Without fail, when I question why the govt is neglecting to take recommended steps to protect our kids, ed workers, families, and communities, someone will respond:
The premier tells us our kids' safety is his highest priority, but why aren't we seeing that in these plans? Why isn't he taking the advice we've all heard the experts give him? He says he 'won't spare a penny,' but we're still waiting for enough funding. Why?
I know how others will answer that question. I wonder if the premier and MoE would feel comfortable knowing that's the perception of Ontario parents. I don't believe he wants to endanger our families, but I wonder why he isn't willing to do what it takes to keep us safer. #onpoli
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🧵Thank you to @CBCNews and @metromorning for the opportunity to talk about the vaccination backlog in Peel. This conversation has never been simple, but the need for attention here is growing urgently. We have a problem. 1/12
More than half of Peel's kids are missing at least one mandated vaccine dose. Only 37% of our 7-year-olds have been vaccinated against measles. These gaps (chasms?) in coverage leave our region open to significant risk of outbreak and put kids at risk of preventable illness. 2/12
Vaccines are not a guarantee. Some people will still get sick and some people will still have serious outcomes. Vaccines do significantly reduce our risk of getting sick, and if we do get sick, they significantly reduce our risk of experiencing serious outcomes. 3/12
🧵Let's make it clear that caring about a child's physical health and wanting kids back in school is not a binary choice, and it should never be positioned that way. Kids need to be in school. We should also reduce their risk of infectious disease, now and always.
Learning about children lost to #COVID19 is devastating, and will hit home hard for many of us. While children's risk is lower, this is a powerful reminder that risk is not absolute, and kids and the people they love need our protection, too.
For two years we've left the needs of children on the back burner. Their health, both physical and mental, and their education. Ontario has taken too much from our youngest people and they deserve better from us. We must move forward with their well-being in mind.
🧵While we still haven't had our PCR results from Dec24 following a classroom exposure before the break, yesterday our asymptomatic kid tested + on a RAT before their planned 2nd doses.
I'm testing negative on RATs, but I'm unwell and all signs point to #Omicron. #COVID19Ontario
With higher risk loved ones and front-line workers in our lives, we've always been more cautious with infectious disease - especially in the 5.5 years since losing Jude. With rising cases in mid-December we canceled all our holiday plans and started staying home. #Omicron
Grandparents watched from the driveway as the kids opened Christmas gifts. Groceries were picked up curbside. I'm so glad now that we didn't put our family and friends at risk, and so frustrated that we're here after all the care we've taken.
Keeping schools open without ensuring they're safe during a pandemic also takes a toll on kids' mental health - especially if the consequence is long-term impact on their health or the loss of a loved one.
We are not seeing enough done to ensure safe classrooms. #onpoli#onted
More than 10,000 Ontarians have died from #COVID19. More people that we know personally are currently sick with COVID than we've known throughout the pandemic to this point. It's everywhere and many can't access tests. We're facing a different challenge with #Omicron. #onpoli
#WhereIsDougFord with one week left until schools are expected to reopen? What measures are his government planning to implement to protect the health and learning of kids and educators across the province? Ontario is not prepared to face #Omicron in schools. #onpoli#onted
An average of ~3500 Canadians die from the flu in a typical year.
That number sounds so small in the wake of #COVID19, but that's a lot of people lost to a preventable illness.
But this year all our illness prevention efforts wiped out the flu. Compare to previous years. 1/5
People over 65, kids under 5, pregnant women, and people with underlying health concerns are at greatest risk from the flu's most serious complications, but risk isn't absolute and perfectly healthy younger adults die from this preventable disease, too. 2/5
I don't know what the flu might look like in the next year or two, but my hope is that the lessons we've learned through the pandemic will carry forward and we'll do a better job protecting ourselves and each other. In all this devastation, we saved kids this year. 3/5
I appreciate the interest and enthusiasm I'm seeing to find creative solutions for the remaining weeks of school. We advocated tirelessly for many of these options throughout the pandemic, and found they require a significant amount of planning and new resources.#onted#onpoli 1/
I'd love for my daughter to finish her final year at her school in-person with friends and educators who have seen her through these seven years. With four weeks left my hopes are now pinned on better when our kids return in September. #onted#onpoli 2/4
This school year never had to be this way. Our government chose not to prioritize the necessary steps to keep schools consistently, safely open. The way Ontario has experienced #COVID19 was preventable, and our kids have paid a high price. #onted#onpoli 3/4