters, Free Rapid Tests to Combat Omicron

“Omicron (a new, possibly more infectious variant of COVID-19) is here and Ontario must mobilize every available resource to start giving booster shots to all adults right away.”                          – Ontario NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh

A News Release from Ontario’s NDP Official Opposition Party

Posted December 13^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh issued the following statement:

“In the face of rising case numbers and a looming Omicron wave, the NDP is calling on Doug Ford to speed up the booster campaign for every Ontarian over the age of 18, create school-based vaccine clinics for five to 11 year-olds whose parents can’t afford to take time off work, and make rapid tests free and accessible everywhere in the province.

Omicron is here and Ontario must mobilize every available resource to start giving booster shots to all adults right away — why is Doug Ford waiting until January? Why isn’t he giving our heroic public health units the support they need to ramp up vaccines and give hundreds of thousands of shots per day?

The government must also get kids five to 11 vaccinated immediately, which means more culturally appropriate education, and school-based vaccine clinics so that parents who can’t take a day off to get each child vaccinated can approve their shot and get it done quickly.

And Ford needs to give people an easy-to-find, free supply of rapid tests, as other jurisdictions are doing. In Nova Scotia, for example, you can pick up take-home tests at libraries and liquor stores. There’s no reason Ontario can’t free the millions of rapid tests collecting dust on warehouse shelves, and source even more.

Doug Ford and his government continue to put Ontario behind the eight-ball, scrambling instead of getting our ahead of deadly waves.

We still need enough paid sick days for people to stay home when they’re sick, mandatory vaccination for all health and education workers, smaller class sizes to reduce kids’ contacts, and an acknowledgment that COVID is airborne with better ventilation in schools and workplaces.

We’re already too late to get ahead of Omicron — let’s not wait until hospitals are overwhelmed before we take action.”

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